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Need small block chevy build ideas would like around 500 horse

38K views 17 replies 17 participants last post by  fast79z 
#1 ·
If u have any build sheets on a small block chevy throw them at me im in desperate need of some advice in which way to go with my 355 motor, i was thinking about supercharging it but if i can get about 500 horse without one then that would be good but please give some build sheets or ideas please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#4 ·
Also, what kind of trans/converter/clutch/gears do you have and are you willing to change any of those components?

Weight of car?

Engine compartment room?

500hp can be made a few different ways required the correct stall and gears for it to work.

You could build a very mild 350 hp motor with a 200 hp shot of N20 and keep the stock gearing and stall rpm.

Or you could build a 500hp 350 that rev's to 7000 rpm but would require 4.11 gears and a 3500 stall converter.

Or you could use a small blower on a 350.
 
#6 ·
Make sure the block was casr prior to 1977. In 1977 the big 3 started thin casting the engines to save weight. Also, look to see if all the lifter bores are aligned with the lobes of th cam. therer are many that are misaligned out there. It won't make a difference if the engine is a stock streeter, but it will make a diff in a hot rod engine.
 
#7 ·
I would go with combo #5, Double cheese with everything, great biggie fries and great biggie coke. Throw in a junior bacon cheeseburger too.

In all seriousness, you don't just easily build a 500 horsepower 350 Chevy that is naturally aspirated. 500 horsepower is a pretty healthy number to really achieve on a street engine.

I'll make a comment that alot of the "combos"---I hate that word. These combinations of parts are just that. These are companies trying to sell you these parts and although they might have achieved these big numbers on their dyno, I'll bet you that if you merely buy the parts they list and bolt them together you will actually fall far short of the numbers they are touting. k


Any 350 that I have built that made those kinds of numbers had race type cams and alot of compression ratio, big heads and alot of tweaking.

If I were you, I would probably opt for the 383 stroker setup, and go from there. You need to match the engine to your car and be honest with what you are going to do with it. If you are going to drive it alot and use pump gas.

Realistically you can get up around 450 horsepower, and believe me, that's still a hot street engine if you're making that many ponies.
 
#9 · (Edited)
http://airflowresearch.com/articles/article54/A-P1.htm

http://airflowresearch.com/articles/article96/A-P1.htm

I have a 1989 firebird with a 10.5:1 383 with the street ported afr 210cc heads and the same cam used in the third 383 combonation on the link posted below. Because of the fact that the cam only has .520 intake lift the 210cc head and 195cc head are going to perform about the same. My car weighs 3600 lbs with me in it and ran a 7.85 in the 1/8th mile. The car has a turbo 400 and a ford 9 inch so it is probably loosing 23%-25% to the rear wheels. Using the 1/4 mile calculators on the internet, which I have found to be very accurate if the car hooks, and it geared properly, that comes out to 385hp at the rear wheels. If you assume a 23%-25% loss to the rear wheels, that means 500hp-515hp a the motor. If you compare this to the 383 on the AFR website above, they are almost exactly the same. I know this was a 383 and not a 355, but my point is that these hp numbers from AFR are not inflated in all cases. According to my experience they are very close to reality. Also, my car as 1 5/8" shorty headers in to single 3" exhaust, so it would probably make more hp with a less restrictive exhaust system.


Look at the 3rd 383 down on the list
http://www.airflowresearch.com/dyno/chevy_dyno.htm


Adam
Adam
 
#10 ·
if you go to the afr website, click on the articles tab and there you will find a number of dyno tested combos that put out the hp you are looking for. but as was said earlier, every engine is different and the engines in the articles are very hard to duplicate exactly. there is a 383 making 545 hp, if you read the article to the end you soon realize that to copy that engine and make 500 hp your doing very well. gives ya some ideas anyways!!
good luck.
 
#11 ·
Do a big block, not being a smart *** but it will be more bang for the buck an last a lot longer, The Hp you are looking for would be less exotic to achieve, an you would get far more service out of it, I've never understood why someone would dump all that money in to an engine that from the start of its life would be operating on the edge, I know its not what you asked but just a thought.
 
#13 ·
mild street 350 chevy 500hp combo

These days you can have your cake and eat it to. Here is a set up that will give you 500HP and is still mild enough to drive with no problems on 92 pump gas. AFR 180cc street heads, comp cam 12-432-8 hyd roller cam, rpm airgap intake, 11-1 compression, hooker competition tuned headers. AFR has a simular 350 build on their website. they used the same heads and cam, but they used the regular rpm instead of the airgap and they used 1 5/8 headers instead of 1 3/4 and they had 9.5-1 compression instead of 11-1. They made 450HP and 470ft lbs all below 6,000rpm. If you add a point and a half compression (can be done with pump gas using aluminum heads) along with the larger better flowing headers and the slightly better intake you will have a reliable 500hp 350 smallblock.
 
#17 ·
I havn't been on this sight for some time so here goes. I bought a 350 crate motor for a local person who bought it out of Arizona. I been using it for 3 yrs. 6000 miles. It is now smoking out left bank, ticking away. It claimed 425 hp. I don't think so. In the market for a 383 strocker and would like 425-450 realistic HP. Not sure if I'm quite ready to rebuild my own motor yet. I got about $5500 budget. Have a good mid 70's "010" block with original 65,000 mi. and runs good in an old truck. Do I send it out to a local engine builder and get sucked for over 6 grand, try to do it myself with a book and you guys help, buy a Patriot or Blueprint crate or rebuild the top end of the 350 smoker from Arizona? The Arizonia motor has compression of 200 all around except 175 in cyclinder 6, not the smoking side. Any comments suggestions questions.
 
#18 ·
so hard to beat the fat torque of the 383/406 the 355 you have could be made pretty stout with the cash you have, id pull it all apart and freshin it up if you have the crank rods and pistons now, thats the only reason i built my 355 if i had to buy everything new[crank] i would have built a 383 instead, they both work good,my 355 made 514 hp and 484 torque untouched untuned
 
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