Well, right now my car "should" produce about 400 rwhp in its current condition. We'll know in a couple weeks here as I will be installing new injectors and re-tuning it....last time it put down 390/360 with shorties.

Right now, the shortblock is stock save for the COMP 306 cam and AFR hydra-rev kit.

The Heads are Morgan Motorsports Aggressor series, flow 290cfm on the intake.

I am going to build a shortblock pretty soon and want to go forged and I also would like to get a different cam that will produce a bit more power. I'd really love to be in the 415rwhp range.

I want to go 30 over (355) and keep the compression around the stock range also. So basically I'd like to build a stock LT1 with forged internals.

Can I get some crank/piston/CAM suggestions?

I hear that the LE3 cam is pretty stout and should deliver a bit more power than the 306.....I also hear that Joe O's cams run good.

What do you guys think?


-Matt

 

No suggestions?

 

I'm running a stout lil 355:

Mahle "PowerPak" forged pistons
Scat 6" I-beam forged rods
Stock GM crank, lightened/balanced
Clevite H Bearings
Durabond cam bearings

 

Why do you want to use less suitable parts? If the stock rods and crank are in good condition and don't have a ton of miles on them, I'd say re-use them if they look good after the teardown. Polishing the crank journals would be as far as I would go for good condition parts. If the bores and pistons look good, just re-ring it, pop in new bearings, a new oil pump, and button it back up. If it needs to be bored and new pistons are therefor needed I suggest a bit higher compression to go along with whatever cam you select. Pick pistons close to the same weight as the stockers to make balancing easier. If you must (or just really want to) replace the rotating assembly I can't see why you wouldn't want a stroker.

But if you are looking for a list of brands for a new rotating assembly, here's my thoughts. Optimal piston choice would NOT be forged. A set of KB hypereutectics is perfect for a moderate performance build, cheaper than a good forged piston and lighter. As mentioned above, you could do a lot worse than a stock crank and rods, but if you MUST have forged stuff I have to qualify my answer. I have a visceral revulsion to Chinese parts. Nonetheless. just about everyone's favorite low price choice is Eagle's stuff so I will leave it at that. If you don't want my piston advice, go for SRP's.

If you want a convenient "sportsman racer" quality forged RA, another choice would be one of the complete kits from Lunati. They come with the crank, rods, pistons, rings, and bearings for about ~$2,500. That would be my favorite choice for convenience, quality, and value. I have seen a bunch of these and have been consistently impressed. Just a couple of hundred dollars more than the Eagle stuff to boot.

Rich

 

Well, the current shortblock has 120k on it.

The reason to go forged is because I am planning on going Blown or Turbo here soon, and maybe even some nitrous to go with it.

I just wanted some opinions on what has worked for some people here with stout dyno/E.T. #'s along with those of you running power adders.

 

You didn't say anything about a blower or a turbo! You need to decide that now, and also an approximate boost level as the choice of parts will be critically dependent on those variables. The main issue is selecting pistons to provide the correct CR and that can stand up to the anticipated boost/hp level.

Whole different ballgame. And Since the CR should be 9:1 or lower, you are going to have trouble making power without the power adder. Basically, iif it isn't going to have the PA now you need different pistons, at least, than once the PA is added. A Lunati kit is still not a bad choice, depending on the details, as they do make them with dished "blower" pistons as well as other choices.

Though a bit more expensive and a bit more trouble to orchestrate, here's my choice for a decent quailty RA for a blower or turbo car. Callies Dragonslayer or Lunati Sledgehammer crank. Lunati Pro Mod rods, and JE pistons. With a good set of rings and bearings and pins it will run <$3K with internal balancing. Again, there is no good reason not to "stroke it" and one good reason to do so - performance.

Rich