Boatguy24

So the corvette I have has a 383 stroker crate motor in it. It runs and works great. I am wanting to supercharge it in the end and am probably jumping the gun on this post as I am sure most of you guys on here are veteran builders. I am curious if someone could steer me in the right direction to find out what it exactly is or where it might have come from.

Easy Mike

Have you asked the previous owner where the 383 may have originated?

Boatguy24

he doesnt know he knows it was a crate motor. The chain of custody of the car I can trace back to a dealership in 2009 but prior to that I do not know. The owner who bought it from the dealership had little to no knowledge about the motor and he said there had been some work done to the suspension but that is all he knew. His back went out so he was selling it because he couldnt work on it anymore. The motor runs like a champ and the drive train has no issues. Just want to know the capabilities of what I have or how to determine the capabilities.

Dodosmike

Other than posting engine ID codes and external component part numbers, I think your out of luck IDing the internals.

If the cars known history is local to you, perhaps ask around as some of the performance shops. I doubt many 19xx corvettes come in for crate motor swaps. Maybe ask at some cruise ins or car shows, somebody might recognize the car.

Any barcode stickers on the block? Might give you a lead towards the rebuilder. GM would have had barcode ID tags somewhere.

dodosmike

The13Bats

While I normally wouldn't think this way If you have the toad pelts to do a blower motor why not sell the 383 showing buyers how well it runs will help get a good price then build the new engine specifically for a blower from bottom to top....just a thought.

Robert Thomas

I would think you'd have to tear it down completely if you're building a serious blown engine. You could use a borescope (about $70 for color at Walmart) to see if the pistons are flat top. If so, they'll probably need to be replaced. Also you'll want forged pistons and really good rings. Decent blower-proof head gaskets, too.

I'd build a spreadsheet to come up with a recipe and cost for the conversion and compare it to the cost of a new engine.

mirage2991

all depends on the kind of supercharging you are going to do… (roots, procharger-like, turbo)