What is the best way to build a 454 or 350 for drag racing?

Question

I am thinking about building another street/drag car. I will probably use a Nova or Camero. I was looking for opinions and facts about building a high compresion motor, vs lower compression with a Super chager on it. What would be the best. It won't be street driven. Strickly on the 1/8 mile and 1/4 mile tracks. So what are your opinions thoughts or facts?
Thanks

Answer 1

The 454 will produce much more torque and horsepower but will also be harder on the wallet than the 350. Supercharging will even further escalate the costs and complexity of tuning. However,the supecharger will produce torque and power numbers that simply increasing compression on a naturally-apsirate engine can't replicate. superchargers force much more air and fuel into the combustion chamber, raising compression does not. Search for some crate engines online and look at the costs of these for a proven combo to build. At the end of the day, the supercharger will make more power but cost more. Same goes for the 454. Find a solid crate engine and copy it if you must build your own.

Answer 2

First off, I wouldn't leave my decision making to Yahoo! Answers, but I'd go with a low compression supercharged small block. Maybe a 383? There are tons of variables to consider and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Just find a good engine builder or someone who knows what is going on to get some good options. Superchargers get a little expensive, but you know how much you can spend. The saying has always been - no substitute for cubic inches. Step one would be to plan a budget and find out what you can afford to do. All the horsepower in the world will do you no good if your chassis is garbage. Crate motors are always an option, too. Hard to go wrong there.

Answer 3

It really depends on what class you are planning on running in and if you intend to run in the nhra or the ihra as each sanctioning body has different rules depending on your choice.the choices range from "trophy stock" where you go up against another similar STREET LEGAL CAR and whomever wins that race gets a trophy all the way up to "pro stock" where you are dealing with "CUSTOM FABRICATED EVERYTHING". If you could be more specific as to your intentions then I could offer a better answer.

Answer 4

bore and sleave the 454 out to a 510 cu. Counterbore the pistons for bigger valves and add NOS.

you will need a parachute after that. :)

Answer 5

they got rules you know get the rulebook for the class u want to be in or are u just daydreaming+

Answer 6

ask Bill (Grumpy) Jenkins or Victor Cagnazzi