Well I've decided to take the plunge and try to build an engine. I recently got a job for a local engine building shop and they are going to lend their expertice (and part discounts) to me for this undertaking. I'm not locked in yet but the general idea is to take a 350, notch it out, and put a 400 crank in it. I'll get some vortec heads on there, matching intake, use my holley 650cfm double pumper for now, put some headers on there, not sure about the cam yet. According to the shop, when we're done it should put out roughly 400-410 hp. I'm gonna get lousy gas mileage but hey, somethings gotta give :lol: . my biggest problem right now is trying to find a 400 crank i can put in it. any suggestions where to find one would be greatly appreciated. the core is gonna come in this coming weekend and i'll send it off to the machine shop the following week. i want to get moving on this as fast as possible. the best part of the whole project is the shop estimated a mere $1800 in parts. knowing how car projects go i have no doubt it'll balloon to $2500 before i'm done but it's still great for what i'm getting. i can use their shop and space for no charge. it's great being on the inside :D . sorry for the rambling, any suggestions for the crankshaft would be greatly appreciated. :smash:

 

What you want is a 383 kit. Look in the back of Chevy High Performance and Hot Rod mags and you will find the kits for like $400. Crank, rods, and pistons usually. As long as you don't mind a cast crank. BTW, the Vortec heads won't flow enough for what the 383 demands, I'm pretty sure.