sbc VS bbc ENGINE CHOICE

[Grumpy]

I apologize in advance if it's a duplicate topic I couldn't find one the same. But anyways, so I'm getting a 3rd gen Camaro and I am gonna build it into a "weekend car" and I don't know if I should go with something like a 383 stroker with a nice sounding cam or go with a big block like a 454. Just looking to drive it to work on a Friday if it's nice and go for a cruise on the weekend and take it to local car shows, not looking to race it but if I ever wanna get on it for a second it will put be to the back of my seat. I want it to have a lot of HP but still drivable. I just don't know if a 383 can put out enough power for what I want and I'm not for sure if I want a big heavy big block when I'm trying to just cruise around. Any pros/cons would be appreciated. Also if I go with say the 383 should I just get a pre built motor from say jegs or just go to a shop and have them build one specifically for what I want. New to building my own car I've always bought the car already built.

theres no question that, in a fairly heavy car driven on the street, or even a race car if its over 3000 lbs a well built big block engine has some serious potential power level, advantages over a sbc engine platform.
both the sbc and BBC engines can potentially produce 1.4 horse power per cubic inch of displacement, or a bit more in a serious engine combo build.
obviously you can have brisk performance without having any where near 1.4 hp per cubic inch of displacement ,provided the cars engine and drive train gearing is carefully thought out.
a well built 10:1 compression,454 with the proper gearing, oval port heads , a decent hydraulic roller cam, and ideally an over drive transmission like a 4l80E could be built to provide that power without needing to build a radical and potentially expensive combo.
the links, AND SUB-LINKS provide a great deal of related info, and it should be rather obvious that a well thought through combo need not be extremely radical to provide the brisk performance.
thats the advantage of a high torque larger displacement engine, you don,t need to rpm it much over 5000 rpm to still destroy tires in an easy blip of the throttle, for a cloud of tire smoke.many guys ignore proven combos, because it may cost more than they want to spend, and either insist on using components they own currently or think they can buy far less expensively than the components, I know from experience will actually work.
every choice is a compromise in several areas and on the street building an engine for massive torque thats instantly available at the tip of your toe on the throttle can be very impressive, and DISPLACEMENT and reasonably high compression matched to the correct cam and drive train gearing can make that happen rather easily.
its all a learning process, you want too simply want to mentally take a step back, take a deep breath or two,
and start testing to find out whats working correctly,in your current combo,
whats not working up to your expectations,and if its not meeting your goals, logically calculate what should change,
and then calculate what can be adjusted or if necessary parts that can be logically replaced, and re-tested,
if that required too improve the performance.
don,t make the all too common mistake of thinking adding horsepower is the only route to improved performance.
suspension mods, better shocks, better brakes, a stiffer frame, larger diameter and wider tires, and drive train gearing and removing weight,
and correctly setting up the cars chassis to more effectively apply weight transfer ratios,
swapping to lower weight parts,or stronger , or more durable parts, use of stronger drive train components, better matched gear ratios, all help

if you build 350 with a stroker crank assembly ,a 383 x 1.4 =536 hp

if you build 454 with a stroker crank assembly ,a 496 x 1.4 =694 hp

http://www.camarotech.com/Gen3-BigBlockSwap.html

http://www.camaros.net/forums/58-second-generation/109675-2nd-gen-camaro-454-swap.html

theres zero question that if a well designed big block is matched with properly geared drive train and tires a big block in most cars will produce a quicker and faster car
the difference is in cost, and most people that build killer sbc engines that I know eventually get tired of watching the faster big block car tail lights

yes the big block will tend to cost $1K-$2K more
and weight 80-110 lbs more
your choices on what components in both the engine and matched drive train,to select, obviously the components will work best if they were ALL selected to ,match the engines intended power band ,rpm range and intended use, and generally doing so with a minimum or expensive parts or difficult conversions and use will depend on what your trying to accomplish with the finished completed combination.
most people don,t want to swap rear gear ratios, or get into disassembly of the lower rotating engine components so unless your willing to do major changes those areas are generally not on the list of areas you'll delve into based on the cost, complexity and tools and skills required.
step one, is always to verify exactly what your current engine IS as far as part numbers,if you are set on modifying that engine, or to decide your starting over to build a second spare engine you'll swap into the car after its completely built, in either case set yourself down with a pad of paper and pen and figure out your budget and what your wanting to have once the process is complete, make a rational choice based on your skills and budget limitations, so you can be sure parts you select will fit and match, then verify what transmission you have and rear gear ratio you currently have and to do a compression test, and verify the engines oil pressure at idle and at about 3500 rpm under load, so you can verify the basic engine your dealing with in the core of this performance build is likely to stand up to increased power levels should you decide to boost performance
keep in mind the advantage of building a complete second engine is that you continue to drive the current car while its being built and it provides a FALL BACK or safety level if the new engine has issues because the old original engine can be re-installed if you run into major issues.

http://www.shafiroff.com/ssrelinks.php

http://www.ohiocrank.com/enginespage1.html

http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines.html

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/having-a-realistic-plan.9040/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...rive-train-to-the-engine-combo.741/#post-1048

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-parts-and-a-logical-plan.7722/#post-57946

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ting-started-in-the-car-hobby.339/#post-21733

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-heads-up-on-buying-used-engine-blocks.14305/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-displacement-street-engine.10961/#post-48577

http://www.chevyhardcore.com/tech-s...ci-big-block-comparing-l88-zl1-zz427-engines/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-parts-and-a-logical-plan.7722/#post-57946

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...gine-to-match-the-cam-specs.11764/#post-55571

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...trans-choice-made-correctly.11697/#post-54833

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...k-for-in-a-good-engine-combo.9930/#post-46399

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/using-the-charts-calculators-and-basic-math.10705/#post-46582