318, 383 or other? Which one

If you just want to outrun that Camaro the cheapest way possible, I'd suggest putting a 200HP nitrous kit on it. You were pretty vague as to just how fast you think you need to go to beat that GM car, so it's really hard to say, but if that N20 kit doesn't do it, you can always swap a 360 short block (with your cam, heads, manifold, carb, N20, etc. on it) and that should SURELY get the job done. You may not even need the 360....

The 383 is a GREAT engine and could undoubtedly be built into a powerhouse performer. but at what cost? You'd have to have a different transmission, as the bell housing bolt pattern is different from your 318's, and new A-body/B-block headers... a new driveshaft, probably, and hooking up your existing exhaust system could be problematic, with the new headers.

As exciting as a 383/A-body is, as a concept, the $$$$-factor would stop me cold, unless cost was no object.

See if you can find out how quick your car needs to be to get the job done. Surely, the guy with the Camaro has some idea of what his combination is going to produce, in terms of e.t.'s....

It would be a lot easer to predict YOUR best buy in performance if we knew how much horsepower you're gonna need.

Good luck with this. Maybe someone else will have an idea of how quck you need to go to handle this guy...


Bill, in Conway, Arkansas