big block or small block

[pontiacman1985]

help me deside and vote

[quine421]

Its cheaper

help me deside and vote

It cheaper in the long run .,and more contestant than n.o.s ,or turbo,.

[Trash man]

what ur plans for it? and what car it going into? tranny setup? suspension?

[pontiacman1985]

the car is a pontiac trans am 1985 it`s being built for drag racing only, so will not see the highway it has been striped inside and out to save on waight
i`m looking to hit the 8 secs bracket
the tranny looks like a th400 full race but not sure ??
the same again replacing the k-member with light waight tubing including a arms and coilover shocks front and rear with maybe a ford 9" rear end
what do you think ????
the engine at the moment looks like it`s going to be around the 500 ci

any suggestions

[Trash man]

plan on beating the hell outta the firewall and good luck on fitting headers on a third gen with a BBC. id go and find either a 350 or 400 motor and build a 383 stroker(outta the 350) with a lil juice or use the 400 and do it n/a

[Dave Vince]

BB is the best choice.

For reliability, cost and performance the Big Block is the best choice. Especially if you are trying to run 8s. I would also go bigger than 500". If you are building from scratch there is little additional cost to go to 600". If you are starting with a stock block this will not be possible however. I built a 632" from scratch for under 10K with new components, except the heads and intake, by doing all the work myself. These motors sell for 15-19K when built by engine builders but you must have the skills to do this. The car ran 6.0 in the 1/8th NA, thats about 9.4-9.5 in the 1/4. This car weighs about 3100 lbs too. Try and match that cost to a small block that can run those numbers NA and you will be spending about 20-25K more.
With some juice you will easily be in the 8s then with the proper chassis work.
Here is a pix of the 632, juice runs have been too much for the tires at this point but were working on it.

[pontiacman1985]

thanks for that your engine looks very nice
i know you can fit a big block in with long tube headers ya it my be a bit tight
was`nt sure on the ci i thought arround 500 -600 ci
i`ll be doing as much of the work as i can on the engine
what are your suggestions on the chassis ???

[quine421]

Don't go hunting for beers with out bullets

It cheaper in the long run .,and more contestant than n.o.s ,or turbo,.

If you are trying it run 8,or high 7s you are going to need at 400,or more.The more the easier it is .Look it big boy, runing those times there all run punch out
small bocks, But are you doing this for fun ,or are you going to run a class with it . If so lets stop now and git a rule book on the you are going to run.

[ConElite]

If you are trying it run 8,or high 7s you are going to need at 400,or more.The more the easier it is .Look it big boy, runing those times there all run punch out
small bocks, But are you doing this for fun ,or are you going to run a class with it . If so lets stop now and git a rule book on the you are going to run.

Now that was hard to read.


As for the topic. If your planning on running in the 8's you better get yourself a rule book. Its not as easy as Slapping a huge engine in and going. A great deal of attention needs to be focused on the Frame. Your looking at a 10 point roll cage. Maybe some mini tubs in the rear. Fuel Cell and if allowed, a fuel management system. unless you go Carbed. A ford 9" should be fine. If your going o run auto, then a very high stall is going to be needed with a TRans-Brake Set up. Some bullet proof Axle Shafts. Your going to need about 800+ hp. I think it was "Horsepower TV" that dropped the 572 BigBlock in a Nova and they were able to Get it into the 9's with a 4 link set up in the rear. Took a lot of adjustments but the less they were able to do it with 600 hp. Suspension can be the difference between making the hp your make run very efficient.

[pontiacman1985]

well i am down the strip this weekend so i am hoping to pick up a rule book and decide what class the car is going to be and then sticking to it.
No it`s not that easy to just drop an engine into the car and go thats too easy to do.
i am installing a 10 point roll cage and fuel cell and she`ll be carbed yes i`ll be running a auto trans high stall with trans break
how would you tube the rear ?????
can any one advise on a class to run in ????

[Dragkid1917]

Well, you have to decide wheather you wanto race sunday points so to speack or be a divisional racer. Goin mid 8's alone will buy you nothing. If you wanto race super pro, or whatever they call it at your track, they run alot of electronics, and you have to be a good racer to win, the speed just helps. Its pretty hard to run super comp in a car, so id say you would have to put a throttle stop on and run super gas (9.90 index). I would run a 2 speed powerglide, not a TH 400, and have a trans break installed. You have to set up your car for full tree or pro tree, if you ever wanto be good. It takes alot of experience to ever hang with the best, so you should start now. A 572 BBC should work fine, and for braket racing i would advise not to run any type of turbo or s/c or nitrus, its just another variable that you have to control to be accurate.

[ConElite]

Yeah I would get just that 572 that GM performance has and drop that. Thats 600hp out of the box. You can always change the carb and get some more hp. That should be goot for you if you dont have to much Experience. Have you ever ran anything faster than a 9.99 in the quarter? You should start with a more stable platform to get a feel for that stuff then with time start improving with the 572. Plus your going to get your Licence to run low 10's.

[MunsonGTA]

he would need the 572R, which is rated at 720 hp. that alone wouldn't get him into the 8's i wouldn't think. he'd still need to throw some juice at it or something.

[ConElite]

he would need the 572R, which is rated at 720 hp. that alone wouldn't get him into the 8's i wouldn't think. he'd still need to throw some juice at it or something.

oh Yeah Im sure it wont get you into the 8's, but you need to take into account If this guy has experience going that fast. 8 seconds it pretty dang fast. The good thing about that ZZ572, is that it comes with forged internals and 4 bolt mains. Im sure that thing can handle a huge shoot of Nitrous. Man I'd like to see what that engine does with about 8lb of boost. That engine should get you into the 9's with the correct suspension setup.

[Dragkid1917]

yhea but, bracket racing with all that stuff isnt how your going to win races, You could build a mild head/ cam 572 to start, and then change em, my frend has a camaro that goes high high 8's with a 572, but hees not even pushin it at all, You can easily get an 8.5 outof a 572. Think of the super stockers and what not, granted they beat the crap outof there engines but there runnin 426 himi's in the mid 8's 100% naturally aspirated. They have 283 and 289 small blocks goin high 9's. As long as you weigh the right amount, youll do the number with a 572. But you still need to decide on a class to run in.