383 appearing, 400 stroker with stealth heads question.

My old 451" engine had a Performer and eventually a modified holley SD for induction. It had factory a-body exhaust manifolds, ported big valve 906's and a healthy hydraulic cam (.560ish w/1.6 ductile rockers). With my dyno headers and a Performer RPM intake the engine made 500hp/500tq. With factory a body exhaust manfolds and Performer (non RPM) intake it would make a calculated 400hp/420tq on a chassis dyno coming in hot off of the street. I think my best pull n/a was right under 450hp/450tq. It took a bit to tune that thing due to the restrictive resto exhaust system and OE manifolds.

This particular engine also put down 576whp on a 150hp plate n20 setup. : D

Unfortunately it split a cylinder on #4 and is torn down for a sleeve. The positive side of that is it will get upgraded to a set of bowl ported Stealth heads, PRH spec'd solid roller and some aftermarket rods. I was hoping to pick up 50-75hp n/a and shoot for 800fwhp on a 250ish shot of nitrous.

Things to consider:

-If you enjoy a bit of RPM in your v8 be aware that a 511" engine will peak way under 6000. Even with a healthy hydraulic cam you will be looking at peak hp in the 5000-5400rpm range. Make sure you tell the person in charge of camshaft selection what your expectations are.

-My 451 would hit a wall a 5800 with the Performer intake. The wall moved to 6100ish when we changed to the Holley SD. Use the largest plenum intake you can fit , especially if you go 470" or 511".

-Work with a cam grinder (PRH) so you can set and meet realistic goals.

-If you go 511" I strongly recommend reworking a set of c body or other ex. manifolds to do away with the steering column pinch area. This is the area that will hold back the combination.