Thread: need a little help from those with experience on sbc drag motor.

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I am planning on a sbc for my 1/8 mile drag strip Vega. It will use plenty of nitrous so it will all have to be forged. What cubic inch motor will work best and rev very quick for the 1/8 mile? thanks

Since the car is light,you might try a 350 4 bolt main .030 w/327 crank like the old "Grumpys Toy" Vega ran back in the day.

If you can find a good 327 crank or even a 302---you can get spacer bearings to put it in a 400 block
but what ever you use put a 6 in or longer rod in it

Jerry

Torque is still what will get the car off the line the quickest. We ran small inch motors for years in the old Modified eliminator classes- 301's,302's,311's, and had to whang them on the line to 8500+ just to get the car moving, then needing several gears to keep the power band in place, and watching the things scatter parts. It is much smarter to use a bigger inch 350, 377, 383, or better yet 406,434, small block with a glide.
John

406 will be cheaper in long way.

Originally Posted by 41willys

Torque is still what will get the car off the line the quickest. We ran small inch motors for years in the old Modified eliminator classes- 301's,302's,311's, and had to whang them on the line to 8500+ just to get the car moving, then needing several gears to keep the power band in place, and watching the things scatter parts. It is much smarter to use a bigger inch 350, 377, 383, or better yet 406,434, small block with a glide.
John

I do like the big cubic inch small block Chevy 406,412,420,434 in an aftermarket block.
The biggest problem is when you go to big on the cubes you will run out of cylinder head if you use a std. 23 angle head.

Big inch built for torque, not only less parts breakage but IMO much easier to make the car consistent. With that said, the nitrous will negate the less parts breakage point.... Go shopping for a used aluminum big block and a good machine shop to do the block work. Build a ton of torque, leave the bottle in the shop. Probably save you money in the long run.

The first rule of racing (any form of it) is that before you can finish first, you must first finish!!!!!

Going with a aluminum block is definitely the way to go but thats way over my budget at this time.Unless I find a great deal! So what I am getting is that I should go for a 400 or bigger sbc, something like a 421-434,right? Also I know the nitrous is hard on parts ,like any power adder,so I am only going to use it with one of those progressive controllers. What length rods should I use or stay away from ?

Internal Balanced Part
* Crank: 4340 Nitrided Forged Steel 4.000 Stroke
* Pistons: Forged 2618 Alloy Flat Tops 11.7:1 CR w/64cc
* Rods: 4340 Lunati Pro Mod Steel I-Beam 6.0
* Bearings/ Rods & Mains: Clevite 77 'H' bearing
* Balancer: SFI Approved Steel style 6.25 diameter
* Flexplate: SFI approved, 168 teeth
* Balance: High performance street/strip,
* Piston and rods matched +- 1 gram

Any one have any sbc 400's in the southern area?

my buddy has a 406 for sale, fresh just sittin

How fresh we talking, any specifics?

Since 350's blocks are said to be stronger than 400's I wonder how a stock block like this would hold up to the spray. Its not quite the 400+ cubes but still bigger than a 383. How much HP can a stock SBC 350 handle, after its filled ,and splayed?

CHEVY 350CID TO 397CID MONSTER MOUSE STROKER SHORT BLOCK

Will these heads get me too 600 horses?

DART PRO 1 ALUMINUM HEADS,215CC 2.05"/1.60"INTAKE,EXHAUST,1.437 SPRING DIAMETER,STRAIGHT PLUG ,64cc?

it was fired up last year to break in spun a bearing because he didnt prime it. has been cleaned since in an engine bag sittin just needs bearings.

Thats not that big of a deal but is it a 2-4 bolt, filled, what the stroke, cast or forged, you know stuff like that?