my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

Just wondering if some of you guys can help me out here...Im looking to gather up all the pieces I would need to forge a shortblock...I either want to do a 347 or a 383...dono what the price difference are....what do you think the optimum Compression ratio would be for the kind of set up Im looking at?

My goal is to have a turbo set up with about 600whp....like 500whp daily and be able to turn it up to about 650whp MAX, without worrying about damaging the engine....keep in mind the engine wont constantly be at 7650whp, nor do I drag race....

So what all pieces would you guys use to best suit these needs? Or does someone make a shortblock for boosted applications? I would rather gather the pieces myself and have a buddy of mine put it together to save money....

What kind of whp does a built 347 put out? What about a 383?

TRYING TO SAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE!!! WITHOUT SACRAFICING RELIABLITY!!!

Adam98Z

IMHO, 9.0:1 cr, but there are a few possibilities/options you need to consider when doing this. Callies makes really good stroker kits, and mine was less expensive than the lunati 383 when I got it.

As far as whp, again, many possibilities dependant on supporting mods...

Tell ya what...pm sent

my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

See im going to be honest I dono anything about motor building! I dono whether I want flat top pistons or dome top pistons for FI....thats why Im comming here for advice...

I tried a search but couldnt find anything...Im just trying to figure out a good setup to withstand what I want...

LIKE I SAID...Im not looking to spend a HUGE chunk of money...Im just looking to forge my bottom end....

PM RETURNED!

Basicly I just want a FUN, FAST, RELIABLE 500whp DD!

chuntington101

you "could" get away with a stock short block with some truck heads on there. but it might not last very long. if you are on a realy tight buget i would say swap the pistons out for something a little stronger and that get the comp. ratio down to about 9.0-1. now everyone say uprate to rods, and if you have the money you should, but i have been knocking around on here for a while and have never heard of anyone breaking a rod! someone on here was running over 750rwhp on stock rods with forged flat top pistons!!

as for turbo kit well cheap isn't easy. an STS style setup would bve the cheapest and mean you dont have to shift/loose/move/defend form heat anything under the hood. just make sure you spec your turbo right. on a 346 you shouldn't really neeed to go over a T70 for you goals. also with the STS style setup you might beable to get a local exhaust fabricator to make it for you!

you will need and intercooler and fuel system. might want to look at meth on the stock short block for a little added safety. also dont skimp on the tuning! its very important esp. on the stock bottom ends. dept. kills engines no matter how good the internals are!

thanks Chris.

my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

no no Im not meaning going cheap turbo kit or even cheap engine parts...Im basically wondering what all I need to replace to have a reliable DD so I will have no worries!

NassyVette

iTrader: (22)

A stock shortblock with some decent heads should work for 500rwhp. That's probably the most economical way to go. As for forging the block, a 347 will obviously be cheaper than a 383 because you can reuse the stock crank which is a plenty stong for 600rwhp. If you goto a 383 your looking at atleast 1k for an eagle crank. Your end compression ratio should be around 9:1 for your goals.

my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

I just want like 500-600rwhp.....Would I be ok with just buying some pistons and rods? would that be enough for my motor to support that HP?

Turbo LS1 SS

iTrader: (7)

and main studs and head studs and main and rod bearings, prob cam bearings too, 300$+ in gaskets, valve springs, machine work, balance work.....etc etc. theres alot more into it, and if u cheap out it will blow up sooner than if u did it the right way. even then, it will blow up.

run away if ur worried about budgets and reliability. trust me. TRUST ME.

NassyVette

iTrader: (22)

Yes rebuilding your stock block would work fine. Or you could always build your turbo kit first and once thats done look to strengthen your engine. You'll find out eventually that budgets don't really exist once you start building a turbo kit. If you build the turbo around your stock motor you'll be making 500rwhp (600+ with meth if you dare) with a good tune. While you're playing with that start saving for a new block.

Don't forget the fuel pump, injectors, rails, intake, heads, springs, pushrods, oil pump, timing chain, rear end, clutch, etc etc.

my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

Im just trying to find out what all I need to replace to have a safe, reliable block to withstand the amount of HP I want...

02SSLE

iTrader: (26)

if I had it to do over I would stay stock but I am in to deep.

my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

why would you stay stock??

NassyVette

iTrader: (22)

Because these projects turn into never ending money pits

my01ws6

iTrader: (16)

Ohhh LOL....I will be happy with around 500whp, thats where the modding will stop for me and where the "breaking" will start I suppose....

WARPNOVA

iTrader: (3)

I am just going to replace my pistons and rod bolts. I will run just new plain gm main bolts and maybe even gm head bolts unless I can get a good deal on a set of ARP head bolts. H-beam rods would be nice but for that power level, you don't have to have them and that will save you a good 450 at least and more likely 500 bucks that can be used toward other items like fuel system and what not that is extremely important in keeping any motor; forged or not alive. As long as you have a good tune there are plenty of people that have pushed the stock rods to that power level and beyond. Bearings don’t really cost much considering how important good bearings are and a good machine shop should be able to balance your rotating assemble for a decent price and if you have your own electronic scales that weigh in grams, you can weigh your own pistons, rods, rod bolts, and rings and make them all even yourself so all you need to do is tell the machine shop how much to make their bob weights to for balancing. I would also have them check the roundness of the connecting rods after you have torqued the new ARP bolts in them just to make sure they didn’t oval on you. It is possible to do it cheap; it just depends on what you can do yourself and the time and money you want to spend doing it.

I am going to use my chemistry labs scales to weigh out all my stuff and grind the relief’s with my dremel tool till I can make all my piston and rod assembles weigh the same with the rod bolts, rings and rod bearings assembled. If you can assemble your own piston and rod assembles instead of the machine shop that will save a good amount of money on machine work.

THE_SUPRA

never ending money pits and gigantic pain in the ***. plus unlsess you throw a bunch of money you will lose driveability (this is not the rule, but it is the norm)

chuntington101

wasn't calling you cheap or anything just pointing out ways you can get to the power you wanted without spending the earth.

the rear mount turbo idea is actually very cost effective! there is a very nice 408 vette on the vette forum with a rear mount GT42R. this set these guys back about 6K and that was using all top notch components!

thanks Chris.

Kanes2413

iTrader: (9)

im in the same boat with these money pits i got the turbo and fuel system out of the way but it never ends with what i want to do which is where you want to be 500-600 rwhp RELIABLE DD. Suspension stuff adds up not to mention i need a new rear end eventually and transmission which i still dont exactly know where to go im thinking th400.
As for the engine i found a great shop by my house to do everything i want forged bottom end 383 with ported heads and good cam and that will cost 4800.
All in all dont go cheap on the engine or anything for that matter its not worth it b/c it will cost more in the long run

ninetres

iTrader: (35)

You will need AT LEAST 10k.....or be happy N/A. Period.