Originally Posted by bwiencek

I almost bought a single cab SRT-10 a couple months ago to play around with - they've always seemed like they would be fun!

As for the combo - do some searching - here and on google - there are a LOT of well published 383 combos out there with dyno sheets (which you can't rely on actual power numbers - but look at the HP/Torque curves to try and think how it's going to drive on the street where you spend most of the time between idle and 2800-ish RPM and a good healthy torque curve in this area will make the engine seem more powerful than an engine built for max HP at high RPMs.) - just be sure to weed out the cam specs for EFI friendly cams VS the tight lobe center carb friendly cams - FWIW you can get most cams ground on a slightly wider LSA to make it a little easier to tune on an EFI car

here's one I built that's a great street engine and doesn't use exotic parts and is reliable and prices are about list prices - better deals can be found:
Stock block, bored .030 over, clearanced for stroker, square decked for the piston to be .010" in the hole.
Eagle balanced rotating assembly (cast crank, hyper flat top pistons, I-beam rods - ~$800)
AFR 195cc heads w/64cc chamber ($1500)
Comp XR288 hydraulic roller cam (or XR276 cam for a little more low-end) on a 112 lobe center (I'd say 110* minimum for EFI - can use a cam calculator with DCR to play with dynamic compression to get a pump gas and EFI friendly cam) and matched lifters
Roller rockers (I used comp narrow body rockers on that one)
A TPIS mini-ram ($900) intake manifold

Finish it with the basics - felpro gaskets, double-roller timing chain, Clevite rod/main/cam bearings, brass freeze plugs, 32-39lb injectors, etc.

A 2800 Stall converter and basic HP built 700R4 will hold up fine and should cost ~$1k to get built (upgraded sun shell, 5-pinion planataries, z-pack, super servo, shift kit, etc.) - add labor to R&R

Get a mail-order tune to start and break it in on and run it on until you can drive it to a good tuning shop and get it tuned properly to maximize the power of the combo (there is a lot of power to be found in the timing and fueling adjustments) - and economy by tuning the cruise part throttle RPM ranges to get a good lean economical cruise (which IMHO most tuners don't spend enough time in tweaking this range since folks are typically only looking at WOT dyno numbers and the gains they get and customers don't want to pay for the cruise RPM stuff since it doesn't give bragging rights!)

That will be enough to boil the tires on demand and be close to doubling the power that the car came with and really make a fun street car that's nice to drive, gets OK gas mileage and runs on pump gas.

Originally Posted by yedister

Anything is possible with time and money! I would go with a big cubic inch because you will outgrow a 383 in a matter of months. A 421, 434 is a good choice with a really good set of heads. Most of the guys on here have had more than one engine in their Vette and that is because the need for more power is addictive. If you search around, there are some really good deals that can be had for quality parts. i would not by a crate engine because most of them are basicallly a production line operation. Your 700R4 can be made to handle 750 Horsepower, if that is not enough, a 200R4 can be made to handle 900 horsepower. As for the rearend as long as you dont bang the gears of put your foot in it from a stop, it will live especially if the transmission is not setup to shift really hard. You can get a LT1 intake for about $150 and have it worked on for around $450 and it would as much as a Miniram ( The Miniram is a take off of the LT1 intake). You dont need a 3500 stall because your not drag racing. It has alway been apparent to me anyway that when you talk about 500 - 600 horsepower most people thing that your racing and turning RPMs. I experienced this several years ago with my 434 build, the stall converter company wanted me to purchase a 3800 stall because of my heads, cam and cubic inch size, I had Jake called back with about the same specs but in a big block 434 instead of small block 434, a 2800 was a good choice. There is lots of good knowledge on this forum and opinions! This is your money and your car build it to satisfy your need and desire. The better your heds flow the easier it will be to get to 600 horsepower with a small duration cam.

Originally Posted by C4orce2

I'm like you, not a gearhead, but I wanted my '92 to have a great deal more power. Like everyone has said, it is not cheap or quick. I had my LT1 replaced with a LS3 hot cam GM Performance crate engine. Of course that entailed a new radiator, pulleys, alternator, AC compressor, headers, computer interface, new computer, new fuse box, new mini cats, fuel pump and fuel line modifications, and modifications to the 700r4. If you want to see pics of the build, google "C4orce2" and look for my photobucket. It has an album showing the build of C4orce2. Total cost was in excess of $22K and that was with a big break on the labor since the builder will be using the car for shows. The build took 3.5 months. To me it was worth it. After tuning on a loaded dyno the end results were SAE net hp of 578 and SAE net tq of 602. However, I cannot put larger tires on it or race it at all since we did not touch the dana 36 with 3.73 gears. Any racing will force me to replace that as well. Good luck!

Originally Posted by C4orce2

I'm like you, not a gearhead, but I wanted my '92 to have a great deal more power. Like everyone has said, it is not cheap or quick. I had my LT1 replaced with a LS3 hot cam GM Performance crate engine. Of course that entailed a new radiator, pulleys, alternator, AC compressor, headers, computer interface, new computer, new fuse box, new mini cats, fuel pump and fuel line modifications, and modifications to the 700r4. If you want to see pics of the build, google "C4orce2" and look for my photobucket. It has an album showing the build of C4orce2. Total cost was in excess of $22K and that was with a big break on the labor since the builder will be using the car for shows. The build took 3.5 months. To me it was worth it. After tuning on a loaded dyno the end results were SAE net hp of 578 and SAE net tq of 602. However, I cannot put larger tires on it or race it at all since we did not touch the dana 36 with 3.73 gears. Any racing will force me to replace that as well. Good luck!

Originally Posted by navy_vette

I like the stroker idea. I went with a 355 because it was available and i got it for cheap. It was supposed to be a bench block for carbs, but we threw the TPI system with Edelbrock heads, comp cam rockers, pushrods. Crank and cam came with motor.

The problem with doing a 500 HP crate in 90's Corvettes (or any car in that time frame for that matter) comes with a pretty big price tag, a lot of man hours, and a bunch of grey hairs thrown in. They didn't want us doing what we do to these cars. That being said, the Gen I Chevy small block engine family is one of the most modified engines in the US (and probably a good part of the planet). The 383 conversion kit is a great option. It a hell of a lot cheaper than getting a crate and they give you pretty much everything you need to get it done. The torque potential out of putting one of these kits in an L98 is pretty awesome. Just remember to keep your project car and your "daily driver" seperate or you are going to tear big chunk of hair out of your head. I say this because this was my series of events with my 91'.

1.) buy car, drive fast(ish)
2.) Blow headgasket
-buy new heads from edelbrock, fix engine.
3.) Drive fast
4.) Burn through the tires because I can
-buy C6 rims with BF tires.
5.) Blow trans
-full trans rebuild from Redline
6.) Blow engine (again)
7.) Buy 355

Basically, when you upgrade something, your probably going to break something else. Most of the people on this forum have spent YEARS on these cars. Get ready for it.