TTopJohn

Are you sure? For how long? If anyone has done it, I would like to see what happens to an LS1 that runs 5 psi on a stock motor for a long while, like 50K miles. Seems that even at 5psi, you are putting a lot more pressure on the stock rings and pistons than is healthy for them. Rod bolts come to mind as well. Lots of people with blowers and Turbos end up having to go into the engine and repair/strengthen things after a while. So be aware of that cost.

The easy answer in my mind is a medium sized cam (TR220 on 114, MTI B1,TR224 on a 114LSA something along those lines) a set of ported heads(you can spend anything from $1200 for Patriots to ~$2500 for MTI or GTP heads), LS6 intake manifold, a set of headers, and an LS1 Edit dyno-tune. You could get all that installed and still have some of your $8000 left over to tie up loose ends/fix stuff that breaks.

Big cube motor is going to eat up too much of your budget, both in intial cost and indirectly by breaking other stuff(tranny, rear end, etc..) quicker.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

Anything you do to get more power out of a motor is going to result in fewer hours between rebuilds. The only exception I can think of is an underdrive pulley because that works by reducing parasitic loses. I know a guy that's got close to 50,000 miles on a blown SBC truck engine running 5psi. The problem is most people can't resist increasing the boost until they break something. In many ways a blower running a reasonable amount of boost is easier on the engine then cam and heads because you don't have to rev so high. The rod bolts are not stressed by combustion presure, only the inertial forces of running high rpm. Rings and cylinder walls experiance the highest wear at high rpm because oil film thickness gets thinner. Having said all that, I still have to admit a high-reving, camed small block is the most exciting for me!

BIG PD

there is really not way you can build a stroker motor and have a reliable car for 8k...figure 4k for the kit...good set of heads and a cam for 2k...tranny 2k...rear end 2k...headers 1k...there are just to many things u need for that kind of a job. you could invest the money and save up for a big ci motor though

KraZy

iTrader: (4)

Wow, this damn mod bug is expensive!!

I rebuilt my tranny when my TC exploded, hopefully they made it stronger as I requested.

OK...no bigger CID is now out of the question.
Is there a good argument for not going SuperCharged?

BIGBOS

Build a iron block, stock crank setup, bored out, valve reliefs, big spray cam, some good rods and pistons....and a direct port... Thats about 6K, and will put down some damn good power....

Mike K.

You could go supercharged, get a solid fuel system i.e fuel pump and injectors, that would put you around 4500 I think. Then you could get a set of headers for a grand and a blower cam for 600 including pushrods and retainers, then get an ls1 edit dyno tune to make sure it is all dialed in correcctly, This would be about 500 bucks. Now your at 6500 assuming you do the install by yourself. Use about 1000 to get your suspension set up right ( subrame conn, mid length tq arm, control arms, panhard, shock tower brace, and maybe sway bars if you like turning). This will leave you 500 for 2 nice new drag radials. After this you will have to start saving cause your rear will go out eventually.

TWS

iTrader: (63)

Most of the guys on this thread are not siding with my suggestion of duplicating my Vortech setup. That's fine as I am really an NA guy myself. I like making power "all motor" and this is my first FI experience.

That said, I have to add so far... so great! My boost does not come up until about 2500 rpm, so just tooling around, I am not stressing anything. As far as reliability: 8K miles and zero problems. Just install it properly, upgrade the fuel system, and do the computer tuning. Then enjoy.

Also, your overall intent for the car should dictate how you build your car. My SS only comes out of the garage 1-2 times a week, never goes to the track, and I keep her clean enough to enter in a few shows. That's why there's no $2200 12 bolt out back. I take her to the local "street meet" car shows and occasionally school someone who thinks they are fast but isn't. This is done roll racing, however, and not from a standing start. The car fits my intent for it just fine and my '94 Z28 does a lot of dig racing at the track and perhaps elsewhere , to satisfy my need in that category.

h53speed

You really want to look into a new tranny. A local guy down here lost his tranny with a fairly mild NA setup. He is also a pretty conservative driver. He got a local shop to do a rebuild and lost it after around 500 miles. Just my .02.

blackLS1SS

I would start with the 12 bolt rear. Then I would like at chassis stuff like frame connectors, strut tower brace and stuff like that.
If you want lots of power you should strengthen the car first