Biggest motor you can afford! The key word being AFFORD...

Every enthusiast magazine out there features mega-cube stroker motors, and says-"Always build the biggest motor you can afford." This is generally good advice, but I think a lot of people misconstrue it, and spend a ton of money they don't need to, or feel they can't afford the project and abandon it altogether. Here's some tips to avoid this problem. # 1 Be realistic about what you want. Everyone says they want 500 or 600 hp, because of what they read in magazines. Here's a way to decide. Go test drive a new 312 hp V6 Camaro, or a 305 hp V6 Mustang, or a 306 hp Lexus IS350.  You'll be amazed at the performance. Then go test-drive a new 425 hp Camaro SS, or a 412 hp Mustang GT, or a 416 hp Lexus ISF or 414 hp BMW M3.  I guarantee that you will agree that no one in their right mind "needs" more than 300 or 400 horsepower in a car their going to drive at all.  # 2 That resolved, here's where you need to be honest again. Stock or modified, do you really need more punch than a 383 Mopar, or 396 Chevy or 400 Pontiac has to offer?  Properly tuned, with the right cam, these engines can make 325-350 hp with 8.01 compression on junk gas, with stock iron intake and exhaust manifolds. If you want 400+ horsepower, wouldn't it be smarter to spend your money on heads, cam, carb and intake, exhaust, or maybe stiffer rear-end gears, rather than chucking a perfectly good 396 Chevy and spending a extra 3 grand buying and rebuilding a junk 454?  # 3 On the other hand, sometimes the shoe is on the other foot. For example-stock or modified, a 350 Chevy will make substantially more power than a 305 with the same equipment, and the cost of parts is exactly the same. A 400 Pontiac will make way more power than a 350 all other things being equal. Ditto for a 340 or 360 Mopar compared to a 318. Here's where you may consider changing the engine to get more bang for the buck. Other makes-it might behoove you in the long run to chuck the 304 that came in your Javelin and get a 360 or 401 AMC out of a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. A 403 Olds will make more power than even the vaunted W31 350 with very little work.  # 4 If the engine in question does need a complete rebuild, here's where you have to decide if going bigger is a worthwhile investment. If the engine runs good, doesn't smoke, doesn't use any oil, and your just freshening it up with rings,bearings, oil pump, etc. then no, spend the extra bucks on cams, headers etc. If the engine knocks, has low oil pressure, a piston slap, or is locked up, That's different. Then you'll have to have the block bored, and you will need new pistons, crank and rods anyway. In that case, buying a 383 conversion kit for a small-block Chevy doesn't really cost any more than a standard 350 crank kit, other than the flywheel and balancer. And the 383 will make more power and torque all through the range. The same goes for turning a 400 Pontiac into a 428 or 455, or a 302 Ford into a 347.  These swaps require no machine work at all or very little. Others that require some machine work are turning a 383/400 Chrysler into a 446 or 451, or turning a 351W Ford into a 392 or 427. # 5 Here is where you have to remember the old saying- "Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"  For example, Before you spend a ton of money building a radical 408 inch stroked out 360 Mopar for your Challenger, do the math. Would it be easier and cheaper to just swap in a 440?  I say this to Chevy guys all the time when they talk about blowers, nitrous, etc. If you have that much money, and need to go that fast, why aren't you building a 502 instead of a 350?  Think carefully about "Bang for the Buck" before tearing your car apart, and you'll be a lot happier in the long term.  Mastermind