Good morning All,
Getting ready to build a new engine for my 3000lb footbrake door car. Want to build as much HP & Torque as possible but keep RPM below 6500. Below is a list of parts I have. Other than that the door is open. Thankful for any suggestions. If I run gas, what do you think of the Holley Commander 950 electronic fuel injection?

1. Standard bore 350 Chev.
2. Vortec Heads(the good ones w/screw in studs, guides plates, 2.02 Int,1.60 Exh, and machined to take .520 lift cam)
3. Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap Intake

Compression is your friend for power and consistency.
I don't like the idea of EFI for a bracket ride, consistency again.

I'd build a cast crank, internal balanced 383, with some decent quality rods and the lightest pistons you can find.
(Lunati Street/Race rods)
6" rod, standard tension oil rings, a set of 11.5:1 factory style domes with the 383 would net you over 12.5:1 compression, or go for the gusto with a set of 12.5:1 domes and be into the 13.5 range with the 383.
The 40134 Lunati solid flat tappet cam is a proven performer for a low lift limit, in either cubic inch combination. I could come up with one a little better for the 383 if you go that way. That cam will be real good under 6000 RPM's for the 383, up to 6400 for the 355 package.
Loose converter,(4600-5000) not much rear gear.

Get a better valve spring package, other than that, the Vortec heads are a good choice.

The 383 combo will easily put your car at 6.90's to 7.1's in the 1/8th mile.

The better attention to prep details, the longer it will last. Don't cheap out on the rotating assembly,(no Chinese b.s. parts) and I'd advise working with your machine shop to purchase the engine internals. (Lunati!)

What's your budget?

Thanks for the reply Goob. How do you know which brand are junk? Isn't most everything made overseas? You think a carb would be more consistent? What size? Was told by Holley tech that Electronic system(Commander 950) would be more consistent than carb. Never tried a stroker motor before. Should I run gas or alky? What special machine work is needed? Like the idea of a stroker.

Not being intimately familiar with any of the aftermarket EFI systems, I can only base my opinion on the fact that the system can make adjustments you won't be aware of, on it's own, and there are more components to deal with, as well as the added cost of the pump(s), plumbing, and initial cost.

Gasoline or Alky.....well, I'm a Gasoline man myself, because again, cost, tuning ease, and maintenance hassles.
Yeah, yeah, everyone has the stories of the no maintenance, deadly consistent Alky setups, but I've never seen one in person.

The stroker 383 will require some block clearancing at the bottoms of the cylinders and pan rails, some rods will need clearanced to not hit the #2 and #6 on the camshaft, and internal balanced (no heavy metal) crankshafts may require a little work clearancing the rear counterweight at the pan rail.

Remember that all SBC camshafts are specced for a 3.480" stroke 350 engine, so the stroker will allow more open duration with good low end and part throttle response, which is critical to a footbrake ride, in my opinion.
As a rule of thumb, I'll allow up to 20 degrees more duration @ .050" lift for a stroker compared to a standard stroke 350.

The stroker also builds more compression within the same combustion chamber, because of the increased swept volume. A flat top 383 will be well over 11 to 1 with a 64cc chamber....the Vortecs are about 58 cc's, so even a small dome like the factory 11.5 to 1 piston will net you over 12 to 1 easily.

I prefer a quality "I-Beam" rod over the cheap "H-Beam" stuff, for lower weight and less windage effect in the crankcase.

No Scat, Eagle, Ohio Cranks stuff around here, I exclusively use and endorse Lunati components, and the cost of the build compared to the "junk" will be within $300 to $500 with the good stuff, rather than the "iffy" stuff.

The problems are in machining tolerances and finished quality, not necessarilly the material itself.
Reports form my machinist are that the offshore material is hard as heck, and EVERY part needs to be checked for dimensions and usually needs corrected before assembly. Shaffiroff will freely admit that most of the new Eagle assemblies they send out will be ground .010"/.010" just to correct the dimensions and finsish.

I expect and get over 750 runs on my "junk".

The Lunati rotating assembly in my car has over 1200 dragstrip passes, at 15 to 1 compression, on their cast iron crank and their street/race rods.
This assembly swallowed an intake valve at about 750 passes due to a broken retainer, and is back in service with the replacement of 1 piston, to it's current number of passes.

Flat tappet Lunati cam, and I run it to 6400 on the shifts, gets through the traps at 6500 in the 1/4 mile, at 126 MPH in a 3250# car.
Best guess is about 570 HP at the flywheel, and it still has good enough throttle response to footbrake well.

I feel it's always in your best interest to buy your rotating assembly and internal hard parts through the machine shop that will be working on your block and heads.
My machinist treats me real well on pricing, because he is not in the retail parts business, but by buying enough volume he maintains a good discount, which he freely passes along to his customers.

I can buy Lunati at less cost from my machine shop, through V.S.I. Distributing, than I could when I was Lunati direct W/D. Go figger.

I've had "high dollar" steel crank, Bowtie rod and piston stuff, and I've had stock cast crank, stock rod stuff, and believe it or not, the least service I got was from the "high dollar" stuff.....coincidence?
I duuno, but I'm running well prepped cast crank, lightweight stuff for my program.

Clear as mud yet?