383 Stroker Crate Motor Opinions

[Desert Rat]

Anybody drop in a 383 stroker crate motor into their rig? Opinions on how it ran, issues, problems, advice, etc? My 350 is old and tired in in need of replacement. No, I won't be doing a big block as in the People's Republic of Cali it is too much of a smog nightmare. The 383 will bolt up to my existing stuff including my Doug's headers, Edelbrock Q-jet and intake, and all the other goodies I already have.

 

[rdn2blazer]

Anybody drop in a 383 stroker crate motor into their rig? Opinions on how it ran, issues, problems, advice, etc? My 350 is old and tired in in need of replacement. No, I won't be doing a big block as in the People's Republic of Cali it is too much of a smog nightmare. The 383 will bolt up to my existing stuff including my Doug's headers, Edelbrock Q-jet and intake, and all the other goodies I already have.

I want to throw a big inch small block in my rig someday. In the 430/450 cubic inch range. I want to light weight of an Aluminum headed small block with ALMOST the torque of a healthy big block. I have a 383 in my truck now but never wheeled it before I started the build on it.

 

[dremu]

Anybody drop in a 383 stroker crate motor into their rig? Opinions on how it ran, issues, problems, advice, etc? My 350 is old and tired in in need of replacement. No, I won't be doing a big block as in the People's Republic of Cali it is too much of a smog nightmare. The 383 will bolt up to my existing stuff including my Doug's headers, Edelbrock Q-jet and intake, and all the other goodies I already have.

Doug, good to see you're still banging on the Blazer! =))

I think there's waaay too much variation in motors to be able to say that any given 383 runs well or not. Do you have a specific one in mind, i.e. one of the Goodwrench crates, something from Summit or Jeg's, or maybe Scoggin Dickey or somebody like that? [BTW, Crown in Dublin has the best prices on GM crates for easily 50+ miles around, so they're worth consideration just for the ease of getting the motor.]

You might also look at a hot 350. If I remember my motor basics, the longer stroke of the stroker is better suited to horsepower at higher RPM's, versus the short stroke is more suited to torque at low RPM's. (I could easily be wrong -- I refer all my motor issues to Scott now )

RDN2's right, though; to get stupid power (and torque) you throw stupid money at the heads. Scott's got some kind of smallblock in his K5 now, with some crazy heads and whatnot, that puts out horsepower and torque close to what my 468 does (and obviously with better fuel economy, though some of that is the fact that a K5 is a bit smaller than a crewcab dually.)

And smog pain is what you get for having a '76 (the price you paid for that half-cab ) Have you *heard* the sixpack since I did the motor swap? In your case, though, besides the smog pains, you'd have to get a crate since you don't have a core, and the $$ involved would give your wife heartburn for the next decade

-- A

 

[greg mgm]

You'd be surprised how fast the costs adds up for the brackets and other stuff needed for a big block conversion, but then again I bought new parts. As for smog, my 78 GMC 454 (originally a 350) passes smog easily, and I'm in CA. If you use the carb from the 350, smog pump, EGR and cat on the exhaust there should be no problem passing smog. The 383 is a great choice though.

 

[Desert Rat]

The plan is to go with the HT383 crate motor from GM. It makes 340 HP and 435 Torque in the base configuration. Compare that with the base 350 crate which is 290 HP and only 332 Torque. The HT383 is a torque monster with much of its power in the low RPM range. The 350 will put out less than 300 torque in between the 1750 - 3000 RPM range contrasted with the HT383 that starts at 300 torque at 1750 RPM and rises steadily to 400 torque by 3000 RPM. Peak torque is achieved with the HT383 at 3500 RPM and the 350 doesn't peak in torque until you hit near 4000 RPM. Given that my rig is a desert crawler and not a racer, I don't care about high RPM torque or HP, I want the low end grunt.

Even looking at the 350 crate power packages offered by GM Performance Parts, none of them exceed 400 torque. Some of the other more exotic 350's show better torque and HP but they are designed more for street cars and not heavy trucks. There are also packages for the HT383 that bump up the torque to 458 and increase the HP to as high as 417.

I did call Crown Chevy in Dublin and they do have the best prices around. It is likely that if I go local, I will go there. So far I am not finding anyone who ships that when combined with shipping, is the same price or less. I am also looking at including the serpentine belt system since my old V-belt system sucks. The beauty of this swap is all my old parts bolt right back on. This is the last project I need to finish. The rig is nearly done except for some interior add ons.

 

[dremu]

The rig is nearly done except for some interior add ons.

That's a good joke. "Done."

-- A

 

[Desert Rat]

That's a good joke. "Done."

-- A

In this case, it better be getting close. A certain someone who holds my sexual happiness hostage on a regular basis is growing impatient.... By the way, I still have that D44 8 lug sitting in my backyard.....

