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optimum block for 383......

ryoken

ryoken

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being I work on boats and work on/see eleventy million 350's a year, I wanna start keeping my eye out for a block.....

here's the gig..... the 383 will be AFR heads and obviously a whole new rotating assembly, yada, yada... I do have a mid 70's 4 bolt block sitting here, but i'm not a 2-piece seal fan...

the most important factor to me is this motor WILL be roller cammed..... does my 87 (obviously I've never had the intake off) have a provision for the roller, or is that gonna be the pricey retro-fit, like the mid 70's one would be?

when did they start the sb roller cams, late 80's cop cars , etc?

Scott? :wink1:

TIA :D
 
I think the roller came started in 88 in car blocks. Look for a vortec block.


If you wasn't halfway across the country I have a 97 vortec block. Decided to just buy a short block.
 
I have a 350 from a '94 K2500 Burb that is 4bolt and roller provision.
I also have a 350 from a '90 C2500 that is 2bolt and no roller provision.

It seems GM must have used whatever was laying around.
 
Cars got roller cams starting in 1987 and the trucks didn't get them until 1996. An 87 truck block should have the provisions for the lifter spider tray but may or may not be drilled. My 89 block is was fully ready for hydraulic roller stuff.
 
4X4HIGH said:
Cars got roller cams starting in 1987 and the trucks didn't get them until 1996. An 87 truck block should have the provisions for the lifter spider tray but may or may not be drilled. My 89 block is was fully ready for hydraulic roller stuff.
Click to expand...



how difficult is it to drill/tap for the spider tray?
 
ryoken said:
how difficult is it to drill/tap for the spider tray?
Click to expand...

As long as the stand offs are there IF they aren't drilled just drill and tap (easy as that). They just hold the spider tray down which keeps the lifters from coming out. The only thing you need to make sure of is that the holes are spaced correctly so that all 3 bolts will go in.

The front of the block will be tapped for the cam trust plate and there are 2 different ones so you will need to measure the bolt hols spacing in order to get the correct plate.
 
thanks, guess I should just pop the intake off and take a peak while it's sitting there on the stand...

I'm familiar with the setup... tore the heads off a roller 502 today that injested water, stuck 2 rusty exh valves and broke the pushrods.....
 
The cam thrust plate is GM #10088128 if the bolt spacing is 3.62" or GM #10168501 if the bolt spacing is 3.294"
 
copied/pasted in my new 383 folder..... :wink1: thank ya sir.... :D
 
Ive had a 350 out of a 91 chevy that was not a factory roller cam block, while the 350 out of my old 89 LD 2500 was equipped for a factory roller cam, only a flat tappet was installed. Im hanging onto it for the same reasons, more or less that you want one. My block is 2 bolt main, but depending what it goes into, and how crazy I get, I might go for the aftermarket main caps with the outer bolts angled out. I forget what theyre called.

good luck in your search.
 
ryoken said:
being I work on boats and work on/see eleventy million 350's a year, I wanna start keeping my eye out for a block.....

here's the gig..... the 383 will be AFR heads and obviously a whole new rotating assembly, yada, yada... I do have a mid 70's 4 bolt block sitting here, but i'm not a 2-piece seal fan...

the most important factor to me is this motor WILL be roller cammed..... does my 87 (obviously I've never had the intake off) have a provision for the roller, or is that gonna be the pricey retro-fit, like the mid 70's one would be?

when did they start the sb roller cams, late 80's cop cars , etc?

Scott? :wink1:

TIA :D
Click to expand...
Great minds think alike, I have been talking to Scott about this tonight. It has always been in the plan to put a 383 in, it's just that I had always wanted to just buy a complete GMPP version. Lately I have come to the conclusion that if I want a 383, the only way I am going to be able to afford it is to build it myself.
 
79rustyk10 said:
Ive had a 350 out of a 91 chevy that was not a factory roller cam block, while the 350 out of my old 89 LD 2500 was equipped for a factory roller cam, only a flat tappet was installed. Im hanging onto it for the same reasons, more or less that you want one. My block is 2 bolt main, but depending what it goes into, and how crazy I get, I might go for the aftermarket main caps with the outer bolts angled out. I forget what theyre called.

good luck in your search.
Click to expand...

splayed...

yeah, thats a secondary for me, 4 bolt or splayed.. sure it'd be nice to beef that...kinda why i hate not using the old 4 bolt i have, but the roller provision and 1 piece factor FAR outweigh it... i'd like to see 400 hp, 500 tq when said and done, well within a 2 bolts capabilties...
 
Scott got me a great list of parts, and I now have the budget set for building up my 383 this year. May not be nearly as much overkill as yours, but it will more than meet the needs I have planned.:grin:
 
ryoken said:
splayed...

yeah, thats a secondary for me, 4 bolt or splayed.. sure it'd be nice to beef that...kinda why i hate not using the old 4 bolt i have, but the roller provision and 1 piece factor FAR outweigh it... i'd like to see 400 hp, 500 tq when said and done, well within a 2 bolts capabilties...
Click to expand...

Are you keeping tbi or going with something else?
 
do you know how crazy you can get with the cam and still use the OEM type roller lifters?
 
79rustyk10 said:
do you know how crazy you can get with the cam and still use the OEM type roller lifters?
Click to expand...

The lifters are all the same unless you were to buy some anti pump up lifters and i'm not sure they're even available anymore or if they even were made in hydraulic roller form.
 
For all the money you'd spend on that, I'd be thinking a 6.0L gen 3 motor swap and enjoy the better mpg out of it as well. I looked into modding the tbi setup and its limits. The cost of those AFR heads would pay for the majority of the swap. Should be able to get a lower mileage motor complete with accesories and ecu/harness for $1200-1400
 
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