I'm working towards a supercharged 383 but since it will take a while I am aiming for something mid stage to improve performance with as much useful stuff long term as possible.

Parts that I have on order or possess:
24lb Injectors
Melrose Headers and 3" exhaust instead of 2.5" to the mufflers
Magnaflow mufflers
TPIS Big Mouth Intake
Summit Racing Ignition
Ported SLP Runners
Ported Plenum
K&N Filter
36mm Throttle Body
Fuel Regulator

I went back on forth on a different intake but ultimately decided to port the stock plenum rather than replace it. I like the pseudo stock look and am hoping it won't prove to be too restrictive.

I am debating a cam, fuel pump and distributor before having a chip (which will end up being a mid chip) burnt. I'm stumbling through some of this and working heavily off of advice. For the most part the work is being done by a shop. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

I'd also consider changing the heads too if appropriate...

 

IMO, the 383 isn't the best choice for forced induction. You'd be better off with a 355 and an additional 1-2 PSI boost to make the power.

What are your goals for the car? Power, ET, fun driver, etc... ???

To make any kind of usable power, you'll have to swap the intake. Many on the various forums will debate it endlessly, but the miniram intake is probably the way to go.

Doing a 355, with a touch more boost, will allow you to choose a cam once. You can use the cam in the stock motor you have now, and then re-use it with the new motor. It would be possible to do this with a 383 build, but the compromise becomes larger.

You have a lot of options concerning cylinder heads. Power production characterisitics of the heads aren't as important because ulitmately you will be creating power with the blower instead of the heads. I would focus on heads with better driveability characteristics as opposed to peak power. This puts a 190-195 CC head at the forefront of your options, and with the new AFR competition head coming it at 196 CC, that's what I would use.

Depending on ultimate power goals, a Walbro 255 will support anything up to about 500 RWHP. Another option is the stock pump from a mid 90's Toyota Supra Turbo. I like the Toyota pump because it's made by Denso, and you get OE quiet and OE reliability. The Walbro pumps have had some serious quality issues lately. You'll have to modifiy some things to make the Toyota pump work, but I feel it's a better option.

The distributor, ignition box, fuel pump, headers, and other supporting mods are a good idea. Taking care of those things first will make the process go faster and smoother when you do the blower build.

There is also a forced induction section here, might want to swing into that forum and do some reading.

 

I've read a bit in the forced induction forum, but every project is a little unique. My goal is to have a fun car... part of the fun for me is the upgrading and I doubt I'll ever reach a point where I'm 'done'.

I want a well functioning engine at the end of this that is still reliable and that all the misc parts work well and efficiently together.

If I didn't do a 383 that makes the project doable in one phase maybe... I will still have to toughen up some bottom end parts won't I... even with a 355?

 

Would the 383 be opposed to supercharging or is it just that a 355 is similar once supercharged?

 

In my opinion, the piston speed and other engine dynamics makes the 355 a better choice. Especially if you have a way to make up for the cubic inches like a blower. I have a 383 in my car and like it, but if I were building a forced induction motor I would use a 355.

Yes, you will need to build a better bottom end.

Here is how I would do it if I were you:

Stage 1 - Call Blower Works and talk to Greg. He can set you up with a blower kit for your stock car. Install the supporting mods he recommends. Fuel pump, ignition, etc... Then bolt his blower kit to your stock motor. Keep it reasonable, 6-8 PSI, and you should pick up close to 100 HP. You should be able to accomplish that and still have a very reliable, very stock driving car. Make sure the tune is good, everything is safe, and enjoy the car while you start to save for stage 2. I think you can complete this stage for $5000-$6000.

Stage 2 - When you talked to Greg about stage 1, you should have mentioned that a built 355 and some serious boost was in your future. Hopefully, you guys can come up with a system that will allow you re-use all the same bracketry, accessories, and other ancillaries while you upgrade to a larger head unit to make 20+ PSI on the new mill. Now that you've saved up some cash, you can start to build the new motor. I would recommend a crate motor, or at least a new block. That way, the car is still up and running while you put the thing together. There are a million ways to go here, but there are some very good deals on very stout short blocks from a number of vendors, and I think that's the route I would go.

Once the motor is built, you should be able to do the motor swap in a couple weeks of evenings and weekends. Make sure the fuel system is up to snuff, maybe use a fuel lab pump and other supporting mods. Make sure you have a good tune to start with, and spend some time dialing in the new set up. Make sure the tune is on, don't do anything crazy before then, and if things start to look funny, park the car until you figure it out. Do not melt the new mill from a bad tune.

Get all that squared away, and enjoy the car for awhile. No sticky tires though, have to wait for stage 3 for that. I think this stage could be done for another $7000-$8000 depending on how wild you get with the motor. $10K-12K isn't out of the question if you want nice stuff and buy nice complimenting parts (injectors, fuel lab pump, headers, etc...) At this stage, with 20 PSI of boost, 800+ RWHP isn't out of the question. If you have an automatic transmission it's days are numbered. A 4+3 will probably live a bit longer, the ZF6 should take it without an issue.

Stage 3 - A Dana 44 rear end swap and transmission build. If you have a ZF6, you'll need a clutch. There are also some things you can do to the rear end to help it survive. Summers Brothers outer stub axles, chromoly half shafts, U-joints, Tom's Differentials Carrier, gear change, cryo treated parts, Banski rod ends and alignment components, etc... This stage should prepare the car for the abuse associated with sticky tires. Expect another $4k-$5k here.

That's how I would go about it, but I might do stage 3 before stage 2, or maybe even before stage one. Lots of different ways to do it, but I think talking to Greg at Blower Works is a great first step for you. Get your feet wet with some boost, enjoy the car, and make sure that you want a forced induction monster before you head down that road.

 

Lots of good stuff there, thanks.

800RWHP is quite a bit higher than I was expecting. If I accomplished 450 I was going to be quite pleased.

 

It appears that you are working with an '85 - '89 vette coupe with auto based on the pics in your profile. With any of the suprecharger "kits", you will be pretty much limited to ~12 psi. But with some basic tricks, you can probably take that number to 15+ psi.

It takes a serious head unit to get to 20+ psi with a S/C...

 

I just bought a short block on ebay. You should check that out, you'll be suprised at what you find.

 

I was hesitant to swap the block out, but it sounds like if I want to get major horsepower into this car I'll not be able to avoid it.

 

Callaway in the late 80's and early 90's twin turboed the small block and used essentially the stock tpi intake. There is no real need to switch to a miniram for a street supercharged motor. The intake restriction is essentially no longer there because of the forced air into the motor. I've got a friend I race with who has a aerobody 89 with essentially the stock intake except for a larger throttle body and runs 10's.

 

Any opinions on cam or distributor on this setup?