Full Rebuild - recommendations?

[ercc]

The short is that I bought an 03 EVO 8 and as it turns out though it has some good mods it also has a cracked piston.

Focus of the rebuild is Power and Reliability, money is a consideration but I've learned its cheaper to do it right and all at once. 400+WHP is a minimum as that's what it was doing before. It was running 23PSI of boost. Please advise on anything you can think of, from head gasket to pistons to motor mounts.

Here's what I already have :

-AMS 5OTRIM BB TURBO KIT -AMS FUEL RAIL -AMS 850CC INJECTORS -HKS INTAKE -FULL 3' APEXI N1 EXHAUST TURBO BACK -BRIAN CROWER 272 CAMS -FULL INTERCOOLER PIPING KIT -XS INTERCOOLER -QUARTERMASTER TWIN DISC CLUTCH -KARTBOY SHIFTER -HALLMAN IN-CAR BOOST CONTROLLER -FORGE BOV -TIAL WASTEGATE -TEIN STRUT BAR

[Mellon Tuning]

call buschur racing

[Walt]

Get a built shortblock and throw it in.

[Zac_o]

get in touch with nick at DTMotorsports. Let him know your on a budget and he will work something out with you.

[ercc]

Thanks for the recommendations. I've now talked with some really great ppl that are all very helpful.

I think I've decided NOT to stroke it after reading the "To Stroke or Not to Stroke" pdf I found somewhere on the forum. The major reason being my desire for this thing to last a good long time. Thanks again to the author that spent that much time in research and writing. If you guys dont think it affects the longevity of the motor by much I'd love to hear it.

Im still having a hard time with piston and connecting rod selection and heard something disturbing yesterday from Lucas at English racing who seems to be very knowledgeable on the topic. Unless I misunderstood, he said that forged pistons are likely to wear the motor dramatically faster and I should expect a lifespan of 30K. Stock pistons dont wear the motor out as quickly because of less piston slap and less expansion. The worse news is that my block is already honed to 85.3mm. Can I still put a stock piston in? Is 30K what I can expect to get out of the block once I put forged pistons in?

[Johnboy1065]

the expansion of the piston shouldnt hurt engine life if the piston to wall clearance is right.

I'm not the most experienced person lol. But Clearances are the key to having a long lasting engine, much more so than what brand of forged internals that you use IMO

[tyler_sti]

Cosworth short block? If money isn't a problem. Their products are tried and true and amazing bulid quality. If I build my engine thats what I'm going for. Their time attack cars usually run the same motor all season at like 28-3x psi. I'm a big fan of their products.

[neonxiii]

Power and Reliability do not go together. I still have a bit of research to do on what aftermarket parts are availiable for this engine but you may want to check out ams' website to see what parts they have.

[Murf]

Manley rods and Ross 9.0:1 pistons. or the AMS rebuild kit has everyting to redo the bottom end.