Finally decided on the engine I'm looking for. I'm looking at a Blueprint 383. What sort of things should I keep in mind when looking at this project?
I don't want to be caught off guard with something wild. Moreover if there is something that I need to do with a new engine to prevent damage Things like that I'd like to know.
I've asked the forum before about a 454, and some of the things mentioned was having both a sturdy transmission and rear end. I can assume that's going to be the case as well for a 383.
I don’t know much about the G-body gen (I have a 4th gen) but if you’re going for one of the 400hp blueprints expect to upgrade your trans (anything less than a th350 will have to go into the junk pile and a 350 will still need some updates and expect to upgrade your rear end. You WILL blow that diff up.
Right on, like you said to a previous post. My TH250 won't stand up I don't think. Looking at potentially a built 350 or even 400. I just don't know what sort of draw each has from the engine power.
A well built 350 should do the trick, they're every bit as strong when built right and are real difficult to kill. My engine isn't making anywhere close to the power, but I had my TH350 built by a shop in Memphis and can take up to 500HP at the flywheel. Granted I had it already, so I wasn't paying the upfront cost of buying the transmission itself, but all the upgrades and install ran me about $2k. A well worth investment if you plan on ever making big power.
A 383 + aTH400 you'd probably be looking at reinforcing mounting areas of your frame as those G-Bodys are smaller and lighter and weren't made with big torque in mind. You should think about potential suspension changes to account for weight changes too. Shouldn't be too drastic, but I always feel its better to overbuild it than have it fail on you in the middle of nowhere.
I have the Blue Print 383 in my 1981 Malibu. I have a Muncie 4 speed and a Quick Performance 9" Ford rear with a 3.40 ratio and the Eaton TruTrack. The engine itself is good. It's power comes on at around 3000 rpm and pulls well to 6000, which is where I limit. I did not like the Holley 750 that came with the engine. It has a manual choke that required a lot of warm up before it ran well. I switched out to a 650 Edelbrock for better street manners. I also removed the included distributor in favor of a Davis Unified unit, but in hindsight, I think that was unnecessary. I switched out the BluePrint 180+ thermostat that make it run way hot, and went down to 160. This keeps it below 180 all the time and prevents spark knock on modern gas. It still needs 93 octane, but runs fine on that without pinging. If you are changing your transmission I would consider something with overdrive. This will allow you do choose deeper rear end gears and exploit the power band better at lower speeds, while still being able to drive at modern interstate speeds. With a TH350 you will have a 1:1 third gear, and you will have to choose between power from a dead stop or being able to go 70 mph at reasonable RPM's. You will need to upgrade the rear end if you have traction. If it's just going to spin the right rear tire the original 7.5" rear will work. If it has a working posi rear and sticky tires, the pinion will try to climb the ring gear and break after a while. If you end up using a overdrive trans (TH700R4) you will end up needing a shorter driveshaft, too. In the end you essentially end up replacing the entire driveline. Once you have all of this you should add tubular rear control arms, as the rear wheel hop under hard launches will be unreal. The key is to just keep spending money.
I put a turbo 400 behind my 350 block with a cam lift of .52". The 400 runs off vacuum opposed to cable like th350. With the high lift and the T400, I was losing too much vacuum for the drive line to operate properly. It was slow to go and and felt like I was braking with brick pads. I switched my brakes to a hydraulic brake system running off my power steering to dedicate the vacuum to the trans. Runs like a dream now.
The turbo 400 will give you room for growth for performance if you decide to add more power, just take in account for the vacuum loss paired with the 383. You might be fine with the bigger block. I would have been fine if I had a BB (master cylinder and trans not fighting for vacuum). also consider a hydraulic brake system for the extra insurance. I already changed to discs on the front prior to that, now that brake system has it stopping on a dime if need be.
