Guys, need a little help. Have a 67 Camaro, frame off restored. Now the motor, I have a choice of any motor, 350, 400, 427 ect. Blown or not.
Now the advice.
I want a motor for the street and show, that is a sleeper per say. Silent but extremely deadly. Setup with 373 rear end and 4 speed. In everyones opinion, What is the best motor to put in this car, I want a screamer, quick, fast and hard to touch, I want to eat Vettes and so on.
Do I go with a new 468 Blown on Pump Gas, a 400 Small block, 427 big block? I will have it setup 10.5:1. recommend cam, lift, intake, carb?
Thoughts are much appreciated. Clay

Clay,

"Silent but extremely deadly" is a pretty tall order. Performance engines tend to be mechanically "noisy". A blower make s a ton of noise all by itself.

How important is handling? If it's high on the list, a well done 383 would be my "vote". Strong torque and tough stuff, I believe it to be superior to the 400 SB. The big block simply is too heavy for good handling in a 1st gen F-body. 400 is a "weak" block (350 "4-bolt" is MUCH tougher). 400 can make serious power, but all the necessary preparations for a "stock block" make it heavier and reduces it's ability to keep "cool", already an issue with the siamesed cylinders.

ProCharger can be an effective blower system with reduced noise and reduced maintainence. Keep your compression under 9.5:1 with iron heads or 10.2:1 with aluminum. This will make it easier to keep it running "right" on pump gas.

Tell us more about exactly what you want the engine to do, and we can be more specific.

Jim

Appreciate the reply, So the Big Block too heavy. My Brother had a 71 Z with 350 LT1 13:1 Piston, mild cam, ran on pump gas. His was quiet as he Ran mufflers. I want to Muffler the Car, but not choke the engine. Had a 4:11 Rear. I am looking to drop in a motor that will hit a lick and give a vette Hell on the street. I like a small block. My brother was all matched, B/B'd.
Just wondering, If I can go with a 350 LT1, Iron Heads, can I do 10:1 Pistons? If I need to stay at 9:1 what cam , lift and intake will give me what I need, with 850 Holley? Thanks

Unless you "rev" it to 8,000, an 850 is too much carb for a 355 CID engine. We use an AED 750HO for 383s and they WORK. The 355 (350, bored .030) likes a 650 or 700 CFM carb. We always recommend AED Holleys for hot rods and racers. For more docile applications, Q-Jet w would be the better choice.

The early LT-1 (circa '69-'71, 370 HP) came with iron heads at 11:1 static compression. It may have been a bit higher, memory is all I have to go on here. Dishing the piston can make it pump gas "friendly". Using a Comp XE (Xtreme Energy) grind will bring back the power lost by lowering the compression, and then some. The entire combination must be examined before we can make a recommendation for a specific grind.

Jim

Thanks for the advise. The car has a new 454/468 Blown motor. The front end ect has been redone to accomodate. I am thinking of staying with the engine, having the blower removed and an intake /card installed. I guess I will need the lift and cam size to match the intake?