 

[GNERGY]

I had a guy in Columbus, Ohio build my 383 stroker and it runs great and has lotts of low end balls. I put it in an 81 burb with 35 BFGs. It had an edelbrock 780 on it. I remember when I first had it installed, I was coming home from work and a new hemi dodge pulled up next to me at the light. The road ahead narrowed in his lane and when the light changed he thought he was going to leave this old chevy in the dust. Well I stayed a half truck length ahead of him till the road narrowed and he backed off.
I said YES
Not too bad for a heavy ass Burb.
I just put that motor in my 91 with a TBI on it now. Has 70k on it and still runs strong, always ran Mobil 1 in it.
Tarey

 

[4X4HIGH]

So what is the pricing on that HT383? Aaron is correct, i do have a very stout 350 in my blazer that i built late last year and installed in January and it makes big block numbers. I do have a good amount of money into it though.

 

[Desert Rat]

$4200 for the base motor. I would be swapping in my Edelbrock intake and Q-jet, my Doug's Headers, my MSD HEI, and other parts. I would also pony up the $350 for a serpentine belt system and then put in an upgraded PS pump and alternator. Oh, and by the way Aaron, check this out I stumbled on: http://www.autotraderclassics.com/details?adId=90257930

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

You might also look at a hot 350. If I remember my motor basics, the longer stroke of the stroker is better suited to horsepower at higher RPM's, versus the short stroke is more suited to torque at low RPM's. (I could easily be wrong -- I refer all my motor issues to Scott now )

You have that backwards, a longer stroke tends towards more low end torque while a short stroke will want to rev and make top end power.

That's certainly not the rule, its very likely that a 383 will make LOTS more top end power than the 350 it might replace, even with the longer stroke. It's also likely that it will make more low end torque.

 

[dremu]

You have that backwards, a longer stroke tends towards more low end torque while a short stroke will want to rev and make top end power.

That's certainly not the rule, its very likely that a 383 will make LOTS more top end power than the 350 it might replace, even with the longer stroke. It's also likely that it will make more low end torque.

Hey, I'm good with electrical ... brakes ... most stuff. But there are three things I don't do: carbs, trannies, and motors

So yeah, that makes sense: you wouldn't want to go pushing a long stroke at high RPM, but a short stroke would buzz nicely. Might 'splain why my BBC doesn't spin so fast =))

I would also pony up the $350 for a serpentine belt system and then put in an upgraded PS pump and alternator. Oh, and by the way Aaron, check this out I stumbled on: http://www.autotraderclassics.com/details?adId=90257930

$25K for a Chalet? No matter how nice... Anyway, Iceman bought both of mine, so I am a Chalet-free zone

When you do the alternator, ping me; I've done both 10/12SI and CS130/144 swaps. In your case I *highly* recommend the latter. The newer style alternator drops right in, can be easily wired up with a few bucks' worth of adapters from Monument which I'll happily solder for you, and puts out stupid current both at idle and at cruise. (I have the Transport 140A in the K5 now ) Oh, and while we're in there we should check out the wiring to the headlights; IIRC your truck already has relays, but we can prolly re-wire them straight to the battery with fat wire, if that's not already been done. Even on stock bulbs you can get 10-20% more brightness out of them this way.

-- A

 

[rob h]

i dont know if this idea would help you at all but are there any motor shops around you?? i took a bare 1974 4bolt main and had it bored .040 over and had it line honed and decked. i finished it with a eagle crank and keith black pistons. that all togeather i had a little under 2000, i then bought used bow tie heads and had them redun..2.055 valves. all togeather with a crane 535 lift cam, rpm intake, 750 holley dynoed at 504 hp... but it is all less than 3300....he would put it togeather for an extra 500.. so it 500 hp then for like 4000. i have 13:1 so its race gas only but thats not hard to it back into pump gas it would make the build cheaper by 250.00. thanks for listening...

 

[BGKYK5]

Does anybody have experience with Blueprint crate engines? I'm looking at this one for next time I have money.

 

[dremu]

Does anybody have experience with Blueprint crate engines? I'm looking at this one for next time I have money.

I notice the graph doesn't show below 2700rpm.

-- A

 

[rob h]

that one seems pretty good for the price and the warranty, they used the good rods, brand name pistons etc..

 

[BGKYK5]

I notice the graph doesn't show below 2700rpm.

-- A

It was probably tested on a water brake dyno that can't absorb lots of torque at low RPM.





Either that or the low RPM torque is terrible.

 

[Chevy305]

http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/fbshopmain2.asp?cat=C

CT350PC1

400hp
400lbs
$2990

 

[Chevy305]

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171600&highlight=yearone+crate+engine

 

[Desert Rat]

When you do the alternator, ping me; I've done both 10/12SI and CS130/144 swaps. In your case I *highly* recommend the latter. The newer style alternator drops right in, can be easily wired up with a few bucks' worth of adapters from Monument which I'll happily solder for you, and puts out stupid current both at idle and at cruise. (I have the Transport 140A in the K5 now ) Oh, and while we're in there we should check out the wiring to the headlights; IIRC your truck already has relays, but we can prolly re-wire them straight to the battery with fat wire, if that's not already been done. Even on stock bulbs you can get 10-20% more brightness out of them this way.
-- A

Since I am swapping in the serpentine belt system, I think the alternator type is a CS121, but I am not sure.