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What parts would I need to build a 500 horsepower 350 chevy. I don't want any forced induction. I want it to run on pump gas.
how to make a 500 horsepower chevy 350
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lol just build a 383 @ 10.5:1 and add the trick flow 500hp BOLT ON KIT
so much easier for a street/strip machine
or just a 12.5:1 355 and basically the same parts with a custom grind cam, alot more rev's and youll need better quality parts because youll make that 500hp alot higher in the RPM range....
its not that hard its just more expensive if you want it to last...think of it this way, the money youll save on valve springs you could just build a stroker, because reliable 500hp n/a from a 355 is gonna be solid roller cam, expensive springs/rev kit etc...
Im talking real 500hp not desktop dyno kinda thing because although they are a valuable tool to some real world 500 hp is just a lil differnt...anyone who ays otherwise will have to prove thier "500" hp desktop dyno build on the track where MPH and E.T> do not lie....
so much easier for a street/strip machine
or just a 12.5:1 355 and basically the same parts with a custom grind cam, alot more rev's and youll need better quality parts because youll make that 500hp alot higher in the RPM range....
its not that hard its just more expensive if you want it to last...think of it this way, the money youll save on valve springs you could just build a stroker, because reliable 500hp n/a from a 355 is gonna be solid roller cam, expensive springs/rev kit etc...
Im talking real 500hp not desktop dyno kinda thing because although they are a valuable tool to some real world 500 hp is just a lil differnt...anyone who ays otherwise will have to prove thier "500" hp desktop dyno build on the track where MPH and E.T> do not lie....
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It's rather difficult to reach that figure and still run on pump gas. In that case cubic dollars are going to come into play. By you saying you want to run on pump gas makes me think you want this to be a street machine. If so then trust me, you wouldn't like it on the street as it wouldn't have real nice street manners and if your running a automatic it would require around a
4000 stall converter and some pretty steep gears. If this is a drag car it will make things easier, but still it will need more compression to get there than pump gas could handle. As mentioned to get there easier you need more cubic inches. going with a 383 is one way to do so, or you could look into purchasing the 3.875 stroke crank and making a small block 396 would make it much easier to reach that goal.
4000 stall converter and some pretty steep gears. If this is a drag car it will make things easier, but still it will need more compression to get there than pump gas could handle. As mentioned to get there easier you need more cubic inches. going with a 383 is one way to do so, or you could look into purchasing the 3.875 stroke crank and making a small block 396 would make it much easier to reach that goal.
There are a LOT of 500hp 350's out there. This isn't anything new, and it doesn't need to be as radical as people are describing, though it is expensive.
You can get there with a hydraulic roller cam, flat top pistons, 200-220cc heads, carb or efi, nothing too extreme. Realistically you're probably looking at a power peak around 6500 rpm, which is higher than most street driven cars but not too unusual. A higher stall would be needed as already noted but a manual trans would probably be best.
You can get there with a hydraulic roller cam, flat top pistons, 200-220cc heads, carb or efi, nothing too extreme. Realistically you're probably looking at a power peak around 6500 rpm, which is higher than most street driven cars but not too unusual. A higher stall would be needed as already noted but a manual trans would probably be best.
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Why saddle yourself with the stock block? I have never, will never understand this. Get a Dart Little M or an SHP block. Throw down at least 396 cid. up to say 427cid. This gives you room to grow (I believe up to 454)
Save the numbers matching stuff for garage art until you sell the car. If you chuck a rod through your numbers matching block....good luck. Paint your little M block orange and 99% of people would never notice.
Yes its more money; the motor will have better manners, make more power, be stronger and give you the peace of mind that its not going to come apart at the seams. Good seasoned blocks with minimal coreshift are getting hard to find these days; and you want to avoid the thinner castings.
Or you could find a boatyard and get a 502 mercruiser motor; change the cam and intake and get awfully close to your goal
Save the numbers matching stuff for garage art until you sell the car. If you chuck a rod through your numbers matching block....good luck. Paint your little M block orange and 99% of people would never notice.
Yes its more money; the motor will have better manners, make more power, be stronger and give you the peace of mind that its not going to come apart at the seams. Good seasoned blocks with minimal coreshift are getting hard to find these days; and you want to avoid the thinner castings.
