hello,I am new to the forum, nice to meet u all !!!
I am a newbie at building engines. I have a 1985 camaro that I would like to race 10-12 secs. I am in the process of finding a 350 four bolt block, but other than that I am lost. I am sure someone has asked this same question before so if someone could tell me where to look or repeat the answers I would much appreciate it.

First of all I am not RICH but do have a few bucks to play around with. I would like to knowwhat would be the most cost effective way to build my motor. starting from the bottom up to the carb.

I am only going to use the engine for the drags. I dont know how much compression and alkl that other cool stuff I need so go ahead u CHEVY gurus let your knowlege flow. thanks alot  

It seems like you're making a request for a book and I can't write that here for you, but I can ramble about some random stuff that comes off the top of my head when someone asks me, "what do I need to do to build a fast car"...

If you do want to pick up a book it sounds like this is what you'd want...
"How to Build Max Performance Chevy Small Blocks on a Budget" by David Vizard

I see you mentioned compression ratio so I will start with that and work my way through...

In its most general terms, compression ratio should be tailored to the camshaft 'size' used. The 'sizes' of cams are described by the duration they apply to the valve during operation. Duration is created by the tappet rise caused by the tappet following a lobe or profile ground onto the camshaft. What is a suitable cam? One that applies enough lift and duration to let your engine perform at the desired operating range. The operating range is decided mainly by the vehicle in question and how fast you want to go. Obviously the more power we can apply to the ground the faster a vehicle will go and power is described by the classic function: Horsepower = (Torque x RPM)/5252 . This shows that if you keep torque constant and you make it at a higher rpm you will make more horsepower, and as long as you can apply that to the ground effectively that is what we are after. The alternative method is to make a ton of torque at a 'lower' rpm and then the resultant horsepower can match that of a high rpm engine but this will require a very different drivetrain setup in the vehicle for optimal performance at a dragstrip.

As you can this is a very complicated topic. An engine is a very complex system of highly interrelated parts. Changing one thing effects dozens of others. Do your homework and outline some goals before diving headfirst into building a fast quarter mile car.