Alright so the spare LT1 I have is stripped and ready to go, however I have a few questions before I do this build, I know people have had trial and error and I want to minimize that because im sure its expensive. So I have money saved up for this....

Top end: I was thinking about sending my heads over to LE and have him do the LE2 option and have him match up a cam with it.

Bottom end: I was thinking about doing this rotating assembly #942-1-40760BI from Jegs.com - My question would be if I wanted to run a Turbo setup should I stick with the 383 or leave it a 350?

Right now im working on the suspension and brakes and im doing the rear end, tranny and motor at the same time.

All help is appreciated, id love to know what id be running into with that setup

 

for a turbo its not really going to matter how many cubes you go with. The 383 will need bigger heads, more cam, larger turbo, etc than the 350/355. But you can make great power with both.

What are your goals for the car? What curent mods do you have? We need more info on your car and the plans you have for it.

 

Remember, turbo and blowers are bolt on cubic inches. You really need to weigh the intended usage and RPM range your shooting for. Forced induction doesn`t really care about ported or stock heads to a certain degree. If you decide to stick to stock stroke, I have a new all forged crank and rods I can hook you up with. 383 won`t really see much benefit over a 350. You will pick up a few more ponies, but at extra expense having to go to larger parts. Although the 383 setup really doesn`t cost more than a 350 these days aside from FI

 

My goal is to be above 500 horse to the wheels maybe even 600... it wont be a course car and it will see the track on a rare occasion so its more street like a DD although in the future I wont be driving it everyday.

My current mods are shorty headers, CAI, dumped exhaust with free flow cats a tune and a 50 shot but I wont be running nitrous on the new motor... I dont plan on being the fastest around but have some ***** when I want to get up and go, you know what I mean?

 

what kind of crank and rods do you have?

 

The LT1 is a 1pc RMS while that kit shows a 2pc RMS. While it can be used you would need an adapter to use it. Also I'm not sure, but you may need a different oil pan.

 

I dont think it will matter to much on how many cubes you end up going with if youre gonna be running a turbo. I would make sure to at least get forged rods and pistons and build it for low compression. Also you might wanna let LE know youre setting this up for a turbo because his cams usually have a very low LSA which the boost will not like. Just my 2 cents..........good luck with your setup bro.

 

yeah im getting a different pan anyhow... but where can I find the adapters at?

 

yeah i figured the CI wont matter but like with boring it, you dont think the cylinder walls would be too thin causing some overheating problems?

 

FWIW, stay with a short rod 350. Infact if I were going turbo, I'd probably destroke the engine for some real fun. Stick with a short stroke and it will allow you to keep a lot of meat on the top of the piston. The shorter stroke will let it rev easier and put less stress on parts. I'd build it with floating wrist pins and 12:1 compression for now. Then you can buy another set of pistons down the road and drop compression down for the boost. But then you're building twice instead of once. If you're going to boost, you're better off boosting right off the bat. Then you can build it the way you want and not have issues down the road, but definitely keep to the smaller C.I. to allow for less issues and prices for that matter....

 

yeah I get what youre saying... id love to turbo it now but I have like 7 grand right now and my tax return aside from the 7k I have is going to suspension and brakes... so I know the turbo will set me way over that... how much would a turbo set up be for the LT1?

 

Yeah the size wont really change if you can run forced induction or not but the compression ratio will determine that. You probably want to say about 9-9.5:1 depending on the amount of boost

 

Truthfully it depends on how much you want to spin you're motor. Now turbos will make more power the higher you spin them. To start a good kit is going to start at around 5K for something you can DD. If you're going straight track setup triple it. So to start you're already looking outside of your 7K. I say just build a cheap 383 or 396. If you do it with cast parts (there is no reason for forged on a N/A DD engine) you'll save money. Then you can spend better money on the cam and heads and have a very good street engine that will last you forever....or at least 100K miles.......

BTW...longer rods and strokes lead to more piston speed......that will kill an engine

 

ok duh, you made a good point... if I do cast i will save more money and I figured the LT1 I will pull out of my car already I can take my time and build it right with a turbo setup and buy a buick regal body and drop the motor in it...

question is with a nasty 383 or 396 how much hp and torque will i be looking at?

 

depends on what you want to spend. If you do it right you can build one heck of a NA street motor for 7K. Look for a budget rotating assembly from summit, then you'll spend a few G's on an LE or AI top end and be set. The only issue then would be the machine work needed. If you put it all together yourself you should have a very good engine for reasonable. If you're going big ci. call Loyd and tell him you want the most from the engine for a street car with a little tracking and no power adder. That'll make one heck of a motor that you can drive for a long time and still have some good power numbers.

 

Email LE or AI or one of the sponsors and tell them your goals for the car and ask what rotating assembly parts, pistons, etc. you should use. I would say realistically to rebuild your current LT1 and bore it out to a 355, reuse the stock crank, buy good forged internals, etc. I think you would be happy with AI 200cc or LE2 heads with a custom cam on your car.

Turbo builds add up and realistically $7,000 isn't going to get you a reliable rebuilt motor and turbo kit.

With a NA build, you can make some good power ~370-410rwhp (through stalled auto) with required bolt-on's, longtubes, ory, decent sized cam, ported intake, 58mm TB, etc.

You need to decide realistically what you want in the long run and we can help you better. A lot of variables in setting up a car for NA or for boost when the money isn't there yet for a turbo kit.

Let us know

 

the one thing I don't agree with is the RWHP figures everyone seems to think an NA motor produce. I've personally seen SBC engines that are not extravagant and make over 500 rwhp. It is possible and done in normal SBC's on a regular basis. 500 crank HP used to be huge numbers....now 600+ really is not that hard. You have to be meticulous in your build practices and you have to know how to do it. And even then it's more of the right choice of parts....and heads are the big choice to get right. You will definitely need to consult with the right people on cam and head choice, but do not limit yourself to stock ported heads. I don't care how good they flow, you cannot count out the aftermarket. It may cost more, but you will be a lot happier than limiting yourself. There are a lot of choices out there so sit down and make out some goals and then start deciding.

 

Honestly id be happy with a 355 setup on the motor but I would love even more a 383 or 396 setup in it as the phrase goes "there is no replacement for displacement"

id prolly go with a 396 if it could be done, I mean I have 7 grand I can just mess with and not to mention what I will be getting paid in the mean time. So money really isnt an issue, im not paying anyone to take out the motor and put the new one in so im saving about 2 grand there on stupid labor.

LE has been a very respectable guy on here so ill prolly choose to go with him, but I wont be limited to the stock heads, if I can go aluminum heads id do that but truthfully id love no less than 500 rwhp

 

I would do a forged 355 using the stock crank before i did a cast 383. Also what about a used turbo kit or supercharger setup. I think I have seen a couple of each floating around if you search forsale section.

 

well lets say I use my stock crank for instance and also just bought the pistons, bearings, rings and junk how much would I be leftover for a turbo kit, I saw one for 4500 bucks for twin 70mm