[ericnova72]

I don't know why you place such an emphasis on short stroke, all that results in is an engine that is going to get you beat by everyone because it is too small and lacks torque. A '78 Camaro is HEAVY in hotrodder and racer terms, its a near 3900 lb barge unless you gut the bumpers and doors and swap on a fiberglass hood.

Your comment "don't want a 383 because of that stroke:bore ratio, it just doesn't seem right to me" is just completely incorrect and just flies in the face of solid engineering principles, a good 383 is going to run away from any full tilt peewee 350 you can put together. Better yet would be a 3.875" stroke crank and turn that 350 block into a 396. A 7500 rpm 383 or 396 isn't enough rpm for you??!

If you think stroke to bore ratio has any big emphasis on power and longevity of a street/strip engine then you've got a lot to learn yet. Similar to the guys who think rod length to stroke ratio has any real importance too.

If you want to scare the pups like you are the big dog, putting a Chihuahua under the hood isn't going to get it done, you need a big Pit Bull or Rottweiler.

Shoot for a streetable 500 HP 383 or 396 stroker(unless you can find a good 400 block, then build a 406 or 421) because cubic inches are king......a short stroke motor will just end up being all bark and no bite, a Poseur engine.

Don't be the often typical Mullet-head caricature Camaro owner

 

[ericnova72]

Hmmmmm...... After that lecture I'm gonna go make a quick change to the parts list.... WAIT WAIT WAIT a stroker getting how much RPM? I've only seen built 383's getting as much as 5800 TOPS, let alone a longer stroker such as a 396.

5800 rpm 383 is what I call a truck engine

Probably only 5800 rpmbecause of hydraulic cams and poor heads, ....I could easily put a 383 together to turn 8500 rpm if you want it, but the valvetrain gets expensive when you start chasing rpm like that, and the big heads to actually flow enough air at that rpm aren't cheap either.

None of this 180cc or 195cc intake runner volume 2.02"/1.6" valve diameter generic stuff, 220cc or bigger runners, 2.08-2.125"/1.625" valves.

The 383 I built for a friends mini-tubbed '67 El Camino turns 7800 rpm no problem, and it is nothing fancy....SCAT cast crank, 5.7"Eagle SIR rods, TRW forged flat tops, 11.2"1 compression, roller cam, 825cfm BG Demon carb, Racing Head Service/ ProAction Iron Lightning 235cc heads ...been together 6 years now. $3400 engine, only stock part was the 350 block.
My 406 gets turned 7400 rpm, and it is just stock 400 crank and stock 305 rods w/ARP bolts, TRW forged flat-tops, solid flat tappet cam, etc and its been together for over 10 years running street use and at the drags 2-3 weekends a month....drive it to the track, run mid 11's, drive it home on pump gas. $3000 engine.

Not rocket science, just proper parts in the proper places and good machine work, so build as large engine as you can afford in the block you choose to use.

 

[ericnova72]

Hmmmm.... Duely noted guys. So what did that 383 make? And if its only $3400 it beats the engine I have now at $5500.... I'm gonna go with a 383 now, for sure. Hmmmmmm....... I'd like a lower compression than 11 though, I'd like ?10.5:1 if I could.....

It pushes the 3650lb El Camino down the track at 11.10's @ 117 MPH on pump gas, 10.60's @ 122 MPH on a 175 HP nitrous shot w/race fuel.

No idea how much power it makes, never been engine dyno'd. Easily 550+HP though, to put that much weight at that time slip.

Skip White(whiteperformance1) and Fred White(WhitePerformanceMachine)on Ebay have some real good deals on 383 stroker kits at the $1000 or less level. Here is one example: 6.0" rods
383 Assembly Scat Crank 6" Rods Wiseco 030 Flat Top Pistons 2pc RMS 5 64 6 0 | eBay
5.70" rods 383 Assembly Scat Crank 5 7" Rods Wiseco 030 Flat TP Pistons 2pc RMS 5 64 5 7 | eBay

You'll find some kits $50 or so cheaper with Eagle cast cranks, but the SCAT cranks and SCAT rods are considered much better pieces. You'll also find cheaper kits with Hypereutectic pistons in them, but Forged pistons are much stronger. Many cheaper kits also don't include harmonic damper and flexplate.

 

[ericnova72]

A car running 11.1s at 117 mph is leaving hard,obviously the owner knows how to tune the car and is using slicks. A $3400 dollar engine is possible if you do a lot of the work yourself. Great post Eric

1.54 second sixty foot, on 315/60-15" Mickey Thompson Drag Radials(basically the same size as 30 x 12.5 ET Drag slicks), Powerglide trans, 4000 stall, 5.13 gear.
The 5.13's are just a bit too much, should have either 4.88's or 4.71's...but the owner is just happy running the hell out of it.
A lot of people still think that it's a lot of gear, but it is a TALL tire.

The roller cam, harmonic damper, and aluminum timing cover were all bought used, everything else was new. Cam is a Herbert, scored for just $67 on Ebay.

 

[ericnova72]

As far as your Google sheets list goes, I can find several items to do better on either price or quality.
-Better rotating assembly then the Eagle kit listed, it only has hyper pistons
-Better deal on aluminum heads with similar flow numbers at 1/2 that price
-ProForm rockers are not that good, and you don't want self-guided rockers on a head with guideplates on it, the two alignment methods will bind with each other.
-FluidDamper is overly expensive and not the best idea, some crank companies won't even warrantee a crank run with a FluidDamper on it. The rotating assembly I pointed you to already has one matched to it also.
-The oilpan you've listed is for a 2-piece rear seal block, but you are buying a 1-piece seal block.
-A custom torque converter is much better than an off-the-shelf fits-all from TCI, for near the same price.
-Stock starter will do just fine, don't need that fancy race starter and expense.
-Don't use platinum or iridium small tip plugs in a performance engine, the tip will burn off due to its small size not being able to deal with sudden high heat loads(instant WOT). Use Autolite o NGK standard tip or race plugs.
-You don't need an ignition module if you are using an MSD box, the box already has a module in it, box hooks directly to the magnetic pick-up in the distributor.
-Forget the sparkplug washers, waste of time for marginal if any gain.

-You're missing head bolts, flexplate-to-crank and converter bolts, balancer bolt, pushrods, and camshaft retainer plate.

that's my view of the particulars of the list.