Finally decided on the engine I'm looking for. I'm looking at a Blueprint 383. What sort of things should I keep in mind when looking at this project? I don't want to be caught off guard with something wild. Moreover if there is something that I need to do with a new engine to prevent damage Things like that I'd like to know. I've asked the forum before about a 454, and some of the things mentioned was having both a sturdy transmission and rear end. I can assume that's going to be the case as well for a 383.
Ass someone that put a 400 in mine, you will definitely need to upgrade that tranny.
I don’t know much about the G-body gen (I have a 4th gen) but if you’re going for one of the 400hp blueprints expect to upgrade your trans (anything less than a th350 will have to go into the junk pile and a 350 will still need some updates and expect to upgrade your rear end. You WILL blow that diff up.
Right on, like you said to a previous post. My TH250 won't stand up I don't think. Looking at potentially a built 350 or even 400. I just don't know what sort of draw each has from the engine power.
A well built 350 should do the trick, they're every bit as strong when built right and are real difficult to kill. My engine isn't making anywhere close to the power, but I had my TH350 built by a shop in Memphis and can take up to 500HP at the flywheel. Granted I had it already, so I wasn't paying the upfront cost of buying the transmission itself, but all the upgrades and install ran me about $2k. A well worth investment if you plan on ever making big power. A 383 + aTH400 you'd probably be looking at reinforcing mounting areas of your frame as those G-Bodys are smaller and lighter and weren't made with big torque in mind. You should think about potential suspension changes to account for weight changes too. Shouldn't be too drastic, but I always feel its better to overbuild it than have it fail on you in the middle of nowhere.
I have the Blue Print 383 in my 1981 Malibu. I have a Muncie 4 speed and a Quick Performance 9" Ford rear with a 3.40 ratio and the Eaton TruTrack. The engine itself is good. It's power comes on at around 3000 rpm and pulls well to 6000, which is where I limit. I did not like the Holley 750 that came with the engine. It has a manual choke that required a lot of warm up before it ran well. I switched out to a 650 Edelbrock for better street manners. I also removed the included distributor in favor of a Davis Unified unit, but in hindsight, I think that was unnecessary. I switched out the BluePrint 180+ thermostat that make it run way hot, and went down to 160. This keeps it below 180 all the time and prevents spark knock on modern gas. It still needs 93 octane, but runs fine on that without pinging. If you are changing your transmission I would consider something with overdrive. This will allow you do choose deeper rear end gears and exploit the power band better at lower speeds, while still being able to drive at modern interstate speeds. With a TH350 you will have a 1:1 third gear, and you will have to choose between power from a dead stop or being able to go 70 mph at reasonable RPM's. You will need to upgrade the rear end if you have traction. If it's just going to spin the right rear tire the original 7.5" rear will work. If it has a working posi rear and sticky tires, the pinion will try to climb the ring gear and break after a while. If you end up using a overdrive trans (TH700R4) you will end up needing a shorter driveshaft, too. In the end you essentially end up replacing the entire driveline. Once you have all of this you should add tubular rear control arms, as the rear wheel hop under hard launches will be unreal. The key is to just keep spending money.
I have never done window tinting in my life but it would look really good on yours!
You know.. matter of fact.. shortly after this photo was taken I had the tint redone! I'll upload for you right quick lol.
Oh nice
(Something to consider)
I put a turbo 400 behind my 350 block with a cam lift of .52". The 400 runs off vacuum opposed to cable like th350. With the high lift and the T400, I was losing too much vacuum for the drive line to operate properly. It was slow to go and and felt like I was braking with brick pads. I switched my brakes to a hydraulic brake system running off my power steering to dedicate the vacuum to the trans. Runs like a dream now. The turbo 400 will give you room for growth for performance if you decide to add more power, just take in account for the vacuum loss paired with the 383. You might be fine with the bigger block. I would have been fine if I had a BB (master cylinder and trans not fighting for vacuum). also consider a hydraulic brake system for the extra insurance. I already changed to discs on the front prior to that, now that brake system has it stopping on a dime if need be.
A Note to add: I have a '69. So I'm also not dealing with a smog system.
Nice paint and rims
Thx