Need some advice on 383

[Burn-N-Daylight]

I Finally got around to tearing down my 350. since it had a busted crank i decided to go ahead and make a 383 out of it. i ran the block numbers and its a 87-93 is the best that i could come up with. and it has center bolt heads (i think). so after looking at several rebuild kits. I was wondering what are some good kits and for those of you that had already built a 383 what you used? Is it worth the extra $$ to go with a Keith Black kit? the block is going in to the shop tomorrow so i do have a little time. Thanks in advance for any info.

James

 

[SoCal'75]

I personally do not like the KB pistons.You have to run a big top ring gap or you'll bust off the top. I have used the Speed Pro hypeutectics coated and really liked them. If youre not planning on going CRAZY ponies the I would get the Eagle cast crank,SIR rods and the SpeedPro pistons W/moly rings. What heads do you plan on running? If you can swing 'em a set of NEW vortecs would be great. If you need I can post up my 383 parts that got me around 400hp and 440lbft torque. Good Luck
-Lance

 

[35dp]

you can find kits on ebay with the parts socal just listed pretty cheap, its the cheapest Ive seen at least. Im running one of the ebay kits with vortec heads and Im pushing 400+ hp and 450 ft lbs torque.

 

[Burn-N-Daylight]

Thanks. if you dont mind i wouldnt mind seeing a list of you put in. just to give me a genreal idea. the motor is going into an 85. so i will have to get it to pass deq. thsi will be my first motor build so you can tell im gonna have a ton of questions.

 

[BGKYK5]

x2 on the list.

 

[SoCal'75]

I will post the parts list in a couple of days. My wife gave birth to a 9 1/2lb baby boy yesterday-#2. So I will be spending time with them,but when we get home, I will post my parts used. It was a GREAT engine and was in a '76 K20 which had to pass Cali smog test and did LEGALLY.
Thanks
-Lance

 

[Burn-N-Daylight]

Congradulations on the new family member!!! My wife is currently pregnant with our first one cant wait till she haves it. Man they sure are crazy during the pregnancy.

 

[badmix]

tag for list.

 

[35dp]

I put mine together with one of these kits off ebay:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SB-C...ryZ46098QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

you might find a cheaper kit if you shop around though, I used vortec heads with beehive springs and a little porting on the exhaust side and a GMPP 'hot cam', edelbrock performer rpm air gap intake, headers MSD ignition. my engine builder said he dynoed an engine almost exactly the same as mine and got 437HP and 450 fl lbs of torque out of it.

 

[broncoman6524]

Good thread. I'm getting ready to take my motor to the machine shop next week. They can get me a rotating assy for $800 then I got like 3-400 in machining.

 

[mtnman]

FYI - I built my 383 w/ Scat 9000 series crank, Scat 6" 4340 rods(from Northern Auto Parts), Probe Sportsman Race Series Pistons( from Probe Racing), AFR 195 heads(VERY big power in these heads), Comp Cams Extreme 4x4 cam, specs here --->, http://compcams.com/Technical/Search/CamDetails.asp?PartNumber=12-243-3 Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and a Holley 770 Truck Avenger carb. Hear it run, turn it up LOUD ---> http://youtube.com/watch?v=tmY4K2M73YU This engine is awesomely powerful and has survived 50,000+ miles of absolute abuse without any crank, rod, or piston problems and has proved itself to be VERY durable (lots of 6000 rpm shifts ) The pistons cost about $375, crank was about $275 and rods were about $250 6 yrs ago heads were $1425. I run Flowtech Afterburner headers and a full 3" dual flowmaster exhaust. I think that 425hp is a very reasonable estimate. Hope this helps

 

[BGKYK5]

I will post the parts list in a couple of days. My wife gave birth to a 9 1/2lb baby boy yesterday-#2. So I will be spending time with them,but when we get home, I will post my parts used. It was a GREAT engine and was in a '76 K20 which had to pass Cali smog test and did LEGALLY.
Thanks
-Lance

Congrats SoCal! No rush on the info, take your time with your wife and new son.

 

[SoCal'75]

ok, lets see if we can do this.
parts list:
Eagle cast crank 3.75 stroke
Eagle SIR rods 5.7 long press fit(Eagles have ARP cap screws instead of bolts and nut like Scat)
Speed-Pro piston kit(SUMMIT # TRW-8KH859CP30, the last numbers '30' are the overbore size)
ARP head bolt and main studs
Milodon oil pan #30900 w/matching screen for stock volume pump
Mellings M55 oil pump
Cloyes true roller timing set
CompCams EXTREME-ENERGY 4x4 cam kit .462i-.480e I dont have the part # handy and Summit doesnt list it.
CompCams magnum roller tip rockers
World Products Sportsman II heads,64cc straight plug 200cc in runners
Edelbrock performer 2101 intake
Edelbrock Q-Jet #1904
MSD HEI
Doug Thorley headers, 2.50 dual exhaust w/ Flowmaster 40's
Taylor "409" plug wires,Autolite plugs

Now for the rest of the stuff, I used ALL ARP studs and hardware for,and a Fel-Pro 1pc oil pan gasket. Billet valve covers and timing cover,K&N xtreme flow air filter(stock when smogging).
The truck was a '76 K20 with a 6" lift and 35" BFG mud terrains,It would lite those tires up in a heartbeat..it pulled 18" of vacuum and had a bit of a lope. I plan on building another using the same parts except in a newer roller block and using VORTEC heads. If you go over to www.67-72chevytrucks.com and goto their engine forum, there is a sticky for "desktop dyno" go through that and I have this engine in there.(btw I am "manimal" overthere)
Good luck and Thanks very much.
-Lance

 

[kevin400ex]

the last 383 i built i used a scat 9000 cast steel crank and scat rods 6 inch. i used je forged pistons though. i have used kb hyperterectics before and have had no issues. 50k miles on em so far in a 400 smblk. the scat or eagle cast stuff is fine for most applications. i was turning 7500 rpm with these parts in a drag car.

i do have a forged steel cola 383 crank sitting around, pm me if interested.