Thread: What motor to start with?

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If you were going to start from scratch with a good looking 3rd gen Fbody that has a great suspension already and a nicely built little 305, what motor would you start with. I'm not collecting change for my build but also can't afford some 10k crate motor. As a matter of fact I'm not interested in crate motors at all. I want to build mine. 350s are most plentiful and have a ton of power adders. 400s are kinda cool to sport and BBs just tear it up. This car won't be a daily driver so I'm not worried about gas milage but it has to be comfortable enough to drive around on weekends and to shows and stuff. I want a good amount of HP and torque but it probably won't see the track more than a couple of times a year. I'm more into the g-machine total handleing package rather than 1/4 mile setups. That new Gale Banks twin turbo setup for the 350 would be sweet but it on top of building a solid injected 350 probably is out of my price range. I don't want to start another one of these which motor is better debates. I'm looking for opinions on this particular scenerio. Oh and how would you go about getting the core? New? buy whole crashed car? junkyard/garage motor? ebay motor? Thanks. ---Rich

Pick up the March issue of Chevy High Performance, 400 horsepower smallblock for $2500 story is interesting. Swapping in an LS1 would be a great idea if you could find one at a decent price, changing cams and intakes with a little programming and you would be looking at over 500 horse.

That is nice site. I've spent some time checking out those combos but what about doing something different like going to a Pontiac/Olds motor. What are they 455s? I think they did a 402? Do you think it would be too pricey? Too hard? Do they make trans adapter plates for such a combo? It is a Pontiac car. Maybe it'd be cool to do like a thowback setup but with modern components.