383 build up...

[ScottMH]

i am about to rebuild a 383 out of my 73 cuda (not a charger i know) and i want alot of horsepower but can still be driven on the streets. i am thinking of stroking it. does anyone have any dyno proven combos for the 383?

[aifilaw]

I don't have any dyno proven combo's... but several track-proven combo's, unfortunately those are very distinctive based on the driver/car they are in.

The 383 is a fantastic starting point, in fact I have made it a point to use them almost exclusively, stroked or not. It is the one block that no one can say is not bulletproof. I've seen some bored out 0.12 and run it without hitting water.

It really depends on what you plan on doing with the car, and what car/transmission it will be in/with.

[ScottMH]

we the car will be a street/strip combo but mostly street. i am not sure what tranny is behind the 383 but if its no good it will be replaced. i am thinking of stroking it out to 496 usign the kit from 440source. are they a good company to deal with?

[aifilaw]

440 source is recommended on this site, but I've never used them, I always just snag a 440 forged steel crankshaft and have the block milled to fit it... stroker on a $200 budget

496 is a bit much for a street/strip combo that will mostly be driving on the street for two reasons and operating on one premonition (that your going to make a beast out of it, because if you don't, then its a waste to have that many cubes)

A. your going to end up getting 5mpg, and that's no fun, even for a weekend warrior sometimes, your going to go through tires like french fries

B. its going to be near unstreatable with all the problems that that much power comes with. overheating has to be dealt with, crank/rods will be weaker than they could be due to having such long axis of momentum. your going to have to spend some major cash to put a transmission and rear end, brakes, et cetera on your vehicle to be able to handle that kind of power and speed without being a deathtrap.

a 383 with bolton heads (might as well get them out of the way since firefighter will chime in any second now) edelbrock RPM's, or INDY EZ's, some decent headers, and a well suited cam will be more than capable of providing 600 HP and a free spinning engine with a long life.

a 383 stroked to a 426 has excellent dimensions as an all-around ratio engine. same boltons and no porting, a well-matched cam can produce the same hp and the same tq in a street-able and long lasting engine. a 426 is probably as far as I would ever build one because of the problems mentioned above, the 496 would have its place, but only as a trailer queen drag only car imo that you wouldn't mind building on the cheap and rebuilding after a season or two.

That should give you an idea of where to start and what to look at for pricing thus far.

Side note, I glanced at the 440source site, and they have two 383 kits, a 496 and a 438... I'm not sure where they are getting the 438 cubes because if you put a 3.75" crank into a 383 block with a 4.25" bore you get just over 426 cubes... in order to get 438 you need to bore it out to 4.310" which is boring the block out 0.06".... which is easily possible considering you can bore those blocks out 0.1" and be fine in general. But honestly a 4.25 + 30 over to clean it up making 4.28" bore is more than sufficient and will give you many happy rebuilds later on, the gain in cubes and power from boring 0.6 is negligible.

[firefighter3931]

Scott, do the 438ci 440 source kit and throw on a set of edelbrock Rpm's and a Comp xs282s solid cam and you'll have 500hp no sweat and it will idle at 850 in gear. The Indy's are overkill for this type of build....another member (AndyF) used this kit and swapped the RPM heads for EZ's while it was on the dyno and there was no power increase. The EZ heads were opened up to a Max wedge port and it did make more power but the torque peak came in at over 5000 rpm and the hosepower peaked at 7k....nice race motor but not practical for the street. 

Here's basicly the same build with a few extra cubes...same 3.75in stroke and slightly bigger bore (451ci) that i helped out with. Member Vegas Mike is thrilled with the engine and it is a big improvement over the original build. I was in the car this past spring and it fried the tires at 35mph with 3 of us in the car ! 

The motor was improperly specced out originally....too much cam, too much intake, too much carb and not enough compression. That was fixed and the (Dyno) results, before and after are in the thread below :


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,6000.msg70023.html#msg70023



Ron

[ScottMH]

thanks for all the help and info guys

[ScottMH]

this question might insult some ppl haha...this will be my first engine rebuild (it will be under the supervision of a master mechnic) and i have th choice of several engines/cars to do. based on this list what engine/car would you recommend rebuilding for my first engine rebuild?

1973 Cuda with a 1970 383
1974 Charger with orginal 400
1967 Camaro with 350
1971 Chevelle with 454 (doesnt really need to be rebuilt)
1981 Corvette with 350

[aifilaw]

since your under the supervision, I won't say the chevy 350... because then you can screw it up, and no one will care
That would be my honest choice if I had to do one, knowing what I know now, and didn't have help.

But, given the information, I'd suggest the '70 383. They are very forgiving, beginner or expert, especially in the bores and the rotating assembly. Just make sure you put in the right components.

[firefighter3931]

  The 383 or even the 400 would be my choice.


Ron

[Challenger340]

383 to 438 kit, or, 400 to 451 inch gets my vote.

food for thought, this 400 block based 451 incher is enough power for most on pump fuel;

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,23089.msg288615.html#msg288615

[ScottMH]

for the 438 stroker from 440source what type of fuel pump should i concider? should i concider putting in larger fuel lines?

[aifilaw]

3/8" fuel lines will be a must.

[ScottMH]

ive noticed that the fuel pumps seem to be 1/4 in fittings....i cant find a 3/8 fitting...is this normal?

[aifilaw]

they should be 7/16"

[ScottMH]

this is the fuel pump i am looking to get...
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10002_29098_-1

would switching to a electric fuel pump be something to look at?

[firefighter3931]

this is the fuel pump i am looking to get...
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10002_29098_-1

would switching to a electric fuel pump be something to look at?

That pump is fine. If the lines are in good shape you don't have to change them....i know lots of people making over 500hp and using the stock 5/16 line. If you decide to replace them then go with the 3/8 in case you decide to step it up significantly in the future. 



Ron