Alright so I'm trying to get as much rwhp as I can out of my LT1. This is kind of an internal debate so I'd like to discuss this with you more experienced guys out there.

I have headers big cams cai ported intake and ported heads with arps, aftermarket fuel pump, injectors, tranny, and some other stuff. I'm guessing its at about 400 now with everything done, I'll know for sure in a few days when I have it dynoed.
I want to get as much out of my 97 z28 as I can, and right now the only work I can think of doing to get more hp is forged internals and a supercharger. My concern is how many psi could the lt1 handle from a supercharger with forged internals? What would be a safe amount?
This is a longer term project, buying parts as the money comes, and I have a full hobby shop on base to work with, but no garage of my own, with the exception of friends who are mechanics.

I'm debating on doing the work for the charger but if I'm at about 400 now I have no idea what to expect when I put it in. I really want atleast a 10 second car but refuse to use n2o. My main debate is doing the work to build up this lt1, or converting it to ls1. I'd probably get more out of the ls1 for cheaper, but it would end up costing me more in the long run, having to re do all the wiring, rebuilding everything else, etc..

Point is, with what I have done now, what else can I do to get more power to from this lt1? Like I said, I want atleast a 10 second, I just dont know what else I can do to accomplish this. I'm kinda in a rut. Advice or discussion is appreciated.

 

I don't even know where to begin.

What kind of headers do you have?
You have more than one cam?
How big are these "big" cams? When talking about camshafts, "big" is a relative term.
CAI, got that.
Ported intake - who ported it? Are the runners ported or is it just opened up for a larger throttle body?
Ported heads with "arps?" What are "arps?" Who ported the heads? Are they stock castings?
Aftermarket fuel pump. What kind?
What size injectors?
You have a tranny? What kind?
What is the "some other stuff."
Forged internals alone won't give you any horsepower. They support HP made in the valvetrain.
The amount of boost you can run with a forged bottom end could be anywhere from 10 to 30, depending on how much $$$ you put into it.
A hobby shop is far different than a speed shop.
A well-built N/A motor will run 10s for much cheaper than a supercharged forged LT1. Nitrous would be even cheaper.

Answer all those questions, and we'll try this again.

 

Alright, so before I elaborate, I just picked this up from a buddy before he deployed, so I don't have 100% details.

It has hooker longtube headers and it looks like he had them hooked up to a single exhaust pipe that split down the middle to dual.
The cam:GM847 (234@.539/ 242@.558 (1.5RR)----112 LSA)
I have no idea, unfortunately, who ported the heads or intake, nor the castings.
Delteq ignition
walboro 255 fuel pump, 30lb injectors

I'm not the most experienced guy in the world, I'm pretty new to this, so bare with me. I'm still learning. I just figured if I had forged internals, it'd be safer to use with a super charger. I make plenty of money to support it, I just need advice for a good starting point to start working on the 10 second car, and learn at the same time. I don't even know where to begin, so here I am, lol.

 

 

Most definately not a big cam but sounds like a good car.

 

Untill you tear it down and have someone look at those heads and intake you really don't know what you have to work with. There may be info stamped on the front or back of the head that will tell you a lot more about who did them or when the did them. Forged bottom end..... you now need to figure out how much you want to drop cash wise into that bottom end cuz you can spend 3000 to 5000+ on a short block by the time it is ready to have a cam, lifters, heads, pushrods ect. You are going to want to match the piston, head, and cam as well as other stuff to the blower package you want to run and you need to figure out how much boost you want to run. All of this play a big roll in what piston, head, and cam you should use. Also how fast do you want to spin the engine will decide what valve train parts are needed. A lot more to a bost engine than N/A, and if you don't know much it is best to start with questions about what different blower setups people have used to find out what is going to match your goals. There are known problems for heavy bost engines that can be fixed by going to after market controllers but that sets up new challenges. A forged bottom end wont gain power, it will make for a solid building platform. Right now you are getting close to the edge of a stock bottom end with out risking loosing the block via rod failure or crank. It's got some room but how far do you want to push it. best bet would be to buy a forged short block built for boost. once you have that and if you can use the heads your on your way. To increase power now, low boost could give you hp a boost. Also is it 400 crank or 400 wheel hp? 10 seconds.... I'd say wait and build a low 10 to high 9 car. What are your power goals?