I've been thinking long and hard about how I should mod my 95 Z28. I did have a supercharger on backorder and was supposed to be delivered already but I just found out it was going to be on backorder for another couple months, and so now I wanna know if I should sit tight and wait or look into some other options. I don't know how comfortable i feel slapping a supercharger on an engine with 80,000 miles on it, and I don't thinkt the 6PSI supercharger I had comin is exactly what I was lookin for anyway. I've been looking into the 383 stroker kits and so my question is will my engine hold up long enough to make it worth it? I've put a little more then a third of the mileage on it and treated the car very well, and so far have had no problems whatsoever with the engine and everything checks out fine. If I could get about 350-375 RWHP out of my car I'd be more then happy. Do I need the stroker kit or can I do a rebuild on my LT1 and replace some parts to kick the horsepower up a bit? I know next to nothing about this subject so I really really need some input from you guys out there that know what you're doing. What do I need to get to reach the 350-375 RWHP range, how much is it going to set me back, and where can I get it? Please be as specific as possible, because like I said I know practically nothing on the subject of engines and stroker kits, so I need to know exactly which part you're talking about(specs and sizes). Thanks alot

 

Well when you do a stroker, you rebuild the bottom end so the crank, pistons, bearings etc. are all new. I think you can hit your 375 rwhp goal without going to a 383. A cam,heads,intake, headers and all the other supproting mods should get you there. A 383 would be nice though, the added cubes make it a more street friendly set -up, as in the cam does not need to be as radical to get you the same amount of HP

 

Which option would be cheaper? I tried finding all this stuff myself but i don't understand what all the numbers and different sizes mean, it's all pretty confusing. Would getting a new cam, heads, intake, and headers require me to pull the engine out or can that all be done without moving too much around? And which companies/sizes would you suggest? I've heard that you want to pick these things out with a goal in mind of how you want your car to run. What would be a the most efficient/powerful combination of a cam, heads and intake for a daily driver(a daily driver that likes a dose of speed)?

 

Most People Are Reluctant To Give Someone Numbers When It Comes To Mods. The Info I Have Found Might Help Ya Some. As Far As Cams Go On A Small Block Chevy You Can Go As High As A .480 Lift Without Having To Change The Piston Rods Or Pistons. The Higher The Duration Of The Cam The Rougher The Idle Will Be. The Next Thing To Consider Is If You Wanna Change The Torque Converter. If You Use Your Vehicle For Everyday Driving , You Might Better Stick With Your Stock Converter. The Largest Cam Made That Will Work Decent With A Stock Converter Is A .480 Lift With A 280 Degree Duration. You Can Get A Kit From Comp Cams That Has This Cam, Lifters, And Springs For About $250 Dollars. The Model Number Is XE268H Extreme Energy Cam. This Mod Alone Could Give You Up To 50 Horsepower. The Next Thing Would Be To Consider Would Be A High Rise Intake. There Is Dual Plane And Single Plane. In My Opinion Dual Plane Is An Better All Around Intake For Performance At High And Low RPMS. Weiand I Have Found Has The Best Intake For The Dollar. A New High Rise Intake Is Gonna Set You Back About $200. As Far As Carbs Go A 750cfm Holley Double Pumper Would Do Nicely. It Runs About $400 . Between The Carb And Intake Your Looking At Another 25 Or 30 Horsepower. Then You Might Wanna Think About Headers. A Decent Set Will Run Ya About $150.00. That With Dual Exhaust And Your Talking Another 25 Or 30 Horsepower. To Run These Mods Properly Your Gonna Have To Put A Chip In Your ECU ( On Board Computer ). A Decent High Performance Chip Is Gonna Cost Another $200 Giving You Another 25 Or 30 Horsepower. For The Mods Listed Your Talking About $1200.00 Bucks For Roughly 125 to 150 Horsepower. If Your Wanting To Go Into The Bottom End Of The Motor, With The Mileage You Have On The Car Your Probably Gonna Have To Bore The Block. Boring Is Gonna Cost Ya About $200 And A Good Crank Kit Is Gonna Cost You A $1000. Besides All The Extras Your Gonna Have To Have Main And Rod Bearings, Oil Pump, Gaskets etc. A Crank Kit Alone With No Cam Or Other Mods Is Gonna Give Ya About The Same Boost As The Mods Listed Above. If It Was Me I Would Choose The Top End Parts As Opposed To The Bottom End. Unless I Had The Cash To Do Both. Hope This Helps Ya Some . Sick

 

An Lt1 will handle a larger cam than a .480

 

JD Is Correct About That But If You Go With a Higher Lift Than .480 You Most Assuredly Need A 2500 Stall Converter. Sick

 

Thanks alot Sick. That's the kind of response I was looking for. Thanks for breaking everything down for me. I was just wondering about the carb though, isn't that gonna screw up my gas mileage and make my car a little tougher to deal with? Also will it fit under my hood? I've got an ss hood on my car now but i'm not sure about clearance issues with the air filter. Remember I'm a newbie so this may be a very dumb question and I don't even know it. haha but thanks for the help anyway.

 

If you go carbed on a LT1 in a 4th gen, you might also have hood/cowl clearance issues.

 

thats a lot of work and decrease in gas mileage if you go carb'd, also if you just go carbd with what you have and a .480 cam, you will probly have the same power you do now.
just call comp cams and tell them what you want and they will tell you exactly what to get, or go with a custom world products setup

 

Yeah i'd get away from forced induction if you haven't been into that secene for a while and had at least some tech knowledge, go read a book on it for the details and you will see what i mean. Lots of things to take into account.

So you are worried about the motor lasting but you have to have 375 hp? It would truly be a waste to go stick a charger on there man.
If you want to get a fresh motor out of a build you can drop about 5,000 that will give you a completely new set up. Just get some good aluminum heads, a moderate cam ( i don't agree with the other guys on here stay in between 235-245 duration to keep the vehicle's accessories functioning properly) and buy a 383 shortblock. Maybe you could even do a LS1 setup, you can get a high performance short block 6.0L from MTI for about 3300. Okay there is your brand new ls1 motor, now some good heads (don't cut corners here) ie patriot or brodix aluminum heads about 1600 for the good stuff, and then a good cam 250, don't go crazy with the cam or try to push the limits of what the head can take, you'll want to keep it streetable. now you've got 5000 and a canvas for future upgrades. You could build that shortblock cheaper and better with forged component but unless you've done it before i wouldn't do it. That all being said, drop an ls6 intake, long tube headers, and get some high flow cats. Take her to a high performance shop you trust and have it tuned. I GAURANTEE you will be well above your 375....because i've driven a trans am with that exact same setup and it puts out 430. sick amount of torque.something to think about the motor will be all of about 7000 but you need to do some moding to the trans bushings and suspension components in the rear, at min some polyunrethane bushings in the rear, but you can do that over a period of time and be okay.
let me know if i can explain this somewhat better to you or there is something you have questions about.