pwoolford

I have a 1995 6-speed lt1 with 85k miles. I need a clutch and I was planning on putting the lt4 heads/cam/intake package on the motor sometime soon. It would seem easier to pull the motor and do the clutch and top end all at once. This has me thinking that while it is out why not rebuild it and turn it into a 396. The question is what internals does it take to make a 396? Has anyone here converted an LT1 to a 396? What are pros/cons of 396 vs 383 or even a fresh 350 with LT4 kit?

Thanks in advance,

tjwong

There is nothing really special about a 396 LT4. As far as rotating assemblies goes, the crank that is needed would be a 3.875" stroke crank that would give you the additional inches. Eagle makes a complete rotating assembly kit that would work well for you. You get the crank, a set of their ESP H beam rods and a set of pistons of your choice of compression ratios. The only basic difference between a 396 and a 383 is the stroke of the crankshafts. You get a little more TQ and HP with the additional 13 cubes of the 396. Other than that there isn't really any cons about doing a 396 over a 383, other than a slight difference in cost. There maybe some very minor mechanical issues such as additional grinding of the block for clearances that has to be done and or the addition of a stroker clearanced oil pan.

65Z01

BTW, that 3% difference between 383 & 396 amounts to about 15 HP at the crank.

96redvettelt4

When someone talks about cost differfence- what kind of numbers are they talking. The kits online only seem about $100 more for the 396 over 383. Does the block work cost that much more? How many more $ are we saying for the extra 15hp and torque?

Caboboy

I used Scat rods and crank on my build, the rods have a nice profile which elimiated having to clearance the pan rails. In fact, the only clearancing necessary was at the cylinders for the counterweights. (Iused a small base circle cam) There are pics of the rotating assembly and the clearancing in my photos. Good luck to you!

Bruce

the reason people mention cost between the two is that while back you can only get high dollar 3.875 crank from Callie and Lunati. No one else have them cheaper. Now you can get it from Eagle and it is much cheaper than the brand names. With the 3.75 crank you can get it from any where and it cheap.

95wht6spd

383's can be a lot less $, because 396's only come forged.
If you want to go low cost, go 383, if you want forged, may as well go 396.

You may want to consider a crate engine or at least a short block to to make things easier.