What would be some good set ups for a reliable 400rwhp street car?(I dont really care about nehting but the power)

 

You're likely to get all kinds of answers here, but your question is very broad. Do you mean with power adder or naturally aspirated? Goals for the car are important, too.

My set up is extremely durable and has been togther since 1995. I'm at 400rwhp thru an A4 which consists of an LPE 383 with Callies crank, Oliver 5.85" billet rods, JE pistons, LPE/Eric Bradby heads, small Joe Overton cam (duration in the 220/230 range.) Compression is 11.2:1. Nothing fancy, just a good solid combo I can drive anywhere and get 21 mpg on the highway. Been running 11s for 10 years with no engine problems at all. I did freshen the top end last year with Joe O. and Eric B. only to go faster, not because of any failure. The bottom end is still just how Lingenfelter assembled it in 1995. My times are in my sig and they are about to get better with the addition of Kooks LTs and an EWP. I know I'm overkill on the bottom end parts, but after almost 11 solid years on the same parts, I'd say its pretty durable...

--Alan

 

Naturally aspirated. Well, I just wanna do 2 things race at the track and cruze around town about 3 days a week.(Eating rice etc... )

 

the forged eagle stuff will be plenty strong, doesn't cost too much either. arp main studs, head studs, rocker studs also. reliability and cost are directly proportional, there's a reason oliver rods are effin expensive, same with the callies, lunati stuff. good bearings (clevite h), good pushrods, I'm just rattling random stuff off. Basically at 400 rwhp, stock stuff is gonna break. 3500 stall, you'll want at least a 12-bolt rear. Beefiest trans you can buy!!!

that aside, I'd say an LE2.5 head/cam, forged 355, exessively built trans, 3500 stall, 3.73 geared 12 bolt on MT DRs.

unfortunately there's unreliable parts, mostly reliable parts, and overbuilt parts. Seems like the first two are pretty close in price, and the overbuilt stuff costs 2x more. ask ABA what his shortblock cost

 

Yep, my stuff was a little pricey, BUT over almost 11 years it doesn't owe me anything. I've got friends who are on their 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th motors and have easily surpassed what I've got in mine by a long shot. My set up is overbuilt and thats fine with me. You don't have to have the shortblock I have, but it sure is nice to know for future reference that you'll get 10 plus years out of it...I'm like a long term test dummy...

--Alan

 

Alan, great example of spending the money the first time to save money down the road. You see this in racing all the time, the guy with a $20K motor spends less than the guy who rebuilds the $10K motor 3 times.

Most of this though is the machine work and assembly. If you have top notch machine work and you check everything in the motor as far as clearances and tolerance, the motor will live for a long, long time. The guy who does some of my block work ( I use two different guys ) has circle track motors that go for YEARS without a refresh. 3,4,5,6 seasons between rebuilds in circle track stuff is unheard of, but if you do awesome machine work, it makes it so much easier. Then again that can be the difference between a block with $600 worth of machine work and one with $1800 worth.

Bret

 

Thanks, Bret...Yeah, my motor was done back when John himself had a hand in the entire build process and it shows...It was not cheap, but it was $$ well spent. Of course, now that I've said how reliable everything is, I'll go outside and it will explode...(knocks on wood that it won't)...

--Alan

 

I believe the Scat and Probe assemblies are a little better quality than the Eagle stuff. I believe they will be cheaper in the final bill if ya get the right rods and they both have the right ones. There isn't as much clearance work with stroker rods and a bit less cost in machine work.

 

I spoke with a guy I know who used to manage Summit's engine shop in Ohio. Supposedly they assembled alot of Lingenfelter's stuff there. I actually asked him about doing any LT1's, thinking of yours ABA383. He said they did quite a few actually. Whenever I get around to a new motor I'll definately be talking to him.

-Dustin-