I've been tooling around for a few years about building a 408, and I have never really shared my ideas with anyone other than my excel spreadsheet

Let me know what y'all think:
-TSP 408 Bottom end with arp studs/everything and flat-tops
-The regular ol' L92/L76 setup (can't decide over the "worked" vs stock deal)
-Edelbrock 90mm TB
-LS7 lifters
-Voodoo 60512 (232/238 .599/.601 113)
-Edelbrock S/S 1-7/8 Stepped headers w/3.5" collectors
-TSP TD (or my 4" ORY and then a dump)
-Fuel from the L76 combo
-Good Balancer

A Midwest rearend would be in the works, I've got a monster stage III clutch, and HPTuners Pro. Throw on the Strano suspension kit, brakes, a cage, and those sweet deep dish ZR1's with some sticky tires and I think the car would be DONE! If only that were ever true...

What's it need, and wacha think?
All this, at the end of the day, would cost about $12k Where would you shave it back, and where would you upgrade?

 

ur better off with a specd cam for the l92/ls3 heads but i think u should be good with that cam..12k is were i was close to when it call came down as far as price with labor..oh and a rebuilt rear end hehe...U might want to think about uprading ur tranny

 

I just had the tranny rebuilt due to a gnarled up input shaft (thanks pilot bearing). Other than the rebuild of the tranny, I have done all of my own work, right down to the ring and pinion gears. This website has a LOT of info on about any project you're working on. If I wasnt in a serious time crunch then I would have given it a shot at rebuilding my trans on my own. Maybe it will hold up to what I want to do with it.

The cam... Well, I have had my eyes on it for a long time, and I don't think I want to go much bigger than those specs... but... that was under the DD mindset, and I'm sure that I could be talked into a nasty cam

What I was looking for, btw, was a car that would handle the twisties REALLY well, and a drivetrain setup that would handle several trips across the country... that even my wife could drive.

 

A little more research led me to the info that the Lunati Voodoo cam that I have had my eyes on for so long (#60512 232/238 .599/.601 113lsa) was actually meant for a 6.6 - 7.0 block. Maybe I ought to get intouch with Lunati to see exactly what type of cylinder heads this cam had its R&D with. Since the cam is the heart and brain of an engine, I think it would be wise to build an engine combo around that. I'll keep everyone posted.