355, 383, or 396?

[Red 93 Z]

Hi guys i need a bit of advise. I have an lt1 camaro, one of the original ones that doesnt run on a maf system(yay me!!!!) and, I don't know what kind of rot. assem. to buy for my rebuild. After some good advise from 5.0this and many others ive decided to work on the bottom end of my car before i hit it with spray. I was hopeing someone had some experience with this problem. My goal is 450 on motor and 600 plus with spray. I dont know if i would have to get a stroker kit to attain these numbers. I would prefer to stay with the stock sized crank but relize that might not be possible for my goals. thanks

[bigltx]

Hi guys i need a bit of advise. I have an lt1 camaro, one of the original ones that doesnt run on a maf system(yay me!!!!) and, I don't know what kind of rot. assem. to buy for my rebuild. After some good advise from 5.0this and many others ive decided to work on the bottom end of my car before i hit it with spray. I was hopeing someone had some experience with this problem. My goal is 450 on motor and 600 plus with spray. I dont know if i would have to get a stroker kit to attain these numbers. I would prefer to stay with the stock sized crank but relize that might not be possible for my goals. thanks

if you are wanting to be streetable with that power on motor you will want the extra cubes. on nitrous you could do the nitrous number you want with a 355, but to be streetable at 450 without it you will need to have more cubic inches. 383 would be enough. 396 would be nice, but it would be expensive. needs some extra machine work when it's made for clearance.

[5.0THIS]

450hp at the motor is easily attainable on stock displacement. In fact 450 rear wheel hp is attainable on stock displacement. You wont need the extra displacement in either case, but it would add some low end torque in either case. If you have to buy a new rotating assembly anyway, the additional cost isnt too much to go to a 383. Pretty much a matter of if you want to or not. It wont hurt.

[Red 93 Z]

And 5.0 this comes through for me again!!!The only issue i have with going to a bigger stroke like a 383 or a 396 is getting the computer tuned. I got the great old fashoned obd1 lt1 which is hard to tune. On top of that in TN its hard to find a good tuner. Got 5 import race shops within driveing distance, and one race shop in my town that only works on cars with carbs. Ive also not heard good things about tuneing buy mail. Could you tell me what all mods i would have to do in order to get to my goal 5.0? i already have a cold air(not just air) intake, stage 2 jet chip, 58 mil throttle body, and i have removed all of the seats and replaced the front 2 with 16 pound race buckets that r surprizingly very uncomfortable. Thanks

[LT1 > LS1]

have you considered the GMPP carb lt1 intake? you can slap a old 4 barrel adna nitrous plate on your lt1 build....

just a thought

[Red 93 Z]

actually i had looked into that but i didn't know what all i had to do to make that work.

[5.0THIS]

To get to that power level you'll need a good tune, regardless of the displacement. Tuning one over the other isnt going to be any easier for whoever does it. 450 flywheel horsepower isnt even 400 at the rear wheels. If you want the motor to be able to stand up to a big shot and 600+ hp, you'll probably want to have a four bolt mains, aftermarket or a factory four bolt block... and a good forged rotating assembly, with whichever stroke you decide on. And then it's just a matter of a good set of ported heads (factory LT1/4 heads will work fine for what you want to do) and a matched cam and supporting valvetrain. Get with someone who has extensive experience with the LT1 heads... there are a few shops who can help you.

[JwMonE99]

And 5.0 this comes through for me again!!!The only issue i have with going to a bigger stroke like a 383 or a 396 is getting the computer tuned. I got the great old fashoned obd1 lt1 which is hard to tune.

Like said it doesnt matter on the motor size you can tune the LT1 regardless.
But have you looked into a megasquirt stand alone system?

[tnthub]

Don't forget to factor in a 12 bolt rear, driveshaft loop, and an exhaust that will handle the added horsepower. Perhaps you should seek out an engine builder who has packages so you don't end up in the middle of some finger pointing if everything doesn't just work right out of the box...

As far as tuning, the LT1 computer has been tuned effectively thousands of time with the 383... I would go that route since it is a known combination that will provide exceptional torque and reliability. While you are at it you may want to consider a roll bar and five point because 11s are very realistic on pump gas and you might want to take it to the track someday.