Thread: high performance 350 chevy buildup???

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welp i recently purchased a chevy 350 4bolt mains. im saving up for a buildup

its going into a 1950 chevy pickup and replacing the little 283

i have a 700 r4 tranny that im putting in now but i have a th400 to put in it for the higher hp numbers if it matters.

im looking forward to 400-500 hp at the wheels..

im kind of looking for a cheaper build but will sacrafice for hp...

its going to need to be streetable because this is an everyday driver truck and looking for more horsepower.

any sugjestions are accepted..!! supercharged nos anything... just peicing together right now....


thanx all

Not to burst a bubble here but there is absolutely...NOTHING...cheap... about getting 500 hp (at the wheels) out of a small block.

Have a good one,
Dan

Sell the 350 and buy a big block. It'll be way easier to make the numbers you're looking for.

ok fine.. heh forget the money issues... i wanna know if you people have the same ideas as me... so let me know

A daily driver 500hp small block is going to cost you coming and going. First, building a real 500hp engine aint gonna happen using the machine shop services of the local NAPA store....you're going to pay to have the detail done. Then, when you get done with this expensive motor, you're gonna wear it out driving it to the 7-11 and to work? Gonna cost.

Here is a link to a 500 hp small block. Only $8500.

http://www.theengineshop.com/engine.shtml

Plus, with 500 hp, you will need something more than a home brew TH400.

You can build a 400 hp 350 for maybe $4000 or so if you stick to basics.

I doubt that a 500hp build on a small block would be very streetable, no matter how good the cams are getting today.

What T-inspector says is right, get a big block Chev....454 or bigger. In mild tune it will have tons of low end for the street. The earth's rotation is done using just two Chevy engines (if you didnt know)

"The earth's rotation is done using just two Chevy engines"

Actually, it only takes one big block but, for daylight savings time, they use a spare to speed things up.

I agree on the big inch motor... you can do a 454 with 8.5:1 or up to 9.5:1 ( pump gas friendly) decent heads and a Comp cams XE 270 series cam and make 550hp+ way more than sufficient....and be about the same as squeezing the 350 for that and not have near the streetability.

To get that kind of power from a 350 you will be using aftermarket heads, pistons, rods, crank and lighter valvetrain..... and mods to the block to accept that kind of power.....


Just for you info....I have a 340 (327 stroked) that makes 708hp at 8200rpm and I have real close to $ 10,000 in it....just the block prep was $ 1,100 then same for lightweight pistons $ 3,500 for heads and intake full porting.....

you could make that same power in a big block for $ 6,500 or less....

500hp can be done- find a dyno proven build up- follow it,I'm building 450+hp for the street on a small chevy and a small budget around 3500-4000,small domes,zero quench,good heads, hydrolic roller,good ign.a little racing fuel? go to classic talk and go to engine build ups-looking for build up. the local shop will do just fine if you tell them what you need done!torgue plate, equiel deck hieght, (ass. motor and take messurement of deck height and send back to get milled for a zero quench)you can run more com. with a good quench,it promotes better burn,but no less than .039 or pistons might smack the heads. do some research!!

so could i make this all possible with a small supercharger or one like what ati has??? i know its more money but how robot said about the wear and tear... low boost for drivin then switch pullies at the track and then with low compression for pump gas.. ... i knwo theres more stuff involved this way.. but im just getting ideas out... and by the way.. i would love the sound of a supercharger whinin under my hood

Originally posted by tim_bo16
so could i make this all possible with a small supercharger or one like what ati has??? i know its more money but how robot said about the wear and tear... low boost for drivin then switch pullies at the track and then with low compression for pump gas.. ... i knwo theres more stuff involved this way.. but im just getting ideas out... and by the way.. i would love the sound of a supercharger whinin under my hood

U woulden't hear the supercharger, the whine is air passing over the cogs, with a hood, no moving air can go over the top+ your making more machine work, ya got to buy the supercharger 2k right there for a small single carb under hood 1, then depending on the amount of boost, new pistions, dished at least, rods a good cam, good gaskets, carb that will work with a supercharger, about 400 bucks will get you a Holley supercharger carb,

good quench comes closer than .039? I usually run .020 but no less than .016 depending on rpm usage....

At Piston to Head clearance of .020 at an rpm of 8200....The piston will have a very small shiny spot on it.....

Read the Engine Masters 2004 shoot out and look at the pic's when they show the P to H clearance....

I would also add....If I were to build a 500hp streetable small block I'd go with a 400sm blk. where you could use AFR 180's and a 230 duration cam a 9.0:1 would put you right close to the ball park....

The only thing i see that will give you problems is you want 500 at the wheels, so you need about 600-650 horsepower from the motor, very possible but not so cheap. good flowing heads with a stout bottom end and a supercharger. Plus going with a manual tranny over a automatic will give you a little more at the wheels but it will most likely slow you down at the track unless your used to driving truck.