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How big do you want to go? You can't bore these blocks much so you're pretty much limited to 383, unless you re sleeve the block. Seems most go with the ls2 or ls7 block if they want bigger though.
You might want to get a hold of the October 08 Car Craft Magazine,,They have a cover story on Gen III stroker motors. gives you a lot of info on the stock motors bore and strokes and many options and combinations available,and pros and cons of various combos.One of the cons is piston skirt scuffing when the stroke pulls the skirt too low in the bore!!Worth looking up,,good inf that might save some headaches in the future!!
A friend of mine has a 409ci out of a stock C5 block, but I wouldn't recommend it. The car needed a ton of extra cooling stuff to stay cool and ended up being more trouble than it was worth, whereas a 402 would have been basically the same thing without the headaches.
Do it right the first time. Get the correct block and forge it incase you want to bump up the power in the future. It is lot more money but very well worth it!
If you want to get some good advice it would be helpful to know a little bit more about what your goals are for the car.
There are lots of ways to make big power. Problem is you can't use it on the street because of traction issues. You also have the legal issues to consider.
If you bump up the power significantly you will need to also make improvements to your drivetrain such as new clutch, better torque tube, tranny, and differential. It adds up real fast! And when you go to sell you won't get much of what you spent back.
It's my understanding that the earlier LS1 blocks are not as good as the later blocks, which is something you should consider.