I am going to finish all the bolt on's relatively soon, (within the next couple of months) then I want to save up for a big power adder. but I want safe reliable power. i know that running f.i. on a stock motor isnt the best but i was thinking just 6lbs or 8lbs would be ok? with full bolt on's i should hit 300 maybe a little more. then with my next power adder i want to hit 400 or really close to it safely. any inputs?

 

Here is my opinion:
The supercharger will cost more initially, and on 6-8lbs of boost will net you around 400+ to the wheels, however the short block is on borrowed time, even in intercooled form and all other safety options. Total amount spent including tune could cost upwards of 4K.

A good H/C setup, like AI, Eric Bradby/ Joe O setup, or LE2/3 etc would net you 400 or very close for close to or at 400rwhp. This should all cost a little over 2k with a dyno tune. Again, the stock shortblock is the hold up because the more agressive the cam (higher lift/duration) requires bigger ports, which equals more rpm's, and the stock rods/pistons/ main caps are pushing it by 6200 or so.

If is were my car I would throw some eagle rods or similiar in. Get some beefy four bolt splayed main caps, arp rod bolts and some srp, diamond, etc forged pistons to handle the rpms and get as aggressive you want in the heads, cam setup. Then put 150+ shot of gas on it and have a 550-600hp monster on your hands for about the same price total as you would have dumped into the s/c setup on a stock shortblock. That's merely a poor college kid's bang for the buck equation. This is assuming your bores are in good shape, the crank doesn't need to be turned etc. Otherwise include machining costs and assembly of your fresh shortblock. At least then, you will have a reliable, and powerful setup not living on borrowed time (read: forced induction). IMO if you are going to go forced induction, go turbo. You will make more power from what I've read. Either way, be smart about the heart of the motor, and do some research on HC setups instead of just plunking down some cash on a LE1 setup or LT4 conversion and pissing money away. [rant off]

 

thanks a lot for the info, I really really want to build from the ground up, (i.e. all new forged internals), but am really worried about the down time and cost to do that. it is my daily driver so I need to have it most of the time. what is the average down time for a internal build up? and about how much will that cost? and last what kinda gains will I see from just internals?

 

Depends who's doing the work. What you get exactly. Current shape of the motor (real loose or whatever) and other unforseen variables. If you privately order all your parts, bearings, rods, main caps, pistons, rings, engine gasket set and the shop can get to your car right away. It might be only a week, or a long weekend. Total cost could be anywhere from 500-1500 depending on above variables. Gains are pretty much nil, unless you bump up your compression, have a leaky cylinder now, sucking oil. In which case you might gain from 5hp-30hp depending on, yeah you guessed it, engine variables.