$3500 worth of perfomance goodness

[BlitzKeg]

my friend has a 1990 camaro...
he has about $3500 and a will to upgrade his car.

he wants about 400rwhp out of his car.

and it needs to be a daily driver.

his motor in there right now is a piece of shit.. bad rings, oil leaks from faulty gaskets, 180,000 miles of wear and tear rag the shit out of it driving.

What whould be some good routes to explore.?!?!?!?!?

I've heard of the saying " fast, reliable, cheap......you can only have 2"

I think he wants fast and reliable , I'm just exploring the cheapiest.

any input would be greatly appreciated......

BTW I can fix cars but Ive never physically made one into a race car.

[CamarosRsweet94]

Well, if the engine is shit, start by replacing that. I don't know why you would want 400 Hp for a daily driver, but whatever. $3500 isn't enough money to get you even close to that, not with a 1990 camaro even if its got a 350 in it. I don't know what engine it does have since you didn't say but the 305s are weak and not worth putting that kind of money into. If your friend wants that much HP either tell him to save a lot more and do it, or just go buy a newer car that has nearly that much HP stock and work on that. Sorry to be a downer but I just don't think the plan is feasable.

[Dober89]

I would look into a 383, theres tons of different builds around and alot of them make over 500 ft lbs of torque. You wont be able to get 400 whp for 3500 bucks but you can atleast get a good jump on it!

[Vortec350S10]

ya I agree with these guys. $3500 bucks can get you a basic 350 crate engine, but he's probably wanna get a fresh tranny,converter/clutch, Water pump, alternator, PS pump, fuel pump, carb, air filter, distributor, coil, plug wires, headers, exhaust, motor mounts, belts,I think you get the picture. I did a GMPP 350 HO crate engine (cheapest one) and I got about 5 grand in just under the hood parts, tranny, and gauges. He could 300 horse for WAY cheaper than 400. Just my 2 cents.

[Xenostalgia]

to get it installed right if you need to pay for it all is gonna cost you 8-10k plus another 3-5k upgrading the engine for 400whp sorry bro.

[Hypsi87]

Two words....

Crate Engine...

You can pick up a crate engine for 2 grand or so and you would have professionally built GM engine with the power you are looking for and still have a WARRENTY for alot cheaper

[demon9766]

Well dude tell your budy to save aolt more$$$$ if he wants 400hp,because $3500 will only buy heads that will make that kind of power and maybe some block work. I know because i have 490hp on just motor and i spent twice that much and did most of the work myself.And thats not adding the cost for a trans,rearend,and a lot of other parts.The list goes on an on!!! But u can but a 383 crate motor,but u will still have to spend a few more grand, and u still might not get 400hp with more mods.Sorry!!!

[LT1MAN]

lt1 and stroke to 396

[jd87sep]

i like the words Crate Engine. and also Warranty.

[wrightz28]

I've heard of interesting things being done with caddy northstar engines?

[stephenp]

high compression pistons 450 and new rings 200, head job (ie port polish50, oversized valves 250, good valve springs 200, and some new seals 150), a good cam and lifter set 200, some new connecting rods 600, a good intake 200 and carb 400, and a good ignition ( hei coil 100 module 100)
but then your restricted by the exhaust manifolds so there goes another 200, and the exaust at a shop 150, the rocker arms at 200, and the pushrods for 150 and a good oil pump for 40 and new aluminum h2o pump at 120
then you rebuild your tranny (shop probably about 150) and get a good kit 300 and a stall converter 200 and already up to 4410 but thats all overestimated and your still hoping for the rear axel not to give out but thats about it aside from blowing a shock out or something those numbers are high but if you got ahold ofg a company they might cut you a deal if you said im gonna buy all this how much will it cost and then you get ahold of the machine shop and say i want all this done and then you might get all that done and still have enough to spluge oin all new fluids and a cheap alluminum radiator for all ion total 3500 but you gotta wheel and deal and dont expect them to overnight it all either lol and yes all numbers approximate the install good luck on what ever route you go

[89IROC&RS]

i agree whole heartedly with Hypsi on this one. There are multiple crate engines from GMPP that offer those demands for a good price. Also, look up hotrod magazine and Chevy high performance tech articles. They have done many build ups that reach 400hp on a budget. use the remaining money to beef up the tranny and rear end to handle the power.

also, you havent told any of us what were working with. Is it a 350/700R4 setup or a 305/T5, or a 305/700R4.

[stephenp]

yeah you might want to go to your local junk yard and grab a 350 4 bolt fopr good measure if its anything other than a 350 unless its a 400 lol firebird but good luck
and actually a good reliable machiumne shop will give ytou a garuntee on workmanship and a company should offer a companny defect garuntee so all in all iom still one to say do it your selkf and you know what your getting
alos to add a twist to my little list you could rebearing and rering it and get some hella headwork and a good hipo cam and push it close to that for under 1000 and then you jst buy a intake exhaust5 and carb for another 1000 and get a good set of fuel delivery and cooling parts and a good oil pump for another 500 and easily push 400 then use the left overs to beef the tranny and suspention