[85irocss]

I just have the bare 2 bolt block out of an 87 corvette. A friend is doing all of the work but i need to know what to buy. crankshaft,rods,pistons,cam,heads etc. I need a good engine thats strong enough to hit 12s. I was thinking of either a 350 or 400 trans. It will either go in a G body monte carlo or a el camino.
The problem is im low on funds i have about 2gs for this project. Is it possible

[Tom]

first get a good machine shop.eagle and scat have some good deals on steel cast cranks for rods stock are good in the past K rods were best use the arp rod bolts.heads older 64cc are about the cheapest performance, match the ports,relieve the pockets and get some good valve springs, GM brownies are around 50 bucks. camshaft for 12s will have to be stiff 480 to 515 lift and duration near 290(forget pump gas)pistons hypers are good, bought a set of 60s for just over a 100bucks(speed pro)intake should be good for 6500 and carb about 750cfm the distributor should pull around 36deg total advance.headders... but all this is irrelavent if you don't build the rest of the car to handle it

[HemmiGremmie]

Try PAW or Northern auto for complete rebuild kits. If you opt for cast pistons, Northern sells a complete rebuild for a 350 with cam, lifters, pistons, rings, gaskets, oil pump, bearings for $167.00 or so. Buy a crank, rods from there for around 250-300 bucks and then get on ebay and buy your intake, dist, heads and your looking at a long block with intake and distributor for around 6-800. I would buy a carb new since you dont know what your getting, so 250 there, headers for 100 bucks and your at 1000 bucks. You still have another grand for the tranny and small stuff. Goodluck in your hunt. HG

[jeff of nc]

My '82 Grand Prix had a factory th350 in it. So that trans should fit your g-body, You should also be able to find a drive shaft the corect lenth from the junk yard.

[Vancouver Grand Prix]

vortec heads are good and cheap. mate that with a relativly crazy cam (high lift and duration). cost wise....i'd go with a comp cam. use a compatible eledbrock performer non-emissions intake (pretty cheap even in canada) and stubby headers (flowtech makes a nice pair. dualing up your g-body is a bit of a challenge. their are many cat back kits however if you want true duals then the trans. cross member is in the way. a notched member is pricing; however, if you get a good pipe guy on your side he can slide two 2 1/4 inch piped side by side through the existing hole. that of course does away with the cat but who cares those things only bog ya down. two cheap turbo mufflers and your all set. a stout th350 tranny is your best bet. your stock g-body should have one. if it is in good shape then get a stage 2 shift kit (shift valve kit) two better your shifting power. try and track down a rear-end from a monte-ss. will bolt right to your monte or camino and will have the appropriate final drive ratio for your sleet....but cheap...strip machine. try it my 81 g-body has this exact mod list (as of last weekend) and it move very quickly. faster than my friend 95 z28 so i think 12's are quite possible.

[Nasty Nova]

I built a 12 second (12.56) 355 on a very small budget. I started with a stock short block, bored .030 over(Summit cast crank//30 over Speed-Pro hypeutectic flat-top pistons). I added a Herbert Performance 280/290 solid lift cam (.520-.521)(2500-7000 RPM) and lifters ($130 for both) and AEROHEAD Racing heads (64cc//.525 lift capable//2.02-1.60 valves//3 angle valve job) ($400 for the pair) to make some decent power. I used a Holley dual-plane Street Dominator intake($116) and a Holley 4150 700 cfm double pumper. Turned out to be a great combo. Hope this helps.

[406 small block]

In the 12 s for two grand?? Good luck. If you want a engine that holds together do not cut corners. Why not put in a 455 Buick with a pair of 10 to 1 pistons and a good cam. Lots more power that you will ever see out of your 350. Just a thought