What would you do?

[bull]

I was planning on having my 383 rebuilt while the car is being painted. I would do it myself but for the first time in my life I was thinking it would be nice to actually have a balanced engine, and that obviously can't be done in my garage. The place I planned on taking the engine would be doing a mild performance upgrade and balance for around $2600. It would include a 3 year/unlimited mile warranty. A friend of mine told me I should do the rebuild myself and check the cyl. wall taper to see if it needs to be bored. I would have no problem doing it myself but I'd still like to have one that's balanced so it raised the question in my mind as to the importance of a balanced engine. So here it is: how important is it to balance an engine? What are the benefits? Longer life maybe? Smoother running? What do you think?

[firefighter3931]

Bull, there's no question in my mind....balance the engine. It will run smoother and last longer.

Ron

[8WHEELER]

The first time I went through the engine in my red charger I did not get it balanced, less
than a year later I pulled it back out took out the low comp pistons and put in 11.5 to 1
TRW units had the hole thing balanced this time WOW what a diference it made, it would
idle smother and I would say reved faster although it might have just seemed that way
because it would rev up more smoothly, and that was in 1980 the same engine is in the car now.

Like I said before I would never build another engine without having it balanced

Dan

[694spdRT]

I had my 440 balanced and it was only $130 upcharge. If you want to save some money I suppose you could just have the bottm end done and then do the reassembly yourself. I did that and saved some $$. The warranty would be out the window though.

Like stated above the engine does seem to idle and rev like no other big block I have ever owned before.

[bull]

That's what I figured. Thanks for the input.

[bull]

The first time I went through the engine in my red charger I did not get it balanced, less
than a year later I pulled it back out took out the low comp pistons and put in 11.5 to 1
TRW units had the hole thing balanced this time WOW what a diference it made, it would
idle smother and I would say reved faster although it might have just seemed that way
because it would rev up more smoothly, and that was in 1980 the same engine is in the car now.

Like I said before I would never build another engine without having it balanced

Dan

So would you still reccomend the TRW pistons with that compression ratio, Dan? Sounds like a winning combo.

[Recharger]

I would agree with them...get it balanced, have it done by a pro.   As much as I love working on my own car and doing as many repairs as possible with my own labor, engine work just isn't one of them.   There are lots of cosmetic repairs that can be fudged by an amateur, but there's no room for error when it comes to machining/balancing your engine.   Have it done right the first time and then beat the hell out of it.     

[firefighter3931]

The first time I went through the engine in my red charger I did not get it balanced, less
than a year later I pulled it back out took out the low comp pistons and put in 11.5 to 1
TRW units had the hole thing balanced this time WOW what a diference it made, it would
idle smother and I would say reved faster although it might have just seemed that way
because it would rev up more smoothly, and that was in 1980 the same engine is in the car now.

Like I said before I would never build another engine without having it balanced

Dan

So would you still reccomend the TRW pistons with that compression ratio, Dan? Sounds like a winning combo.

I'm not Dan but i can tell you i wouldn't expect an 11.5:1 motor to run on pump gas....assuming that is what you want to do.   

Ron

[8WHEELER]

UMMM Well that was not the hole story, yes I still have the same 11.5 to 1 TRW pistons
I put in the engine in 1980, but I also am running the 915 closed chamber heads that I
also ported 15yrs ago. I have allways put all my own engines together and helped friends
as well but I leave the machine work to the shops except the porting.

10yrs ago I could run this engine on premium pumped gas but in the last 8-9yrs HELL NO.
From what I have been told its about 12.5 to 1 with the closed chamber heads so
I have to run about 4 gallons of race fuel just to drive it to a car shows since I no longer race
the car.

Anyway I would not go over 9.5 to 1 with todays gas, and evan a 9.5 engine can pump out
some good power depending on the rest of your combo.

Dan

[bull]

So guys, tell me what kind of setup you'd go with for a mild to strong performance rebuild on a 383. I would prefer to keep it simple by running on pump gas but I still want as much punch as it will muster and still hear myself think while sitting at a stop light. Let's just say I'm not going to the race track with it but but there won't be any chance for carbon to build up either.

[Chargerguy74]

Your motor's for the 4 speed? I don't think I'd ever run an unbalanced motor with a 4 speed....not the way I drive.

[bull]

Your motor's for the 4 speed? I don't think I'd ever run an unbalanced motor with a 4 speed....not the way I drive.

I don't think I'd want an unbalanced engine in any situation, 4spd or not. I was basically asking if it was worth it to have one blanaced, meaning is it typically a huge improvement or just nominal.

[Chargerguy74]

I think the "insurance" of a balanced engine is worth the price alone. I balanced mine, I figured I could spend a small fee on balancing, or scatter thousands of dollars all over the highway.

[bull]

I hear you. Things have changed a lot from back in the day when I was 18 and my dad, brother and I rebuilt a 383 in the garage for my '70. I bought a set of semi-used pistons and a rebuild kit and went to work with a hone. I had to hammer one of the pistons out but when we were finished the engine ran like a dream. I jumped in the car with open manifolds and drove it to the muffler shop. The thing ran awesome for the next 10 or so years I owned it. Now days people don't really do that sort of thing. The cars we took for granted 20 years ago are too valuable today.

[Chargerguy74]

exactly

[Recharger]

So guys, tell me what kind of setup you'd go with for a mild to strong performance rebuild on a 383. I would prefer to keep it simple by running on pump gas but I still want as much punch as it will muster and still hear myself think while sitting at a stop light. Let's just say I'm not going to the race track with it but but there won't be any chance for carbon to build up either.

