I am trying to figure out where to get the most bang for my buck. I have about $11500 to spend on an engine. Right now I have a ZZ430 crate engine in real good condition but I want something with more HP (BTW my $11500 includes getting $2000-$3000 for my old engine depending if I keep stuff off of it)
I was looking to go BBC but the money adds up so fast I will run out of money before the project is complete or I will end up with a big block with the same HP as I got now.
My compression in my current engine is too high to add a blower unless I just had 2lbs of boost so that's no good.


So sticking within my budget can anybody give me some suggestions for increased HP?

 

I bought this very engine and get 12-13 mpg off pump gas


557 HP Chevy 100% Complete Turnkey Crate Engine

Price: $8,894.00
Retail: $9,994.00
You


603 HP Chevy 406 Complete Engine Package

Price: $11,994.00


check out their web site. great people to deal with

 

That 383 comes to $16 per h.p. The 406 is $20 per h.p. The 383 is a better $ to h.p. value.

 

I have it narrowed down to two engines:


1. Skip White stroked 434 625hp Turn key SBC for $9300
White Performance Detail Description


or
2. Blueprint engines 632 815hp BBC, not quite turn key for $11600
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ml...0ctc/overview/




The SBC would be easy peasy + almost 200hp gain from what I have now and I would sell the crate engine I have now complete turnkey also.


The BBC while not easy and far more exspensive as I would need new headers, new bolt ons and brackets, mounts and who knows what else..... but when it was done it would be awesome. Problem is I don't have the money right now to complete the BBC And not sure if the frame/tranny will hold up anyway. Is it worth the wait for maybe a year to complete?


Need some opinions.

 

If you are honestly looking for an opinion i would go with the small block car. I waited way too long to drive my car, took me 4 years to get the big block (572) that i have now installed in my car. This is just the amount of time it took me to get the work done, and that wasn't due to financial constraints, it was the amount of work plus losing motivation when the project got complicated a few times. Now that i have the BBC in my car it is a great time. The only thing is, when people say it passes everything but a gas station, its true. Driving my big block, i probably get 150-175km to a $75 tank of fuel on the highway. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. If i put my foot into it, this gets much much worse.

I am wishing i went with a smaller motor now with the same power, truthfully i am wishing i went with an LSX motor for the power and economy but thats another story.

Basically my opinion would be to do whatever you can to get it driving again with the power that you are looking for. I dont know what your history is with power but i really cant imagine what 800hp would be like. I have 620hp and i already need a new set of Mickey Thompson ET streets that are 315 wide, i have never done a brake stand and am guessing i have 600km on them. Thats with 600hp, add another 200 and i dont know if it would be very drivable. If you havent drove 600hp before, ill give you a little example. Two days ago i was driving and laid my foot into first gear about 1/2 throttle, when my tires started to smoke i slammed it into second and went about 3/4 throttle, just when i thought my tires had stopped spinning enough i went into 3rd and nailed it, this is where it got scary, my *** end broke loose at around 100km/h and if i was paying attention i would have lost it. This is through a power soaking 4L80 with a manual valve body.

Anyways i will stop boring you with stories, if you have any more questions about my large BBC let me know. 632" is even bigger then what i got.

Good luck in your decision.

Just about to press send and i thought a bit more, why not tear into your motor, change pistons, massage the head a bit, buy a fuel injection system and supercharge? Then your not wasting your money by selling a good quality engine and you will easily be in the 600hp range, decent fuel economy if you keep your foot out of it and you know all of your components will still work?

 

I think I will probably go for the SBC. 625hp is plenty to go from car show to car show Plus I will have some money left over to maybe upgrade to modern gauges/dash panel. Maybe

 

It has been my experience that most guys that go for max HP end up regretting it and they end up going with EFI and mild cam to get the car my streetable. Race car are fun to race but suck to drive.

The LSX platform with boost (turbo) claim to fame is it can deliver on HP and be a daily driver.

That being said have you looked at your motor, a turbo and E85 fuel? How strong is your bottom end?

 

I hate to say this but what about a LS engine upgrade with the hot cam setup? It really is alot of bang for your buck and it is streetable. Dont get me wrong, I love my old carb 383 but sometimes I dont feel like messing with it and just want to get in and drive. Same reason I'm thinking about a fuel injection upgrade.