Thread: 350 or 383 plz?

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I have the rest of the car far enough along to start on the engine. This is what I am banking on. Please offer some ideals.
its been too many years since i built/ rebuilt anything Never tried for high power.

Car is a 4800# 92 caprice wagon. It will not be a daily driver more of a few miles on weekend to get to shows and may be a 600- 1200 mile vacation trip 1 time a year. (been 5 years since last yearly vacation lol)

I have to stick to tight budget (family of 5) looking to invest about 1500-2000 initially then can add another grand over next year on engine.

my dream is 13's does 450 hp flywheel sound correct to get there?

so theres my goals now will 383 or 350 be the engine to chase?

I have spent hours and hours searching. Now looking at larrys perfomance kit or powerhouse ANY ideals would be helpful.
I plan to do some of the prep on block myself as well as assembly and swap.

What type HP can 700r4 tranny handle?

Last bit of confussion is car has tbi now would the wise $ be to keep tbi or go to carb?

Last thing thinking vortec heads?

Thanks
flip

flip, look at combos 11 and 16.
It's going to take a ton of torque to move that wagon and either of these will do it. Modify your EFI to work with the additonal cubes. The 700R4 can be built to any level and would work great in my opinion.

take a home equity loan if you need to

I would be inclined to stay with the TBI. That is a lot of auto to get rolling quickly, I would opt for the 383 built for the low end.
Good luck, sounds like a slick ride.

Where are comos 11 & 16???

also what can stock tranny handle ?

anyone use the kits above? larrys or powerhouse?

since I dont have the as I build it link up yet..... mods thus far are
Paint deep dark maroon / purple almost black

17" al impala wheels (working on stripping and polishing them now)
alpine deck - 12" square sub - 12" mofo sub on order- alpine 6x9's rear and front doors

1000 watt amp on 12"square
2000 watt planned for mofo

moved rear seat back 8" to fit subs where ya cant seen em'

Head lights replaced w- clear euro style

impala grill w red bowtie
billet steering wheel
Leather electric seats
Interior lights- exterior tubes

Work in progress - Engine when i figure out what- lowering about 1", air jack- built in guitar case and amp- Impala hide interior- med inverter- gauges-posi rear end and what ever else I can dream up.

If I were on a $2000 budget and were trying to build a smallblock to move 4800lbs. , I would not be thinking of a 350 or a 383. It would be a 400 bored whatever it needed,but not more than .060 ---So you end up with 406 to 412 inches. A lot more torque ,down low where you need it to get that kind of weight moving. The old saying , there is no replacment ,for displacment is especially true with a heavy vehicle.

Originally posted by riverhorse59
If I were on a $2000 budget and were trying to build a smallblock to move 4800lbs. , I would not be thinking of a 350 or a 383. It would be a 400 bored whatever it needed,but not more than .060 ---So you end up with 406 to 412 inches. A lot more torque ,down low where you need it to get that kind of weight moving. The old saying , there is no replacment ,for displacment is especially true with a heavy vehicle.

Yes there is its called positive PSI

I absolutely hate the 700r4! I am currently building a 4l80e for my truck but it is way out of your budget, but a decent built 700 will last a while at 450ish power.

Sorry, forgot to show the link.....
http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos2.html

....I had a 700R4 that was professioally built to handle 450 HP. It blew up after a couple of thousand miles. My engine was dyno'ed at 438 HP @ 5250 RPM & 499 Ft. Lb's @ 4000 RPM. Just my opinion but I would never use this transmission again.... Oh, 2800 pound car.... Bill

Quick times can generally be boiled down to 1 simple thing HP to weight ratio.

4800 pounds is a LOT of car. The old rule of thumb is 1/10 second for every 100 pounds in weight reduction. If it was me and if I was SERIOUS about getting into the 13s the first step would be to get rid of all the garbage I could. Not trying to be mean here, but your sound system will likely cost you between 2/10s and a 1/2 second.

Build the biggest engine you can, throw NOx on it and drive it till it blows.