McCall 94 Formula

I am looking at building my lt1 to a 383 or building a remanufactured block and swapping. I have found what I want as far as kits and maybe block goes. But my big question is should I use the original opti setup or is there a better, more practical setup that I should use? And if I should change the set up, will I be looking at a new pcm to go with the particular system?

As far as price increase goes, I do have new OEM replacements for The distributor, Ignition coil, and modular.

93M6Formula

Sounds like you got a lot of reading to do.

Your stock ignition will work just fine for what you're "building". Which btw, what exactly are your goals, plans, budget, etc etc? If you were looking at cast eagle rotating assemblies, go back and do some research. Maybe before you start anything we can save you from not wasting money on junk and ending up with a 300hp hunk of iron.

If you don't want to run the Opti, the 24x conversion is popular.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

If you're running N/A then the stock ignition will be just fine. All you have to do is loc-tite the rotor screws on the opti you have and it will work. If you want to spin past 7200rpm then you will have to go with an aftermarket system. The 1996 ignitions are supposedly far stronger than their predecessors.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

The opti is a LOT better than the internet will tell you it is. It is not the best thing out there but it definitely gets the job done, money is generally better spent on heads and topend than ignition or even displacement upgrades.

As was already said please give us more detail on what you plan. The general tone of your post sounds like you are possibly green enough to be looking at some real garbage in your quest for displacement, and displacement is NOT the key to power, airflow is so any displacement increases need to be fed air and the stock 350 can utilize a lot more air than the factory parts will feed it.

You can add a couple hundred HP before you need to think about adding displacement to get more.

BALLSS

McCall

the GM ignition system will be fully capable of supporting your 383 build. Spend your $ elsewhere, specifically on quality componets for the new motor.

note the one comment on what not to buy (eagle cast crank) if that was your intention

if you post your goals and intended build parts you will get responses you can chose to accept or decline. Many on this forum have learned the hard way and others have been able to take advantage of those experiences in making better decisions

Ed Wright

iTrader: (1)

I need to freshen my 383" up and sell it. Been hanging on an engine stand for four years now. I used Scat forged crank & Scat 6" rods, JE pistons, Total Seal (NOT gapless!) rings, Roll Master timing set , Comp Cams valve train, ATI dampener, Moroso "blueprinted" (NOT high volume!) oil pump and an electric water pump. The block is filled, and has Program steel main caps.
If I had to do it over I would not change a thing, other that a different grind on the camshaft. New lobe profiles we didn't have when I built it.
Don't go buy the cheapest parts you can find. It will cost you in the long run.

Forgot: Ignition, Optispark with Lock Tite on the rotor screws. I don't think you can buy them new from GM now. My second choice there would be an MSD.
Very surprising to me was finding a couple rwhp with, of all things, an ACCELL 300+ digital ignition box. 5 or 6 LT1 cars in a row picked up 6 to 8 rwhp from one of those boxes. Probably the only thing they offer that is worth a darn. May not be worth much on a stock, NA car. 13-1 or boosted engines loved them.

McCall 94 Formula

I am looking for my car to be street/strip. with around 450rwhp ( when completely done). The reason I am choosing to build the Lt1 to a 383 is to have a strongly built engine that will provide most of the power on its own without having every bolt on known to man. My would like to be finished with a 383 w/ tb and matching intake, headers and cam head combo.
I know its not super high performance but I wasn't sure if there is a better system than stock to complement the higher hp.
this will be my first build. I have been looking at scat 383 kits, with my honed and bored block, or refurbished 355 block

BALLSS

450 "RWHP" is getting up there for a NA motor. Doable but beyond quality componets, machine work on block and bearing cleaances is a must. Scatt forged crank is "OK". Calies is considered better but like so many things higher $ goes with it,

Lloyd Eliott or Advanced Induction head/cam package would provide the quality top end you need.

"Supporting mods" like larger injectors, 255 LPH fuel pump, tune, gears,all "support" the engine mods to get to the 450 power level area.

McCall 94 Formula

Yeah 450 is what I want end result of everthing. if Im at 320-40 hp just after the build that will be okay cause I still have to do suspension, rear end and trans up grades before pushing more than just a 383. I don't know what most people see as a result of building a 383, but I figured maybe between 315-335 hp. I know Ill need to get another clutch before going higher than that. I just replaced the clutch not long ago, probably got less than 300 miles on an oem replacement clutch.

bufmatmuslepants

iTrader: (3)

315-335 is a very healthy bolton m6, or a hotcam a4. A well put together 11.5-12.5:1 383 with good ported heads and a newer custom grind will see 450-470 in an m6, 430-450 in an a4. Just find someone's build who fits your budget and goals and copy it, or start doing some serious homework.