350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

Looking to build a budget 383/396 over the next few winters. Current 350lt1 has a 215/224 cam and i must say im addicted to the increase in torque.

Would like to use my current 48mm TB, stock intake, meziere ewp, gm 1.6 roller rockers "self alligning", 1 5/8 mac headers, catless y pipe and magnaflow catback.

Upgades i would like to make for the 383: LE1 or LE2 heads "whichever makes the most midrange torque"
Obviously a bigger cam than the 215/224 but i really want to keep rpms below 6k, focus on nasty torque in the 2500-5500 range, this is just the powerband i enjoy the most, high rpm hp is cool but the midrange torque hit is what i enjoy the most. And i will probably keep my self alligning roller rockers.

So question is whats a good cam/head combo for brutal torque, but still can push close to 400rw in a 383?
Can i get away with a non-forged bottom end with this hp and rpm range?

myltwon

iTrader: (1)

Don't waste your time and money on a budget bottom end. I had a cast eagle kit and like many others on here ended up with a broken crank.

I made around 380/420 with my LE cam and locally ported heads on a 12:1 383 with self aligning rockers and limiting myself (and what I asked Lloyd to spec the cam for due to running sa rockers and not wanting to rev the eagle balanced rotating assembly very high) around 6K rpm limit. This was through a stalled auto BTW.

with LE2 heads over the heads I have you'd probably fair better.

350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

Def heard about cast eagle cranks being junk! I wouldnt think forged would be necessary for 400rw though? LE2 heads are def on my list.

BALLSS

Scatt forged crank is good and budget friendly. Don't get cast anything on crank.....stated by a member of the 2 piece Eagle cast crank club.

staying on the smaller side for cam will likely make more low-mid range TQ. Talk to Lloyd

LT1Bird97

either golen or karl ellwein would be my guess for a short block. I ended up finding a rebuilt shortblock for my bottom end but if I didnt find this I would have probably went with a golen street engine myself

BALLSS

Its just the cast China crap cranks that are junk at any HP level. A "quality" cast crank can handle 400 hp

I bought a Golen 383 forged 4 bolt short block which has been fine for several years now. As noted Karl at ERE would be a good source for one also.

atlantadan

LT1Bird97

Why repost an image someone posted yesterday in a different topic while offering absolutely no insight on your own. How lazy and useless can you honestly be?

atlantadan

Because it kind of speaks for itself and was rather brilliant when posted yesterday, douche, and its perfectly applicable to this thread. I.E. "Budget, if it means 'cheap', isn't going to tick the other two boxes"

Its not really a hard concept to grasp if you try harder. Or did my explanation of the gif really make things clearer for you?

cuisinartvette

under 6000 rpm scat, Rpm even Ohio crank have reasonable kits
5.7 rod is fine, piston choice yours...id use a cheap forged one before a good hyper
No need for high buck parts if its not a high rpm motor
If you got something like the hotcam or a hair bigger keep the stock intake port the stock heads with stock valves you can still make decent power without spending a ton. Even 230ish cfm which is easy to get out of a stock LT1 head without making it big will get ya by
LT1 intake can support lots of power stock tb is fine its good enough for the 502 crate motors

smitty2919

2500-5500 rpm...that's basically the whole rpm range. not really "midrange" IMO. Stock motor rev limiter is what 6000? I think I have a shift light coming on at 5800 personally.

My I am 100% stock motor with only full exhaust.

350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

I consider 3000-4500rpm to be my true mid range. But with a performance build i still think all the way up to 5500rpm is kind of mid range. I feel with a built motor 5700-7000rpm is high rpm. Its all matter of opinion.
I can tell you my bolt on m6 lt1 with my 215/224 cam has the roll on power in the midrange to fishtail second gear once it hits 3500rpm and thats with lca's, relo brackets, panhardbar, bilstein shocks.
I have been reading a cam in the 226/232 range on a 383 stroker with mild ported heads should get me over 400lbs torque from 2500-5500rpm. And making around 460-470lbs max. Now thats a killer street motor. Plus i can keep my self alligning roller rockers by not reving past 6k rpm.

smitty2919

That's fine, but what tires are you running and what size? My 50% worn 275/40/17 NT555's I can do the same thing with 100% stock motor and full exhaust only.

moehorsepower

iTrader: (3)

I guess parts nowadays are made cheaper than the past, back in the day we would take our SBC, use TRW heavyweight slugs, stock rods and stock cranks, (Granted most were forged back then) cams in the 244+ degree range with the camel hump heads and spin the motors to 7000+ RPM's with a good ole rock crusher and 4.11's out the back and I never saw a rod go out the side of a block, now on a buddies 302 Z28, a rod finally peeked out the side but this was after multiple 8000 RPM pulls !! back then a 12 second street car was fast, and with those combos we were running from high 11's to low 12's. My point is build you a 355, use the stock rods and crank, keep the rpm's at 6000 grand and you should have a fun, economical street car that should run in the high 11's or low 12's, when I was super charged I used the stock crank without failure at 648 RWHP, I only needed to spin the motor to 6200 RPM..

ShovelMan

What the hayle?

350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the advice moehorsepower. My current cammed stock shortblock def gets up and moves and im happy with it. Im thinking its a 12.5-13.0 lt1 at prob 110 trap. Have to run it this year and find out. Night and day over my stock lt1. I was just thinking a 383 for my next build because i love torque. A reasonable goal of maybe 400rwtq and 375rwhp with some LE1 heads and cam, my current meziere ewp, 1 5/8 headers "hopefully don't restrict too much."
Smitty, i believe your bolt on car is quick, but im telling ya this cam makes nasty torque over a stock lt1. My car dead hooked with all my rear end mods when it was stock. Granted i have 1 5/8 headers, ewp, rr's, no cats, magnaflow catback to boot now. Im gonna guess around 350rwtq and maybe 325rwhp, gotta dyno it and run it but man it pulls strong.

Puck

iTrader: (17)

Best advice I can give to someone wanting to build a motor on a budget is to price out carefully then scan for sale forums.

A lot of people start builds or finish cars then ditch them, and LT1 resell value is terrible. I got my 383 shortblock from a guy that bought a ton of LT1 parts and then decided to go LS1 and sold everything for a loss. It was fully forged, half filled, straight out the machine shop with good parts way overbuilt for my goals and cost the same as what I would have spent on a basic entry level budget 383.

You can get parts very cheap either lightly used or brand new from abandoned projects. I have seen badass whole cars with all supporting mods go for what a good motor build would cost you.

****, I told myself I would never get another F-body after having 3 of them but there is a really nicely built one for sale right now that if he lowers the price I would fly across the country to drive it back. Its insane how cheap they go for.

BALLSS

a 383 with mild ported heads and a 218/224 cam can make that...through shorty headers. Mine does

A LE 1 package likely more.

350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

Great advice puck. I will keep an eye out for 383 parts.
******, im thinking a 224/230 duration cam at minimum for a 383 since my 350 has a 215/224 cam. Def at least LE1 heads. You happy with your 383? Gotta be fun with all that torque!

bufmatmuslepants

iTrader: (3)

Not 100% trying to be a smartass but you always post about torque, torque, torque, have you considered just finding an lly or lbz 2wd reg cab 6 speed duramax and dicking around with that? You can make 1500 tq and stay below 4500rpm and run 11s, all part of your criteria. 6 speed reg cab diesels are hard to find, especially duramax but you might find an auto fairly easy, lb7s are getting stupid cheap now, my brother has an ext cab short bed 4x4 lb7 for sale now and is only getting offered for about $7000 even though it has a new motor, 200k on the trans and new injectors.