i would just get a 360 , do cam heads intake exhaust and you should have more than enough power

Like Cheat said, do a Procharged 5.2 or 5.9 (or stroked 5.2). With a well build stroker you could easily see 500-600 hp on pump gas, that's alot of power

I could see a 318 stroked out to 390 making 400 horsepower and stump launching torque on 93 octane fuel. And thats N/A!

agreed with purple, you would need a higher compression or forced induction to make anything more than 400 hp for a street engine

400 hp easy from a N/A 390, add 6lbs of boost, at this power level is good for another 100-150 hp easy

Why are you set on getting a turbo? From what I have researched supercharging is probably one of the easiest ways to boost your engine. Like they have been saying Procharger makes a good supercharger for 2nd gen dodges. Their kit is simple enough for any DIYer, they even have the TRUCKS episode on their website. Plus their kit works with both the 5.2 and the 5.9. So you could beef up your 5.2, and work on a 360 until you have it ready to swap.

Also if you are thinking speed you probably want to look more into gearing and things. I am new to this but their is a little more to building a race truck than just building an overkilled engine.

Best of Luck.

You will also need a beefed up tranny and possibly a stronger rear end...if you're engine is putting out 300+ horses you'll eat the stock tranny up in no time.

I would go with what lastrights said. Build up a 360. Cam, heads, tuner, etc...then get some 4.10 or higher gears, maybe do a little weight reduction, and your truck will rip. Plus it will be a lot easier/cheaper, especailly for someone with a limited amount of experience.

With 10k you could always pick up a 12 valve cummins, a built tranny, a nice 64mm turbo, injectors and a dana 80 (and D60 if you have 4x4)... Easy tuning tricks on the stock injection pump and 650hp would not be an unreasonable rwhp number with 1300+ ft-lbs of torque. Not to mention mpg in the 20+ range.

But I may be a little biased here because I own a 94 CTD... Where are you located? Maybe a member that lives near you might be willing to give you some guidance and a helping hand with building yourself a nasty procharged small block stroker.

Turbo or supercharger, always depends on his application and what he wants to do.


If youve only got 10k, im sorry to say but thats really not that much to build what your looking for. Dont get me wrong, its a good start. What you should do though..... is do what the others are saying. You can build a 408 stroker (from a 360 block, get from junk yard or anywhere) with a nice cam , heads, and everything for around 6k. That will give you bout 400hp and round 500-550 tq depending on how you build it. Then, you have more or less 4k left over to get yourself a nice tranny. A tranny that is built to handle what you have in mind. Then all you need to do is save up for your blower (turbo, or supercharger), because your engine and tranny are already built to handle the HP you have in mind. Also, I too agree with whoever mentioned getting a set of 4.10 gears. Nothing that you absolutely need though if your running the stroker, just something that will help you along.

But, IMHO, the most bang for your buck will be picking up a 360 block bore it .030 over and build yourself a nice 408 stroker with a moderatly fat cam. Youll have a great engine and lots of power to hold yourself over until you get that poweradder......

....Unless you can get a cummins easiest way to make rediculous amounts of power.

You would be hard pressed to find a Ram SRT-10 in the 10k-15k price range. Even with that said, a Lightning is a far better handling truck, and a much better platform to begin with.