cams 98 silverado

well... on my way home from class today, i thought to myself... gee, im gonna be doing a lot to my truck in the next 2 years... whats first. well... i was going to start with a 2 inch cowl hood then remove all badges and fix the dents and put a fresh coat of metallic green on the thing. then tint the windows and raise teh front end to level it off... im doing all the body and paint myself so i figure the material and such will be around... 900 dollars give or take. found a good place that has a great price on steel hoods and i can get up to a 200 rebate if i post pics back of the hood painted and installed. so great deal. but...

heres the question. im starting to look into the future of my motor. and its a 350 but i cant go carb'd (damn) so its fuel injected. now i want to re-build the motor with some mild things in it and i understand that high horses and torque dont go in the same hand as long reliable motor. more power more things to go wrong. so... im on a budget. im starting to buy things now and slowly get everything and then when it comes time... i wont have to use my credit card because i refuse to pay interest. so... im a total nub at finding compatible parts. i want to make a reliable motor on a budget but has good power and torque. i was thinking about the lt4 hotcam kit along with some good heads, and so on. i want to make at least 380-400 hp and same or more for torque. please help me. part numbers if possible would be excellent. i also plan on slapping a procharger on in the future. so im guessing i need to have low compression.

my other question is with putting some extra goodies into the motor do i have to get an ignition box and such? is it smart to re-use the intake plenum/maxi-fuel injector system? what else do i have to get to get the rest of the truck parts to sync with the slighty built motor? again any help is greatly appreciated and im starting to save and buy things now so ill be ready.

98white5.0

I would get all the body work done first, then focus on the motor. A cam would be a good idea. Since a stock 350 for that truck will prolly be puttin out around 255 hp and 315 tq, I think adding that extra 145 hp will cost you a little bit. Get an exhaust also. Even if it doesn't add very much power, it'll sound better. Also, I agree on the whole power vs. reliability, though I know some people will argue about that forever. If you want to add power fast, get a supercharger or turbo. I would suggest getting forged internals. They will cost more, but under boost, they will be needed. Lowering the compression before getting the turbo or S/C will allow less detonation. You will prolly have to go to premium fuel. You can also go to Nitrous but that isn't power all the time, and if you're like me, you want the power all the time.

cams 98 silverado

well i just have a feeling that my motor is getting tired. its starting to get a real faint slight knock in the rear of the motor just before the bellhousing. and... well i know there are some issues of the gm block. in 50-65% the cam bearing holders weren't torqued correctly and this on startup if you put some pressure on the gas pedal you can hear a wee bit of a rattle from the camshaft being pushed down from the lifters. but i also did some calculating and i figure i can do the body now and also buy parts for the motor figuring ill do it next year. but id like some ideas for a build like what heads and cam and rods and whats the good versus bad.