transam_388

hi guys new to the forum. i have a 94 B4C camaro. my oil pressure drops and light comes on when at stops lights so i parked the car. i bought another lt1 from a 96 camaro (i think 96) the motor was pulled from a wrecked car that had 83k miles on it. the oil pressure sending unit isnt behind the intake like on my 94. any ways i was orginally just planning on swapping the engines then rebuild the the orginal motor. i have now decide to just build the motor i bought and stroke it so i dont have to replace the engine twice. cuz as we all know they are so fun to do. if i remember correctly ive heard bad things about the eagle 383 crank or kit? id like to go with a 396 but i hear the price to build is alot more. i have about every bolt on already...u/d pulley CIA long tube headers. full msd ign., 52mm tb and all the suspension been upgraded. cat programmer. so i need sum advice wht kit to buy and where from 383 vs 396. cam choices. my budget it about 6k but i have 8k but i assmue to run into some snags along the way.

Injuneer

Will this be a normally aspirated engine? What is the target HP?

The engine should have a partial VIN on it, allowing you to identify the year:

Courtesy of Shoebox

http://shbox.com/1/block_vin.jpg

Are you sure it's an F-Body engine? 93 and early 94 had the oil pressure sending unit on the driver side of the block, right above the oil filter. Late 94 - 97 had is top of the block behind the intake manifold.

transam_388

yes NA. the code says it is a 94. but...the oils sending unit is above the filter and the port behind the intake has a srew in plug. there is a good bead of silicone on the back of intake so maybe for some reason it was changed? is there and block and head difference? at least i can built the motor and work on the small details later. not real sure on hp goals but still want a car i can drive on the street with a noticable cam

Injuneer

Early 94's had the sending unit above the filter, as I already mentioned. An early 94 would have a fairly low production sequence number (last 5 digits of VIN).

The back of the intake is normally sealed from the factory with silicone. There is no gasket at that location. That's the location that frequently leaks oil, and it isn't unusual for the intake manifold to have been removed and new port gaskets installed, along with a bead of silicone front and rear.

Earlier heads are better - e.g. - casting #10207643 - more material for porting. All LT1 blocks are the same, except for the main support caps. Corvette LT1 engines, and all "replacement" LT1 engines used 4-bolt mains. B-Body and F-Body are 2-bolt mains.

transam_388

ok so the donor motor is a early fbody then so what am i looking at for a build 383 vs 396 and are the eagle cranks really that bad and be avoided?

Chimera96

IMHO, stay away from Eagle. Go forged. Scatt is a decent budget crank. Calles and Ohio are top shelf

Injuneer

Just Google "Eagle crank problems"......

MachinistOne

IMO the extra 10 cubic inches are not worth possibly grinding into water and junking the block as more than a few people on this forum have posted about happening. Stick with a 3.75" crank...I use Callies , K1, and Scat cranks for the most part, I avoid Eagle because of serious quality issues I saw with them in the past although I've been hearing that their stuff has gotten better in the last couple years.

For the LT1, I get really good deals on rotating assemblies using K1 crank & rods + Wiseco pistons, great quality parts with a nice modern ring pack.

You'll need to have the block torque plate honed, align hone the mains with ARP studs, deck the block, and properly balance your new rotating assembly.

Cam depends upon a lot of factors, figure out if you're going to have oem heads built and ported or go to aftermarket castings, if you don't have any really high HP goals or plan on competitively racing it then factory castings properly ported should be perfectly fine.

How much power you want will determine what the solid answers will be to your questions.

Smog in your state?

Stay with timing gear driven water pump or go electric?

97WS6SCharged

I've never trusted Eagle or Scat cast cranks. Used Eagle's 4340 stuff on a few builds with good results.

87Aerocoupe

On my two 383 LT1s one has a Howards Track Smart 4340 forged crank and the other has a Cola 4340 forged crank. I've heard that the Howards Track Smarts' are no longer available in the 1pc rms for SBC and I'm not sure about the Cola's either but Ohio, Callies, Lunati, K1 or Scat all make good 4340 forged cranks.