Cascade Crew

[IROC-stangs]

what do you all think of the fast burn 385 from gmpp? does anyone have one here? are they emissions legal? and what do you all think would be the final price be with everything starting from a stock iroc like engine,exhuast,headers,and so on to make it work. or should i stick to my original plans of building a 383. im just woried i dont have the knowledge to build it.

heres the info

Hot aluminum heads collaborate with a cool small-block V-8 GM Performance Parts designed our Fast Burn aluminum performance cylinder heads for small-block applications just like our Fast Burn 385 turn-key crate engine. Engineered to meet the demands of a hungry small-block with an aggressive camshaft, the Fast Burn cylinder heads are the featured component on this awesome small-block Chevy crate engine. The Fast Burn 385 blends the ZZ4 350 short block with the latest in cylinder head technology. With this hot turn-key option, all you need to do is install it, add the fuel, add 12V power, and go start some trouble.

Rated at 385 horsepower and 385 lb.-ft. of torque, the Fast Burn 385 is all ZZ4 inside the crank case including the forged steel crankshaft, hypereutectic pistons, and steel hydraulic roller camshaft. Thanks to a set of the GM Performance Parts Fast Burn cylinder heads, that same short block breathes deeper and more efficiently than ever. These heads have the exclusive Fast Burn combustion chamber design to maximize the efficiency of burning the air/fuel mixture'resulting in an impressive increase in power.

The Fast Burn 385 Turn-Key is delivered to you with an aluminum dual-plane intake manifold, HEI distributor, cast iron water pump, dampener, and flexplate. It also includes an accessory drive package, fuel pump, chrome air cleaner kit, Holley 770-cfm carburetor, starter, and spark plug wires. That's a lot of horsepower in one box'we hope you can handle it!

i figure this will probaly be good enough to keep up with them c5's and defintly with a small shot of nitrous. i inmagine that the 700r4 would need a rebuilt with a shift kit. thanks.

[Dewey316]

I don't think I would put nitrous though that motor, with hyper pistons.

I don't know what the cost would be, chances are that putting that kind of power in your car, you will find all the weak points. That is what is going to cost money. You'll for sure need headers, then other misc. stuff that will come up. Then add in the $5k price-tag on that motor.

If you are interested in a turn-key motor, maybe talk to Twilightoptics, and see what kind of prices their shop would charge for something similar.

The other thing to factor in, is if you aren't comfortable building an engine, are comfortable swapping in a motor?

[IROC-stangs]

[Dewey316]

Don't take this the wrong way....

I'm just noticing in your post's, some pretty basic questions. Which is GREAT, every single person on this board, at some point, asked the same questions.

I just wonder if maybe an engine swap might be something for you down the road. Maybe you should start off with some more basic modifications, and spend some time learning your car. Lot's of people here are more than willing to help you wrench, install stuff, etc. And there is a lot you will learn from just doing that stuff. I am just wondering if that is a better place to start off.

That being said, I think the fastburn heads are awesome. If I had the coin, the fastburn 385 or the ZZ383 with the fastburn heads, would be a great motor. But, neither of those motors give you much potential for growth. If you want to go beyond those motors, you have to rebuild, upgreade the internals etc. For the same price, you could probably assemble a pretty stout motor, with all the internals to be used later down the road to make some huge power.

[IROC-stangs]

[aaron_sK]

If your engine is up in the air, then focus on platform mods (Al's red car for instance). You'll have more fun driving it without ever increasing horsepower.

[IROC-stangs]

[redlava]

He's saying that you could upgrade brakes, suspension, and stuff that would transfer over to the new engine like the headers/exhaust.

[IROC-stangs]

[Schultzy89GTA]

I agree with these guys. This is the approach that I took with my car. I worked on suspension, transmission, etc. in preparation for more power and then started on upgraded intake/cam, then 383 w/ better heads, then bigger cam... etc. etc.

Either approach is valid but we have all seen folks that go for power first and then aren't able to fully enjoy it as they find each new weak link in the chain (transmission, rear end, etc.). This takes some of the joy out of having all that new power when you can't use it or put it to the street.

