what is the best street/strip motor?

aside from my truck i would like to build up a '79 malibu to be prostreet.
is there any good setup that i could use?
i may run a nitrous system but just in case what could i use that would get the most bang for the buck  
Livin' Life A Quarter Mile At A Time

You can go the crate motor route or build your own, depending on your ability/budget/time.  If you want a true street/strip motor, I'd go with a stroker motor like a 383.    They give up a little top end horsepower, but make killer torque for the street.  They can easily make upwards of 400hp and even more torque.  They also cost less and weigh less than a big block.  If you want to build a full-on pro street car with the giant tires out back, then you better have the power to back it up, otherwise you're just posing.  Many cars are running 9-10 second 1/4 miles with a 275/60 tire, so if you're goin for the pro street look, you better have the pro street power.  In that case, I'd go with a built-up big block.  Chev's 502 makes 502hp.  Throw some nitrous on top of that and you can justify those big tires.  

lsx  

A Pontiac 400 or 455 would do the job very well.  
Professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells Engines and torque wins races.

crate motors put real engine builders out of business,  do an oldsmobile, no no,  im not gonna start one of those conversations,  you a chevy guy and want to put a chevy in it,  or you want to be a little different like me and the pontiacman  

i agree with trpositd 383 will have lots of low end balls,it love a little spray on it and will still love 6500 rpm`s. lighter then big block, but with the good torque. i have one in a s-10 blazer, it runs low 12`s and will shread tires all day at 3500-4500 rpm.  

Imagine what a Pontiac 400 would do.  
Professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells Engines and torque wins races.

anyone can build a chevy,  takes a real man to make real low end, stump pulling torque, out of something that half the world thinks is junk  

chevys have way more aftermarket parts than anything else so they are the cheapest to build.cant beat a big block chevy  

im a chevy man my self but i have to agree with pontiac man. the 400 would b a great build. it would b very different and have lots of power. if u go the chevy way i would pick a 327. they have great power, light, and u can get fair milage  

I have beat BB chevys and did it with a pontiac engine you just can't beat the torque of a Pontiac engine.  
Professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells Engines and torque wins races.

olds, pontiac, buick, and even cadillac made more torque then a BBC back in the day,  

You got that right!  
Professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells Engines and torque wins races.

yeah they sure did. now im sry pontiac man if u get mad but we have a 427 in our GTO. but it is a l88 and we couldnt pass that up. i love the old pontiac motors tho. 400's, 421, 389. they all make that car scream  

all those engines are junk compared to a 454 ls6 why is it that chevy dominates racing if all these other motors are so great.my buddy has a 72 lemans with a pontiac 400 bored to a 406,very nice car,i have a 72 chevelle with a 383 stroker both are mildly built with nothing to radical.and the 383 will blow his doors off every time