I have a 396 that came out of a 69 chevelle, tore it down to the block and had it sent off to get blue-printed ported polished and bored .60 over... now its time to build her back up. Engine is going to be strictly track and run maybe twice a month. I have an 80 RS camaro that im going to drop it in. But right now i'm looking for recommendations on the engine. I'm looking to get about 600 rwhp out of it, im not sure if the block is stong enuff to handle it though???If any one has recommendations on h/c/i im all ears... i really want to stroke it but im not sure if thats feasible right now... budget is a little over 6 grand. I'm hoping to one day get it supercharged so i'd like to get parts that i won't have to swap out later on.

all recommendations are greatly appreciated

 

Iknow you said a 396, but this is just an idea of internals you could use for some good hp. Something like this will beef up the bottom of your motor to handle some power, then it's just the heads ,cam and the other stuff. What I waant to know is what are you going to do to the subframe to handle the 600+ HP you want. I would get that 396 to the 400ish spot and use the rest into getting that power to the ground, cuz all the power in the world isnt going to help if the car twists more then the tires. Not raggin on you,just tellin you what i'm going through.

 

ur block is fine. Its all depends on the internals. What internals are u running? cam, cranks, pistons, heads stuff liek that

 

im not sure what internals i want to run thats why im here to ask for advice..

 

you lost me.. something like what?

 

Sorry forgot to post the link, lookin now. http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...;x=24&y=10

 

I dont know how much time you have, but these guys will have all the kits to rebuild your motor, one of the best catalogs I've ever owned even if I had to pay for it, well worth it. http://www.pawinc.com/Just wish the website was better.

 

You wouldn't build a 600hp engine the same with and without a supercharger. So you'd HAVE to swap parts, if you stuck to that plan.

I have a 375hp 396ci/402ci (bored .030 over from the factory) Just the stock parts you get with that engine produces more HP than I can get to the ground.
If it were me, I'd stick with the 375hp stuff and go with 74454's suggestion that you put some dough into getting it to the ground.

 

A few questions.

Is it a 4 bolt main block?
What size and type of head do you have?
i like the open chamber oval port heads...cut them to 2.19 intake and 1.88 exhaust...run the matching springs for the cam and stainless valves. be sure to have the valve guide to valve spring retainer height checked to make sure there is enogh room for the cam you are using...

Is the 396 crank a forged crank? If not go find a 396/427 steel crank they are the same stroke..( I bought 4 of them off of e-bay last year for less than $200 a piece, theyare all standard and in good shape). There are thousands of them out there...

Invest in a good set of aftermarket H beam rods ( they are getting damm cheap) I prefer pressed pin not floating...and some good quality forged pistons.Compresion ratio depends on the gas you are gonna run. If you can afford the real high octane race fuel, then go for the highest compression you can get...

Get them professionally balanced.

invest in a high capacity oil pan. 8-10 quarts...good oil pump and pickup..

Get a main stud set. have the block mains checked/ aligned preferably with torque plates or heads installed on the block.

Have the block bored then torque palte honed.

Invest in a roller cam. if all your gonna do is run it on the track then get a solid roller.(Chet herbert)300 advertised duration, 590-600 lift
Use roller rockers.

Invest in high quality head bolts and gaskets.

I liked the victor ram oval port single plane manifold. be sure to gasket match the intake to the heads...

Run a standard flang carb up around 960 cfm...(barry grant)

or run a tunnel ram with twin 500 carter or edelbrock carbs.

you'll need plenty of ignition.. MSD..use an AL unit (rev limiter and keep the revs under 8000rpms)

that should put you well into the 600 hp area...

throw on a 200 shot nitrous setup, good fuel pumps and hang on to your nuts...

So what kind of mods do you have in mind to put the power to the track?
i would think a full manual turbo-400 with a tubbednine inch, 4 link, 4.88 gears, sub frame and a full cage...12x29 slicks and some aftermarket king kong brakes.

G