Hey everyone i was wondering, my 94 Z28 is gonna be paid off soon, so i was thinking of taking out a loan, and putting some major mods into the car. I was thinking of buying either the 355 or 383 Stroker motor from LS1 Speed. I was just wondering what you guys all thought would be a better route to go? I am Also considering doin some forced induction possibly after i get it done, either a procharger or turbo, possibly some spray, but im not sure on the spray yet.

But here is what i am looking for, im looking for something thats still going to be pretty streetable, because right now this is my only car, but i do have emissions, so i need something that is going to pass that for at least right now, until i can get my car registered at my cottage in Wi. Im also then thinking about doing a stage 3 Transmission, with like a 3200 or possibly a 4000 Stall, then with some 3:73 gears, but im not sure on the rear end.

I think thats about everything, so what do u guys think about this for a decent streetable monster. I dont know all about the technical things about the motors, like cams, heads, all that kind of stuff, so any more help you guys could offer would greatly appreciate it, cause the main reason i wanna do this is because most of my buddies have imports, hondas, acuras, those kinds of cars, but even though they are done right( not pep boys style, they are really good looking cars) but they still have the ricer attitude saying they could beast domestics and all this, im only 19, and most of them are like 22-23, so i just want something that is gonna shut them up for a while..LOL..alright everyone i appreciate your help and info in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you guys with all the info you have that could really help me out, thanks ALOT
JacobK

 

welcome jacob. It seems that if you are going to be putting a lot of money into your engine and want power and streetability then turbo is way. A turbo 383 would be nasty though the compression might be kind of a bitch to get right and emmisions may also be a bitch. Do any and a new 9" or 12-bolt will be a necessity.

and if I'm not mistaken, a stock LT1 will shut up 99% of the rice on the streets, at least thats how it is around here.

It all really depends on the money you have to spend. You could go all out and build a big cube forced induction monster for big $$$ or you could put a good heads/cam combo and a 200 shot for a lot cheaper. Just remember that there is more to making big power than just horsepower. you need to build the car around that engine- tranny, rear, gears, suspension, tires, etc. which is all $$$ you gotta spend.
good luck though!

 

Hey Jacob. Another way to go for some rice-beater power would be a Vortech supercharger. Relatively straight forward installation (compared to turbos or a stroker kit), and it's supposed to be 100% emmisions legal, so it won't screw you up there.

Yes, I do realize it's more money than ported heads and a cc306 cam; I'm just tossing the idea out there because it's what I'm planning on buying.

Other suggestions for you:
-the tranny work you already mentioned
-tires
-12 bolt rear
-3.73 gears
-1LE aluminum driveshaft
-aftermarket torque arm and LCA's
-borla catback

 

also consider STS turbo kit, it's the rear mount.

 

If u live in IL I know a way around that lil emissions prob...pm me

 

If you're looking for streetable monster, my opinion would be nitrous oxide. It doesn't effect emissions because you aren't always using it. If you get a nitrous cam, it's easier to pass emissions anyway since you'll want the wider LSA. Like I was telling one of my friends the other day, if you use a big shot of juice, just go 355 because the nitrous makes plenty of torque. Just look at any dyno chart for nitrous and there's substantial torque increases. And with 355 you can skip some of the machining since the stock stroke will be used. I've read some of the LS1 guys on this board shooting 250 on stock cranks so if you wanted to, you would just have to get rods and pistons and save like $600-$1300 on a crank. Just a suggestion; if I could do it again, I would do a 355 with a carb and 500 direct port shot but that's just me.

 

Hey Dhdenney, How do them borla xr1's sound with the 396?

 

Good question

I agree with the notion of a sprayed 383. Unless you have absolutely no limits for price, a turbo 383 is going to cost an absolute FORTUNE. For the cheap route, go with a 11.X:1 forged 355 and get her tuned for a 150+ shot of happy gas.