Bull, until a few weeks ago, I was planning a rebuild for my 383 very similar to what you just described.   I wanted something with decent power and good street manners, but no need for drag strip performance.   From searching around the old site and asking a few questions, the main components I decided on were:

750cfm carb
Holley Street Dom or Eddy Torker intake (Performer RPM sounds good too, but I was scared off by the clearance issues)
906 stock heads, ported, polished, hardened seats, 3 angle valve job
Engle K56 or K58 cam, (or something else in the 220 °-230 °@.050 ballpark)
stock valves & 1.5:1 rockers
1  ¾â€ headers to 2  ½â€ x-pipe exhaust w/ Dynomax muffers (the hp manifolds would work fine too)
Upgraded oil pump, fuel pump, hi-flow water pump & electronic ignition system
10:1 pistons, though I hadn’t gotten around to looking at any specifics
Fuzzy dice

Seemed like this was a decent build-up for power in the lower rpm range.   I have since decided to go the stroker route with my engine, so that has sorta changed the equation a bit and I’m back to square one.   BTW, I have a really nice Torker intake if you’re looking for one.   Good luck with it.

[BigBlockSam]

the motor in my rod is balanced. even with a big cam it idles smooth. i 'm balancing the new 440 i'm building. cheap insurance. Rene

[Chryco Psycho]

Bull, there's no question in my mind....balance the engine. It will run smoother and last longer.

Ron

I agree

[Ghoste]

It's almost a waste of money to have an engine apart for a rebuild and NOT balance it.  It makes the rest of the combo work so much better together.

[bull]

So guys, tell me what kind of setup you'd go with for a mild to strong performance rebuild on a 383. I would prefer to keep it simple by running on pump gas but I still want as much punch as it will muster and still hear myself think while sitting at a stop light. Let's just say I'm not going to the race track with it but but there won't be any chance for carbon to build up either.

Bull, until a few weeks ago, I was planning a rebuild for my 383 very similar to what you just described.   I wanted something with decent power and good street manners, but no need for drag strip performance.   From searching around the old site and asking a few questions, the main components I decided on were:

750cfm carb
Holley Street Dom or Eddy Torker intake (Performer RPM sounds good too, but I was scared off by the clearance issues)
906 stock heads, ported, polished, hardened seats, 3 angle valve job
Engle K56 or K58 cam, (or something else in the 220 °-230 °@.050 ballpark)
stock valves & 1.5:1 rockers
1  ¾â€ headers to 2  ½â€ x-pipe exhaust w/ Dynomax muffers (the hp manifolds would work fine too)
Upgraded oil pump, fuel pump, hi-flow water pump & electronic ignition system
10:1 pistons, though I hadn’t gotten around to looking at any specifics
Fuzzy dice

Seemed like this was a decent build-up for power in the lower rpm range.   I have since decided to go the stroker route with my engine, so that has sorta changed the equation a bit and I’m back to square one.   BTW, I have a really nice Torker intake if you’re looking for one.   Good luck with it.

That all sounds pretty good, well, except for the fuzzy dice. I'll hang onto this list when I go to talk to the guys at the shop and see what they think. The engine already has an Eddy Performer intake but for some reason it's got a 600cfm Eddy carb. Too small. Also the chump who installed it got one with a manual choke but didn't hook it up to anything. At least he didn't drill a hole in the firewall and dash for a cable. Any advantage to a Torker over a Performer?

[Ghoste]

The Performer (not the Performer RPM) is basically an aluminum version of the stocker.  The Torker is the higher performance piece in this case.

[bull]

The Performer (not the Performer RPM) is basically an aluminum version of the stocker.   The Torker is the higher performance piece in this case.

Gotcha.

So Recharger, how much do you want for the Torker?

[Recharger]

Check your PM.   

[gsmopar]

I was planning on having my 383 rebuilt while the car is being painted. I would do it myself but for the first time in my life I was thinking it would be nice to actually have a balanced engine, and that obviously can't be done in my garage. The place I planned on taking the engine would be doing a mild performance upgrade and balance for around $2600. It would include a 3 year/unlimited mile warranty. A friend of mine told me I should do the rebuild myself and check the cyl. wall taper to see if it needs to be bored. I would have no problem doing it myself but I'd still like to have one that's balanced so it raised the question in my mind as to the importance of a balanced engine. So here it is: how important is it to balance an engine? What are the benefits? Longer life maybe? Smoother running? What do you think?

$2600???  You could almost put together a nice little stroker engine for that price.  I agree with the fella above, I think I payed $170 to have my crank, rods, pistons, and flex plate balanced.  It's not that big of a deal.  The link below might give you some ideas for your 383 block.  Of course if you found a 400 or 440 block you could go bigger 

http://www.440source.com/

[bull]

I was planning on having my 383 rebuilt while the car is being painted. I would do it myself but for the first time in my life I was thinking it would be nice to actually have a balanced engine, and that obviously can't be done in my garage. The place I planned on taking the engine would be doing a mild performance upgrade and balance for around $2600. It would include a 3 year/unlimited mile warranty. A friend of mine told me I should do the rebuild myself and check the cyl. wall taper to see if it needs to be bored. I would have no problem doing it myself but I'd still like to have one that's balanced so it raised the question in my mind as to the importance of a balanced engine. So here it is: how important is it to balance an engine? What are the benefits? Longer life maybe? Smoother running? What do you think?

$2600???   You could almost put together a nice little stroker engine for that price.   I agree with the fella above, I think I payed $170 to have my crank, rods, pistons, and flex plate balanced.   It's not that big of a deal.   The link below might give you some ideas for your 383 block.   Of course if you found a 400 or 440 block you could go bigger  

http://www.440source.com/

Yea, I could, but then it would no longer be a numbers matching car. And I have no place to store a 383 indefinitely.