355 vs. 383 vs. 406 (possibly 408)

Ok. As most of you guys know I blowed up my 406 a couple weeks ago (broke a rod in case anybody doesn't know), and I'm now running a flat top 355 as a "hold me over" untill I can fix something else.

Well, in a month or two, I'm gonna fix something else. At first, it was going to be my 406. But now I'm having second thoughts. I'm still going to fix back my 406 (which may have to turn into a 408 if the cylinder walls need to be bored a little more), but I just don't know if I want to fix it back first.

My options are hopping up the 355 that's in the car, turning the 355 in the car into a 383 stroker, or rebuilding the 406.

Now regardless of what I do, I'm going to be buying a new Eagle cast steel crank ($189.99 from Jegs), Eagle forged steel H-beam 5.7" rods ($429.99 from Jegs), new bearings, new oil pump, and a new timing set.

Now to my options:

1) hop up the 355. I could do this by simply gettin some dome pistons, which woudl either give me 14.0:1 or 12.9:1 compression (I'm not exactly sure what the combustion chambers are on my heads, they're either 58cc or 64cc). That would probably make the car run like it did with the 406 (4.40s in the 330), and that is a good speed for where I race (I mean I did make 3 straight finals at that speed). The plus side of staying with the 355 would be reliability. A 355 can take LOADS of punishment. The downside, it may only run 4.50s where I race, which isn't bad, but I really want to atleast get back to running 4.40s.

2) turn the 355 into a 383. Again, someting simple to do. I could just get that steel crank with a 3.75 in. stroke (400 stroke) instead of a 3.48 in. stroke (350 stroke). And like with the 355, it too would get either 14.0:1 or 12.9:1 compression (from SRP Forged Dome Pistons, or I could get 13:1 Mahle Forged pistons). Now this combination would be a little tricky because we've never fooled with a stroker motor before. So I really would'nt know what to expect from a 383. I woudl think it'd have the torque of a 400, so it should run similar times, but I really dont know. And I also dont know if it coudl stand as much "torture" as a 355.

3) just rebuild the 406 first. It too would get dome pistons (14.2:1 or 13.0:1 compression), with everything else being the same. Now I'm a little skittish with doing this to the 406 becuase its only a 2-bolt main block. The shop that build it swears by 2-bolt 400 blocks, but I just think having 4 bolts holding the main caps on is better then having 2. The guy that owns the shop says the inner bolts on the 400 put stress on the mains, and it causes them to break, but I still think 4 is better then 2. Either way, a loose rod bolt is waht caused it to break the rod, so maybe he does know what he's talking about. Now the upside to fixing back the 406 would be extreme amounts of hp (probably upwards of 650 hp). That would put me probably in the 4.20s where I race, which is still far from being the fastest, but fast enough to give alot of spots. The downside would be the initial launch. It comes A LOT harder out of the hole. Most of the time it would go straight, but once ever now and again it would go crazy, and you just can't win if that's happening. Also, 406s can't take nearly the amount of punishment a 350 can.

So, I dont exactly know what I want to do yet. I'd like to build a stroker motor to just see what they can do. I really like 355s for race engines though, becuase they are much more reliable then 406s. 406s are fast though, and mine took a pretty good lot of punishment, but historically, our 406s have never even came close to holding up like our 355s. No matter what I do though, I should get back to atleast running what I did (4.40s), and that's what I really want to do.

Cliff Notes
-Within a month or two, plan on rebuilding an engine
-Don't exactly know what I want to build though
-hop up my 355 or turn it into a 383 or overhaul and hop up my 406
-regardless, whatever I build will have at least 12.9:1 compression pistons.

Stroker, that's all i need to say.

Turn the 406 into a stroker if that's possible. Go really big. And actually dyno your car once it's done.

Stroker, that's all i need to say.

Lol. Well, I'm really thinking about it. I'm going to ask around about it in the coming weeks and see what some people that's done it before think about them. I really like 355s for race engines and you just can't beat a 406 for small block power (unless you go 421 or 434, lol).

I do love the way 383 rolls off the tounge though.

Turn the 406 into a stroker if that's possible. Go really big. And actually dyno your car once it's done.

Its possible. You can turn any engine into a stroker. All you do is change the stroke of the crank. I could buy a 3.48 in stroke crank for the 406, and that would make it a 377 I think. Or, I could buy a 4 in. stroke crank for the 406, and make it a 421 or a 434, not real sure. The trouble with going bigger is breaking parts. 400s can take alot of punishment, but not nearly as much as a 350. As for as money goes, it all will cost the same regardless, but the general rule is, the more hp you make, the more parts you break, lol.

Lol. Well, I'm really thinking about it. I'm going to ask around about it in the coming weeks and see what some people that's done it before think about them. I really like 355s for race engines and you just can't beat a 406 for small block power (unless you go 421 or 434, lol).

I do love the way 383 rolls off the tounge though.



My dream project is to build a 66 Chevelle frame off restoration and put a 383 in it... So i'm pretty biased with those options, i just picked what i would have chosen.

My dream project is to build a 66 Chevelle frame off restoration and put a 383 in it... So i'm pretty biased with those options, i just picked what i would have chosen.

Lol. Well I'm really thinking about going with a 383.

I'm leaning towards building the 350 block becuase it is a 4-bolt main block and my 400 block is only a 2-bolt main. A 383 would have to be stronger then a 355, lol, so that helps its cause even more.

Regardless, having 13:1 compession in any one of my options is going to be a strong engine with my heads and intake.

I say, do em both, keep a back up engine ready. May cost more but it will save you from missing any track dates here after if you blow an engine. Which will save you some money in the long run.

Why not build it low compression (less than 9:1) and boost it? Either a supercharger or a turbocharger.

Kind of off-topic, why do domestic guys prefer superchargers while import guys prefer turbos?

Why not build it low compression (less than 9:1) and boost it? Either a supercharger or a turbocharger.

Kind of off-topic, why do domestic guys prefer superchargers while import guys prefer turbos?


Not everyone does, a lot of people just like that instant power that a belt driven supercharger gives you. It's all preference.

Why not build it low compression (less than 9:1) and boost it? Either a supercharger or a turbocharger.

Kind of off-topic, why do domestic guys prefer superchargers while import guys prefer turbos?

Well, I'd have to change everything if I did that. Which, I arleady have a flat-tappet cam (.563/.581 lift Crane) and lifters to match it. See, the engine I'm running right now was originally set up for nitrous. That's why its got forged flat top pistons. When I bought it, it had that cam in it, and it had GM heads that were ported and have 2.05 valves (good for a street engine or Bracket 2 car, but not good for what I want). The guy I bought it from sprayed it with a 100 shot of nitrous. Now I changed all of that out. I put my Pro 1 heads (2.08 valves, ported way more, and just 10x better flowing heads) and my roller cam and lifters (either .645/.650 or .650/.655 lift), and my intake (Victor Jr, ported to match the heads).

Now I probably could still spray it with a 100 or 150 shot, but I'm positive my compression has went up from what it was before. Those GM heads were probably 72cc chambers (maybe 8.5:1 or so compression), where as these are either 58cc or 64cc. So you see, my compression is probably around 10.5:1 now, and I've probably added 100 hp to the engine by putting my heads/cam/intake on it.

And besides, I'm the Anti-Nitrous! lolol. My motto is "bottles are for babies". And I've never seen a turbo or super charger be very consistant. Not saying they couldn't be, jsut that I've never seen one be (not that I've seen very many in a bracket car).