Thread: dunno which motor to put in my malibu...

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Well i have read post over and over.. and man i am still throughly confused about what motor is the best for my car... right now im running a 355 pretty much stock.. i like the power it has but... im tryna figure out whats gonna give me muscle.. im not into big blocks yet.. i have hear that a pontiac 400 is a good torque motor..that i should keep my chevy 355 and build on it cause its good..and i have heard about 383 strokers but people all tell me they have to get rebuilt like every year if you drive it on a daily basis..

All in all.. im looking for something that when i shift my tranny down thas gonna really throw me back in my seat but with the reliabilty that i can drive it daily...

Just keep the 355 and put a nice intake manifold, headers, exhaust, 4 barrel carb on it and that will gain good HP right there. No need for a big block unless your going to race it and all. If you use this car as a everyday driver and all then stay with the 355. You will save gas money too.

well i actually have every upgrade you just said.. ihave stock heads on it and a lil over stock cam.. .so how much hp increase im looking at.. an whats a good cheaper set?

Look at some Edelbrock aluminum heads. If you already have a pretty good but mild cam then just leave it, especially for street use. Some others with more experience will probably have more info since they will know more than me so wait and see what they have to say.

If you are still running your T350 tranny, consider going to either a 700R4 or 200R4 over drive and then putting a lower gear in the rear end. That will give you a lot of punch on the street, but you will still be able to cruise at the same RPM you are now.

Pat

Yeah, I forgot that one. What kind of gears do you have in the rear now?

stock '79 Malibue should have 3.08's

Oh alright. Damn Matt, how do you know about things like that? lol You seem to know a lot about things that cars have in them when you don't even have one or haven't (meaning in a good way not bad).

Streets, some people can't afford everything. Who care's, even if he put a Caddie engine in it, as long as it makes him happy.

I have heard about 383 strokers but people all tell me they have to get rebuilt like every year if you drive it on a daily basis..

Malibu,

Don't listen to the old wives' tales . . . unless it's your old wife.
There's a reason there are a lot of 383 strokers out there. They make a lot of power, they're inexpensive compared to many other motors and they're reliable.

Quit taking advice from whoever told you that you need to rebuild them every year. It's probably something they read on the internet, and it's total bullbleep. 383's are just as reliable as any other engine if built right and treated right.

Quit taking advice from anyone who's never built or used the engine you're talking about. Hands on experience counts. I'm not pointing fingers - just giving advice.

You can get 400+ horses out of a 383 with little effort and you don't even need laughing gas. On top of that, you don't have to keep your car out of service while you're getting it done. Drive it until the engine is ready, then get out the wrenches.

With good gears and a solid 383, you're going to need a headrest to keep your chin down, and a dose of bitters to keep the grin off your face.

Originally posted by FMXhellraiser
Oh alright. Damn Matt, how do you know about things like that? lol You seem to know a lot about things that cars have in them when you don't even have one or haven't (meaning in a good way not bad).

How I know a lot of stuff I know is from the past and some info from here and other internet sites when I was resaarching info on the '81 Impala parts car I had. Also, in the late 70's early 80's, the smog movement got stronger but was started in 1975 ( the first year a catalatic converter to be required for use in all new vehicles ), cars were not mean't for performance, they had high crusing gears and low performance, smog freindly engines, a common engine/ drivetrain combo was a 267 w/ th200 and 3.08 gears, was common in both Malibues and Caprice/ Impala's but, most larger chevy cars had 3.08's back then, my '81 Impala parts car had that combo.

Yeah not sure who told you about that 383 thing but I hear a ton of good things about 383's. My friend has one and never had any problems with his. As long as your crank is machined right and everything is up to specs and built good you shouldn't have any problems.
But I still think you should just keep the 355 and do what Stu Cool said. Also you never really specified what kind of power you are looking for? You wan't more of a bottom end kind or what?

Impressive matt. However, you have to consider that chevy had a few different rear ends available for that year. there is a possibility it could also have a 2:73 rear. Especially if it had a 305 and no OD.

Originally posted by drg84
Impressive matt. However, you have to consider that chevy had a few different rear ends available for that year. there is a possibility it could also have a 2:73 rear. Especially if it had a 305 and no OD.

That's true, I was thinkin about puttin the info on the 2.73's, yes the 305 made a small amount of hp more and could therefore use a slightly higher gear ratio. the 305's are ither 125Hp or 145Hp and the 267 is 115Hp. theres only a diffrence of .35 in the gear ratio and 30 hp ( rated from 145Hp ) so it basicly is equal. I did those numbers as a theory really quick so, I don't know if they mean anything.

No, they mean quite a bit. Very cool. However, a lot of GMs are geared towards torque, not Hp. After all, theres no point in making a gearset on a car that only picks up at around 4000Rs