If you've got the big money, go with the 383 and turbo, but it'll take a while to get it streetable. When it's done though, it sure will be a head turner

 

The first thing get you a car that is cheap on gas. Second iwould start at the back rearend first tranny stall second. then you can get an engine built at a local machine shop cheaper than mail order find you a good machine shop ask some racers they will tell you who is good and who is not just ask and alot of differnt racers. cheaper hear usaly dont mean better but most expensive is not always the best. i would build a 383 they are cheap to build eagle and scatt makes a 4340 for around 450 to 600$ bucks a machine shop can order them and beat summit or jegs. get you a set of 4340 rods should get them for around 200 to 250$ and je pistons around 400$ get ready to spend some money for machine work about 800 to 1000$ balence rotaing asembly have studs put in bottom end and line bore zero deck bore and hone. the best head for the $$$ is TPIS AFR ALOT OF HEADS OUTFLOW BUT AT LOW LIFT THESE KICK BUTT comp makes a nos cam with 544 lift with 1.6 rockers cant remember the duration but it is a off the shelf get some R lifters from comp also. buy you gaskets from machine shop they can get the good felpro cheaper than mail. (dont get the kit to high and dont use half of them and they are not the best they offer) The 383 will be fun without nos but with it you should get in the low 11 or with good air and tune high 10s

 

Sounds like a friggin' NASCAR!

 

just remember ur not going no where if u cant put all that hp/tq to the ground....suspension first...hell ive heard of people being in twelves with suspension/12bolt and slicks.

 

That's why I said it would be tough...

You're going to have to rebuild/replace basically every part of your drivetrain. Your entire motor will need to be rebuilt with heads and a cam suited for boost, you'll need to beef up the tranny, and you're going to need a new rear and a drag suspension. The brakes are practically the only thing that you don't need to modify... but if you're spending all the money, you might as well.

 

I would go with a 355 on gas(cheap), that way you can spray a rather large shot on a cheap motor, keep some high rev's safely, and not worry about over-spinning a heavy bottom end. Bore .030, but I would keep the stock rods. The stock rods can handle a crap load(upper 400's) but its best to get them shot peened to be safe(forged rods would be optimal, but you are working on a budget and so shot-peened stockers will do the trick if neccesary) and save the money for a good set of forged pistons. Stick with the stock crank(polished and chamfered) or possibly switch to the Impala nodular iron(poished and chamfered) to rev a little faster(revs count on a 355). Get nice bearings(clevite or another reputable bearing manuf.) ARP rod and main bolts to keep the bottom end of the motor in check. Purchase a nice oil pump, high pressure or high volume, your choice, an oil pickup, and be done with the bottom end. You now have a bottom end that will spin high/safe enough to use nitrous for prolonged periods of time without damage, can take a larger cam with a wide LSA(which will raise your powerband) to pass emissions, and will be suffeciently lubed to where the motor should spin freely with very little friction. Now, just pick out a good split pattern nitrous cam with a large exhaust duration(8-12 degrees larger than intake duration) that can accomodate a large shot of gas(smaller duration for smaller shot). Your heads should be ported for the cam, and a good head shop will be able to do that for you. It would be best if you consulted a head shop when choosing your cam as well and they can port the heads to match accordingly. Your heads are something that you will want to take a great deal of care in beacuse that is where your power and all of your speed will come from in a 355, and if they are done right, the motor will run like a raped ape. Your suspension will be a key factor in racing, especially on the street if you hav a lot of power. With an auto, you wont be shocking your rear end as much, especially if you dont have the torque of a stroker, so you should be fine with a basic 10 bolt(no need for monstrous internal upgrades to the rear end). However, with a 355, I would suggest a 3600 stall, or maybe larger, so you can jump off the line pretty decently and get to your spraying RPM's sooner(4k+). 3.73's would be great for spray because you have the extra RPM at the end of the track... you might even be able to toy with a shorter gear if you feel like running a taller tire, but that kinda negates the purpose. Sorry if any of this is babbled, I had to run through this real quick cause im at work, but hope this helps, this is what I would do if I was on a budget.

 

gangly....about the oil pump....is that only for stroker or a tip for any one on spray

 

gangly just said exactly what im gonna build when my 105000 mile engine just cant take the spray anymore

 

Like mentioned earlyer If you looking to kill the ricers. Do what i did. VORTECH.
There was this turbo eclips my buddie had. And we would race and we were door to door And that was after a hypertech upgrage and exhaust and cold air intake. But as soon as I put the blower on. I left him right from the line. And not only that but your rear end will hold up fine for a long time as long as you dont run slicks. JUST MY 2 CENTS

 

oil pump is good anytime you are gonna pull extra rpms, and since nitrous will pull the rpm's that much faster, i would definately upgrade the oil pump as soon as possible. Nothing like flooring my car, looking down, and seeing 75-80 PSI.