Or you could find a boatyard and get a 502 mercruiser motor; change the cam and intake and get awfully close to your goal
You don't understand not having an extra grand lying around? I wish we could all find that hard to understand.
This can be and has been done with a stock block, stock crank, even stock rods if you so choose. You can use stock lifters, stock lt1 pistons, and if you're really good a highly modified set of stock heads and intake.
Sure using all of that takes a lot of time and skill but if you have it it saves money. If you don't have time and skill it'll be expensive.
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Oh I understand not having the extra grand. And perhaps the way I worded things came across harshly. I never intended to hurt anyones feelings. But I also know what happens when you have your heart set on something, say a 383 when you're in highschool. You take your block and get it prepped, you buy the heads you can afford, you laboriously micro manage everything to the n-th degree to the best of your ability. Then the motor breaks. You're out your block, and 2 con rods, several pistons etc etc. Now you can't afford to rebuild the motor and have to sell the car. Personal experience. It hurts awful bad and is pretty damn demoralizing to an 18yr old kid. I went through this with a few things until I learned there are some things that I personally won't skimp on. The better the foundation, the longer it will last and the happier I'll be
What my suggestion entails is perhaps getting another grand together is cheaper than Murphy's law at the 500hp level. Just my preference; as you said, a good condition stock block can certainly take 500hp, but you have much less margin to play with.
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I'd rather spend the extra money in the rotating assembly than an aftermarket block. Blocks do occasionally break, but it's usually a failure in a rod or the crank that results in the breakage. I'd find a decent rebuilder 4 bolt 350 and check the bosses to make sure there's no excess core shift, then build from there. Around my area a good rebuildable 350 4 bolt short block will go for $150-$250, {bare blocks even cheaper) and the savings can go towards a forged crank and other things that can fail sooner than the block.
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do a search on this forum... this question gets asked about every other week. Then come back with a better list of intended use, parts, car, budget and we can better help you get parts lined up. Right now its kinda like shooting from the hip.
you guys mention an extra grand laying around! The DART SHP block is 1600.00 (not including the 100.00+ s/h) and the DART little M is like 2500.00 (again not including s/h). Unless you are planning on running over 600hp or planing on running a 3.875+" stroke then I dont see the point. for the extra money you spent on the block i could tear down the motor, buy another block, have it machined and likely buy a few rods or the crank to replace the one that broke. Im all about saving the extra cash to make sure you do it right, but i dont see where an aftermarket block is needed.
to the OP, a 350 making 500hp NA isn't too hard, but one making 500hp NA on 93 or less octane is. it will want to turn some rpm, so a decent forged rot assy will be needed (IMO) you will want to push the limits with compression, say 11-11.5:1 with alm heads that have around 210-215cc intake runners, spend the extra cash and have them cleaned up, 112LSA hyd cam with around 245° @ .050 and .575" lift, use 1.6 rockers to bump you over the .600" lift mark. use a single plane intake like the vic jr, and a 750 double pumper. matched in a 3500lb car with a 3spd (th400-350), 3600-4000 stall and 4.10's to 4.56's.
It wont be as much fun on the street as it will on the track, but you should be able to get it to run on 93 octane.
to the OP, a 350 making 500hp NA isn't too hard, but one making 500hp NA on 93 or less octane is. it will want to turn some rpm, so a decent forged rot assy will be needed (IMO) you will want to push the limits with compression, say 11-11.5:1 with alm heads that have around 210-215cc intake runners, spend the extra cash and have them cleaned up, 112LSA hyd cam with around 245° @ .050 and .575" lift, use 1.6 rockers to bump you over the .600" lift mark. use a single plane intake like the vic jr, and a 750 double pumper. matched in a 3500lb car with a 3spd (th400-350), 3600-4000 stall and 4.10's to 4.56's.
It wont be as much fun on the street as it will on the track, but you should be able to get it to run on 93 octane.
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I agree with vinnie what is your budget and what is your app.??? what year and type of block are you starting with????? also how do you want too use it , daily driver, weekend warrior, or just a cruser???
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Exactly: My first concern is what kind of block you are planning on using? Can a stock block even withstand 500hp on a regular basis?
Even some of the bowtie blocks can be built with 400 or more cubes.
