I've been talking to a local reputable machine shop and they said that due to the clearance w/ forged pistons they run a little louder than standards. I'm ready to rebuild but is it really necessary to go with forged internals?? I plan to run naturally aspirated with a very small possibility of a 4-6 psi supercharger later. (not likely due to cost but I'd like to) Right now I'm planning on a 355 with LE1 or 2 package, headers, and whatever else you guys can recommend that will fit my budget. Not for racing, but would like to be in the 325-400HP range. Forged or not??

 

You might as well runthe cheapest cast pistons around if you plan on boosting anything but forged pistons, that way you wont lose as much when the ring lands fail.

Any thought of boost, s decent nitrous shot , or high RPMs and forged should be top of the list. If all the manufactureres recomendations are followed on clearances and where you measure the pistons , piston slap will be very minimal.

 

Do it right the first time, and the only time. Get forged.

 

You can get away with your stock crank. But if your goals are to obtain a good amount on power and you want it to be reliable, get quality rods and pistons. The extra cost could save you problems in the long run; go forged rods, pistons.

 

Thanks for the info. I assumed that was what you guys would recommend and I don't want to have to pull this motor again. I'm still considering the 383 route but the local machine shop is good old boys. I'm confident in their machine work but not for recommending a setup that will be computer friendly. Can someone give me an estimate for the difference in money when it's all said and done between a 383 and a 355. $1000 more maybe??? What I'm getting at is I would like to have about 350-400HP with good torque. I have about a $3000 budget in total to work with and would like it to be reliable. I seem to keep running into LE head/cam setups and forged internals. I know there are thousands of setups out there but I need some guidance. I've had stock LS1's and LT1's before, I just want a little something more than stock that's fun to drive on the street and I don't have to worry about pulling up to a light with a ricer!!! Please give me some guidance guys so I can get this project moving. I'm totally relying on all of you right now!!

 

$3000 is not going to buy you a built bottom end and a heads/cam setup..

Or do you mean that is your budget for your bottom end?

 

The difference in price between a 355 and a 383 will be quite a bit for you. If you we're going to buy a forged crank anyway, the difference is only about 100.00 but with the set-up you're describing you're factory crank will hold up fine and the 383 set-up will add a crankshaft to the mix increasing cost. Clearancing the block for the stroker crank will also cost quite a bit if you're not able to do it yourself. I belive you could accomplish the 355 w/heads&cam with a 3000.00 budget, but I think the 383 would probably go beyond your budget by 500.00 or so.

 

So I'm definitely back to the 355 setup. I'm obviously not accounting for a lot of necessary accessories because the LE packages seem to run $1100 to $1500. $1000 for refreshed bottom end w/ forged pistons and rods, $300 for LT's, I assume I can use the stock crank by going the 355 route. So if I do LE1 package it's not possible? What other costs am I looking at?

 

Timing set - $90
Assorted gaskets - $100+
Rockers - $250
Pushods - $100
Guideplates - $30ish
Tuning - $175 for an OBD2 car via mail order

Refreshed bottom end? The machine work alone for a 355 is over $1k when done properly. Then add in your pistons, rods, etc, another $1k or so... Hell, VRE's econo shortblock is $3k.

I'd look at $4-5k realistically.. don't get caught with your pants down You gotta pay to play and this **** ain't cheap.

 

With connections, my 357:
Forged SRP pistons
Forged eagle 5.7" H beams
Forged eagle 3.5" Crank
gm847
ported polished heads, bigger valves, valve job
oil pan
timing set
electric water pump
fluids (thats a lot of money right there)
main studs
head bolts
gaskets, gaskets, gaskets
oil pump
oil pickup
oil drive
oil drive spider gear (mine was chewed up)
machine shop
blah blah blah
Still cost nearly $5k, and it started out as being a $3k build. Plan carefully, there will always be extra cost.

 

So very true, my current build started out with heads only and maybe a couple of days of down time. Now 1 year and 12,000.00 later it's almost done lol.

 

Lol, but you got boost and I got stuck with the juice.

 

Yep, I started out with an LE2 setup, spent about another $1k in supporting crap (what i listed up there + injectors & buying a set of 643 heads for porting).

Then #6 piston slapped its exhaust valve.

Now I'm getting a shortblock! lol

 

This is great info guys. Exactly what I needed. I've tried before and not got any response. I've assisted in rebuilds on other vehicles before never on a f-body. I was always under warranty. The machine shop gave me a price for a full rebuild w/stock parts for $1500. This included using polishing existing crank, boring,and grinding valves, assembly, etc. I was basing my numbers off that and trying to esimate adding in the forged pistons and rods, LE heads, and subtracting head work, etc. So most people have about $5k in a similar setup?

 

On the 383 if youre only shooting for 450 or so RWHP a cast steel crank will suffice.
I built my shortblock myself, with the only machining done being the bore, hone, vatting, and balancing. Clearancing is cake and according to my machine shops price list its only 50$ for them to do it. If you have a set of decent used bearing around you can clearance the block yourself before balancing and polishing of the crank.

After youve bought a good set of pistons spend your money on your heads.