General Stalin
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- May 24, 2008
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As some of you may remember, I have been working on building a nice little 355 street/strip motor for my '95 Tahoe 4-door. I was tlaking about keeping the TBI fuel delivery and beefing up the 4L60e, or maybe trying to find a 4L80e for cheap from a boneyard.
Well, a few things have happened. One, I planned on this being a fairl short project and only taking this year to complete. Money troubles over the summer/early fall have turned this into a long term project... so it got me thinking why not play around with some different avenues and just take my time. Second, I live in Massachusetts and the emissions laws are officially changing next year: All vehicles made before 1996 do not need to pass emissions tests for state inspection in MA, they only need to pass a safety test. This definitely got my gears going.
So, now the new spin on the original plan. My engine is already in the hands of a trusted machinist, and it is already cleaned and bored .030" over. My next step I was waiting on was to buy a new bottom end kit, and give my machinist the pistons so he could hone the block. I decided I'm going to have him stroke the engine and build a 383 instead... but it will be a unique engine because it has a 4.030" bore instead of a 4.000" bore. So this would officially make it a 388 if I'm not mistaken. I'm gonna get myself a 383 stroker bottom end assembly with .030" oversized dish pistons, and changing the entire fuel delivery and gearing plan. Carburetor and maybe a Turbo 400 transmission.
Now, here comes some questions for you motorheads out there: What would you suggest as a good cam for this engine? Keep in mind that I do plan to drive on the road and on the highway; it will remain streetable, and it would need to make it's power down lower, not at 7 grand haha. I want something with power, but not so much power that I need to dump a fortune into the vehicle so that it doesn't explode when I try to drive it. I also plan on keeping it 4WD. I would like to keep it as a hydraulic flat tappet setup as it's maintanence free and doesn't cost and arm and a leg, unless someone can persuade me another way.
I also would love some advice on carburetors. There are a ton of carburetors, and I personally have no experience with carburetors, I just know they are simple and cheaper than fuel injection and make awesome power.
Lastly, what is the best way to go about getting my hands on a transmission? Should I buy a built up one off of Summit, call a tranny place and have them build me one, or tear one out of an old truck and build it/have it built?
I am obviously going to be investing a considerable amount more time into this, and a bit more money, but I don't want to spend years paying for everything, so I am trying to find the most cost effective means of getting the work done and the parts acquired (within reason). Any help would be very greatly appreciated.
Well, a few things have happened. One, I planned on this being a fairl short project and only taking this year to complete. Money troubles over the summer/early fall have turned this into a long term project... so it got me thinking why not play around with some different avenues and just take my time. Second, I live in Massachusetts and the emissions laws are officially changing next year: All vehicles made before 1996 do not need to pass emissions tests for state inspection in MA, they only need to pass a safety test. This definitely got my gears going.
So, now the new spin on the original plan. My engine is already in the hands of a trusted machinist, and it is already cleaned and bored .030" over. My next step I was waiting on was to buy a new bottom end kit, and give my machinist the pistons so he could hone the block. I decided I'm going to have him stroke the engine and build a 383 instead... but it will be a unique engine because it has a 4.030" bore instead of a 4.000" bore. So this would officially make it a 388 if I'm not mistaken. I'm gonna get myself a 383 stroker bottom end assembly with .030" oversized dish pistons, and changing the entire fuel delivery and gearing plan. Carburetor and maybe a Turbo 400 transmission.
Now, here comes some questions for you motorheads out there: What would you suggest as a good cam for this engine? Keep in mind that I do plan to drive on the road and on the highway; it will remain streetable, and it would need to make it's power down lower, not at 7 grand haha. I want something with power, but not so much power that I need to dump a fortune into the vehicle so that it doesn't explode when I try to drive it. I also plan on keeping it 4WD. I would like to keep it as a hydraulic flat tappet setup as it's maintanence free and doesn't cost and arm and a leg, unless someone can persuade me another way.
I also would love some advice on carburetors. There are a ton of carburetors, and I personally have no experience with carburetors, I just know they are simple and cheaper than fuel injection and make awesome power.
Lastly, what is the best way to go about getting my hands on a transmission? Should I buy a built up one off of Summit, call a tranny place and have them build me one, or tear one out of an old truck and build it/have it built?
I am obviously going to be investing a considerable amount more time into this, and a bit more money, but I don't want to spend years paying for everything, so I am trying to find the most cost effective means of getting the work done and the parts acquired (within reason). Any help would be very greatly appreciated.