I have a 350 out of a 79 camaro. I'm looking to make 350hp to the rear wheels I found a 383 crate engine making 400hp for 3,000 shipped off of ebay. It has a 3 year 100,000 mile waranty and the seller has a perfect customer satisfaction rating. Think i would be better of buying the crate engine or rebuilding? I want to save the most money possible. I would pull the engine myself and put it back in but would probaly have most to all of the other rebuilding work done by a shop. Any input on how much money it would cost to make it have 350hp. This car is going to be driven 3 or 4 times a week in the summer and a little in the spring and fall. None in the winter so i want it to still be a dependeble engine. What would I need to do to this engine to make it have at least 350hp and not spend a fortune (cam, boring, heads, pistons, ect.). A rough estimate would be nice, I know it won't be exact based on where people live. I just want some input and information before I start getting quotes from shops. Also what are some good websites to order engine parts off of that have a good price to. Any input is going to be greatly appricated so thanks in advance.

 

If you want to save money then your best choice is rebuilding the 350. You can easily get 350HP out of it for much less than the $3,000 on Fleabay.
If you find a pair of good Vortec heads, and supply the parts to your local machine shop you can just have them do the machine work and assembly. You'll save a lot and probably get it done for $1,000 less.
A good cam, intake, carb, Vortec heads (used) and headers will make 350 HP easy.
Summit is where I buy 90% of my performance parts.

 

^^ +1

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to a shop tommorw to get a quote.

 

I had the machining done, and bought the parts to rebuild my 400sbc done at Napa for about $1500. It cost me 3 months wait, but that's $1500 you could spend somewhere else on your car. Look around, there's always more options

 

I have seen some really nice short blocks for cheap. I like to get my hands dirty though. Satifaction of building it and the mental exercise of chosing parts that will work together. That stuff is fun to me.