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P.S. This is like going running with wal-mart shoes vs. higher quality ones such as New balance, nike etc.
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This type of question gets asked several times a week. Invariably it involves a lot of bench racing among the 'regulars' as to how to "best" go about it. Best means different thing to different guys.
It's been said that you can only choose two from the three options:
• build it fast
• build it cheap
• build it reliable
So going fast for cheap- for very long, anyways- is a REAL trick. To pull it off requires the kind of knowledge and intuition that only comes from experience.
If you want a dependable engine w/a long life expectancy, build it around an aftermarket block, crank, rods, valve train, heads, ignition, and induction/exhaust systems. The more stock or low end parts you use, the less potential power or reliability will be the result.
Power is in the cylinder heads. Reliability is in the valve train and short block, and should be as stout as your hp goal requires, not just what your budget allows. You would be better off lowering the hp goal to a number that matches the budget than to try to push the limits on cheap. For instance, I'd consider aftermarket rods as a necessity at 500 hp levels. And a 4-bolt bottom end, preferably splayed caps. But after doing that to a stock block, you're getting close to the cost of a Dart aftermarket block that will be stronger than ANY production SBC block. Obviously a forged crank and pistons are advisable- but not an absolute necessity. Keeping the tune correct- as in NO detonation- is as important as anything else you may do.
But in the end, I find myself wondering... why 500 hp? What makes THAT number the target? Because I can tell you from experience as can others here, that making 500 hp is the easy part. Putting that hp to the ground effectively is harder and more expensive in many cases as just building an engine that makes 500 hp.
Be realistic. Set obtainable goals based on a realistic expectations. Because if all you do is build yourself a bad-A 500 hp SBC w/o any plan as to what you are really going to do w/it is not a plan. It's a whim.
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I too, am trying to reach the goal of 500+ hp. I have a 95 K1500 (Silverado) that I'm turning into a "project". I have had the motor pulled, block bored 30 over, forged pistons, an "rv" cam installed, heads shaved slightly (though I am replacing them with Vortec heads - didn't plan ahead) and headers installed. I have dual 2-1/2" lines thru two high-flow cats into a Flowmaster dual inlet / dual outlet muffler, exiting duals out the rear. I also had the auto tranny replaced with a manual.
Unfortunately, the truck isn't running correctly. When under load and in high gear, I'm getting detonation. Could this be the heads? The more I read, the more I'm thinking it is...
My goal was to add a supercharger to achieve the approximate 500+ hp. What I lack in is direction, alas I come for advice from people that know all the in's and out's of this area.
Should I go for a better fuel injection (TPI / MPI) or stay with EFI?
Should I ditch the fuel injection and go carb? If so, at what cost to fuel economy? LOL I know, 500 hp and worried about fuel economy? Well, I do wanna maximize whatever I may get.
Should I look into stroking this motor?
Should I supercharge or turbocharge? The guy who did the motor seemed to think turbo so that it would only "work" the motor when needed, not like a supercharger would from start to shut off...
Long post, I know... just need a few answers and a place to start.
Unfortunately, the truck isn't running correctly. When under load and in high gear, I'm getting detonation. Could this be the heads? The more I read, the more I'm thinking it is...
My goal was to add a supercharger to achieve the approximate 500+ hp. What I lack in is direction, alas I come for advice from people that know all the in's and out's of this area.
Should I go for a better fuel injection (TPI / MPI) or stay with EFI?
Should I ditch the fuel injection and go carb? If so, at what cost to fuel economy? LOL I know, 500 hp and worried about fuel economy? Well, I do wanna maximize whatever I may get.
Should I look into stroking this motor?
Should I supercharge or turbocharge? The guy who did the motor seemed to think turbo so that it would only "work" the motor when needed, not like a supercharger would from start to shut off...
Long post, I know... just need a few answers and a place to start.
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Whats the current compression? Why is the cc of the heads after they were milled? What is the cc's of the forged pistons? What do you have drive train related that will hold 500+hp? Do a twin turbo ls engine.
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Silverado, make your own board. Have comparisons of turbo and super charger and see which one best suits you. To hi jack a board and change the subject you are likely to get poor results due to confusion. aDDing a compressor after the engine build is rarely as successful as planning one before the build,,,
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