Thread: whats a good powerpackage deal

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that you can buy from summit or elderbroke for the price i wanna get around 400 horses what i mean by powerpackages is where you get the heads the cam and the intake and the carb and what pistons should i put in it its a 350 made into a 355

Ya know those per-packaged deals do have leak links somewhere in the parts to make them "a deal".I suggest for the biggest bang for your buck in Hp/per dollar you pm Jerry or Pat to see what they could offer you.Many members on here have done that and none where disappointed.

Welcome to CHR!

Let’s start with the easy question first – a 355 is a 350 bored .030. In a rebuild of a stock 350, it’s very common to bore the block .030 over and re-assemble with oversized pistons. All other thing equal, it would net 3-5 horsepower.

Not knowing where you’re at in terms of resource and skill-set, here’s a couple options.

As to the packages – I’m assuming that this is for your 1985 truck that you’re also looking to paint. As such, this is a “pre-Vortec” 350 and in all likelihood, has a few miles on the engine so you’ll want to pull it and go through it top-to-bottom.

Option 1 - After you get the engine out and disassembled (remember to stamp the main caps and the rods/caps to make sure they go back in the same place), take it to a machine shop and see if it’s a good core to build from. If the machinist says it’s a good one, bore it .030 over and have the crank turned (if necessary) at the same time. Have them also:
• Square the block
• Line bore the mains (if necessary)
• Insert new cam bearings
• hone the cylinders
• install new soft plugs (oil galleys)
• install new freeze plugs
Buy your new pistons from the machine shop and have them press them on the rods. Tell them you’re going to do and Edelbrock kit so they can select the correct pistons to keep you in the in the range 9-9.5:1 for compression. You may need to have the rods re-sized, listen to your machinist here. Also buy piston rings and all you bearings (mains and rod) from them as they will make sure they’re the correct size. You’ll need a timing set too as the Edelbrock kit does not include it. If you’re not comfortable in the assembly of the short block – have the machinist do it for you. Please note that this will cost you.

Take the assembly home and complete the engine with an Edelbrock 2022 Powerpackage. It has the cam, lifters, heads, and intake manifold. You will need a good HEI distributor and a 650cfm carb – the kit comes with a square bore manifold. I’d also replace the harmonic damper. At this point you will have at a minimum $3,500 tied up in this engine – probably closer to $4,000. If you know what you’re doing or have some friends that have built a dozen or more motors, you can pull this off and have a 400 horsepower engine (oh yeah – headers and exhaust, which you’ll probably do in any case – add $500-1,000 depending. I have a ’71 C10 and put ceramic Hookers and Flowmasters, cross-over and 2-1/2 pipe just in front of the rear tires for just under $800). If this is your first build, buy a good engine assembly book (How to Rebuild Your Small-Block Chevy by David Vizard, $20 at Amazon - Amazon.com: How to Rebuild Your Small-Block Chevy (9781557880291): David Vizard: Books ) You’ll need a place to work, an engine stand, and some good basic tools – most importantly a torque wrench – and a lot of time and patience.

Option 2 – Buy a turn-key 400 horsepower Blue Print 383 from Summit for about $4,000.

Option 3 – Get with Pat McCarthy or Jerry (both are regular contributors here) and see what they can do for you. These guys are expert machinist / wizards and engine building is what they do for a living. They have forgot more about building 400 horsepower engines than I'll ever know.

Option 4 – you’ll read this and think, “I can do this for a lot less money” – Trust me – you can’t. Those who do this for a living deserve prices they charge for precision machine work. Good parts are not inexpensive nor are the proper tools to assemble an engine.

Let us know what you decide..

Regards,
Glenn

I agree with what Glenn's said 100%. The reason that places like Edelbrock can give a "deal" is because once they have invested the engineering and dyno time in picking the package they can then sell the package with confidence that it works, spreading the up-front costs over lots of product. It sounds to me like you're wanting a good, reliable street truck that you can enjoy when you mash the skinny pedal once in a while. I think you'll be money ahead with Glenn's option 2 - buy the crate engine, put your old one on CraigsList and get what you can for it to offset some costs, and get it done quick & easy.

well thanks for the info on everything guys umm just woundering how much would you ask for the 355 assembled it only has 7000 miles on it and its a 4bolt main also i was woundering what you guys thought about his i have a 700r4 tranny would you have a local transmission shop beef it up or would you buy one from summit that could handle 400-500 hp

I think your starting point is to pm Jerry or Pat and then move forward from there.And really listen!!!.Your learn alot.

Originally Posted by Southernboss84

well thanks for the info on everything guys umm just woundering how much would you ask for the 355 assembled it only has 7000 miles on it and its a 4bolt main also i was woundering what you guys thought about his i have a 700r4 tranny would you have a local transmission shop beef it up or would you buy one from summit that could handle 400-500 hp

Here's one on our local KC CraigsList for $500, saying freshly rebuilt but never fired. If yours is freshly bored, no pistons, etc it would be significantly less. Depends on your local market, and assurances you can give the buyer about your block. Check your local ads for ballpark pricing.
If you have a really good local independent tranny guy (look for the guy the repair shops send business to) I would go talk to him about the cost to rebuild your tranny, accounting for the expected power.