Lots of experience here. Post up your thoughts or show up at a gathering and chat about it/get ideas.

-Schultzy

[Alphius]

I prefer the approach that leads to a massive mechanical massacre.

But only if it's not a daily driver and you can afford to repair the mess.

And take pictures. For posterity and bragging rights...

Hence why I run a Non-World Class T5 and 10-bolt rear behind my 355. And I'm not nice to it. Haven't been able to generate any good stories/pictures yet though. I just need to add more power until I can kill something.

[IROC-stangs]

[83Z28BlackBetty]

Hey man,

Take my car as an example. I've owned it for 5 years and have yet to mod my engine. Instead I've focused on getting a car that can handle big power and is still fun to drive.

Things to do,
Brakes (safety first) don't worry about spending tons of money on big brake upgrades out of the box (sorry ian ) new calipers are like 15 bucks, and new hoses are about the same. Get a good ceramic pads for $50, and you will have much more stopping power than you do currently.

Exhaust: Headers and a good exhaust system will bolt up to any SBC not LSX but the stock exhaust system is one of the biggest restrictions to these car in stock form. Plus it will give you a mean sound and make your car much more fun to drive.

Suspension, It is a guarantee that your stock suspension is shot. Get a decent pair of shocks and struts (KYB's are great for performance per $$) and a set of stiff springs/ swaybars. The stock WS6 stuff out of the later model firebirds can be found pretty cheap since these guys are upgrading their stuff.

Later comes rear axles, look into a 4th gen 10 bolt or a 3rd gen 9 bolt. both can handle more power than the stock 3rd gen 10 bolt. Look for a Posi and one with rear discs for a good brake upgrade.

Tranny, The nonWC t5 will break on you and a worn out 700r4 will slip and slide like crazy once power is put to it. look to rebuild these to handle the power of a new motor.

These are a few of the upgrades i've done over the years and it has resulted in my car being a pretty reliable daily driver and now that i have upgraded these things, i'm not worried about breaking too much once i get a new motor put in. PLUS they are all compatible(minus exhaust) with any motor you decide to put in so you won't be wasting any money in the meantime.

~JAKE

PS keep your chin up about your car. Don't let anyone talk down on it and make you think it sucks. It will get there in time

[IROC-stangs]

[d00012]

The hooker 2055s are supposed to be really good for the 305. I think they come with the y-pipe? Or are they long tube headers? Anywho, I've been told to get those as well.

[aaron_sK]

They are shorties. They are also a lot of money, especially for a guy who doesn't know if he wants to stick with an SBC.

[IROCDave]

IROC Stang, you are getting great advice from people who have been through the gammut of 3rd gen builds. The consensus is to know what engine you eventually plan to drop in, but start with the accessories first.

The first thing I would do would be fix any driveablity problems. Then install headeres and cat back. Next would be - MSD 6Al box, shift kit and Corvette servo, after market lower control arms/panhard bar/tourqe arm, subframe connectors then if the diff is in decent shape, a new engine.

From my own personell experience I would purchase a short block from GMPP. I have had experiences with alot of machine shops and dont trust any of them, and have had buddies that trusted shops and got burned. I am talking about getting screwed by several thousand dollars and left with a pile of rubble when the engine grenaded. GMPP stands behind the engines they sell. I sent a short block back to ScogginDickey, had a knock, they sent another the day after I called them. No questions asked.
That shortblock is the same one that is in my IROC 10 years later.
My dad purchased a basic 350 long block from GMPP 15 years ago and I installed it in his PU truck. It has a 156K on it and is still running strong. The rest of the truck, 74 3/4 is falling apart
but he refuses to junk it becuase the engine still runs strong.

If you only take one thing from my post, DO NOT TRUST ANY MACHINE SHOP! Most of the owner operators are full of sh!@.

[IROC-stangs]

[Dewey316]

what kind of bouncing? Could be shocks/struts, or could be something else.

Popping noise when you back up, if you have the wheels turned fairly sharp, is usualy ball-joints.

[IROC-stangs]