KC John

Does anyone have this motor in their car?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mll-bp38313ct1

I want a 383 and think that going this way is the best way for me to go. As you know there is not much room under a stock C2 hood and I need to use my gear driven tach, so it doesn't make sense to get the completed engine. They told me they still bolt on what they need to test the engine and then remove it all and send it out.

The other engine I am considering is:

https://www.smedingperformance.com/c...orsepower.html

I don't know if I can buy this without the intake or the distributor, and it has an air-gap dual plane intake which I'm not sure if it will fit under the hood. So I figure the best thing is to ask if anyone has one, what they think and are they happy with it.

C2 Hot Cam Guy

We have a 383 blueprint 420 horse motor bought w/o intake . i used an edlebrock manifold 650 holley tach drive distributor. Lots of power w great power curve all the way up. Ideal motor for fun cruising. We love it

Randy G.

I have the exact Blueprint engine in my C1. I put it in less than two years ago, and I put a Bowtie Overdrives 700R4 4 speed auto tranny with their lock up converter.

Has a lot of torque, doesn't leak a drop because they use later blocks that use a one piece rear main seal, and after a 1,000 miles or so it loosened up and runs even better. I pulled the valve covers off just to ave a look, and they use Comp Cams roller rockers. They tell you that because it has a roller hydraulic cam and rockers you don't need any fancy high zinc oils, and they absolutely recommend against any synthetic oils for the first 5,000 miles or so.

I put an Edelbrock Performer manifold on and an Edelbrock carb. I'm using the stock single point distributor with vacuum advance and ordered a GM harmonic balancer for it (it doesn't come with one).

I don't think the "Air Gap" manifold will fit under your hood. Call Edelbrock directly. They helped me pick mine and they will be happy to help you so you don't end up with one that doesn't fit.

My 383 came from Blueprint with dyno sheets showing a peak of 439 hp and 465 ft lbs of torque. There was some exhaust soot evident in the exhaust ports so I know the tested it on a dyno before shipping.

My only complaint has to do with my aging taste. Back in the day a thumpy cam at idle would have been my choice, but not now. The cam definitely has some thump. The trade off is, in lower gears my car smokes the tires at will.

Fresh out of the crate and on my engine stand:





Ready to go:

Randy G.

I have quieter exhaust than this and I'm using stock exhaust manifolds instead of headers, but this gives you an idea of how it sounds at idle.

DZAUTO

The only 383 I have is in my 51 Chevy. All my other small blocks are SB400s, which I REALLY, REALLY prefer. Granted, GOOD, rebuildable SB400 cores are becoming a little scarce, but they are out there. One of my sons recently bought a COMPLETE SB400 (pan to carb) for $250. It was bored .030 over, crank was turned .010-.010, we had the stock 400 heads worked over and opened up with 2.02-1.6 stainless valves, flat top pistons (works great on pump gas) installed a Comp Cams roller cam and installed it in my son's 73 Vette with a T400 tranny. Fantastic upgrade!

GTOguy

I have a well worn old-build 383 in my old '61 with dual 4's and a T-10....it is a rocketship. Scary with stock bias ply tires....nail it in third gear at 45 mph and it starts to slew sideways burning rubber....383 is a very sweet package, that does everything well.

DucatiDon

I built my own 383, using stock intake and air cleaner, with AFR heads.
Its a screamer.

Search for my 383 build thread for pics. (unless Photobucket has locked em down)

BK N 66

i have a stroker motor in my c2 and it is a rocket ship. amazing power.
450 hp with 400 pounds of torque. it is a lot of fun and really very
dependable. i would not be afraid to get in the car and drive it
across country or pretty much anywhere. has never broke down on
me and i sure get a lot of fun driving it. only problem is when u
nail it u better make sure it is pointed in the right direction as it
really comes alive. u will love it i guarantee it. a great smallblock.
the only thing maybe better is a big block but a big block dont handle
as good as my stroker motor because of the weight of the engine and
also i am making just as much HP in my smallblock as a big block.

when building your stroker motor just make sure you do your
homework when selecting all your parts for your motor. have fun.

KC John

Thanks guys for the info. I think the Blueprint engine is the way for me to go. Skip White builds a 400/406 that I was thinking about, but that might be overkill for the way I drive my car. Mostly back roads around 45 mph for 85% of the time. Even though a 283 could do that, I do like to go out and rip it up every so often so a 383 should take care of that itch.

Randy G.

Nice part about the Blueprint 383 is the warranty. And I penciled it out before I ordered mine (got it through Summit before the last price increase. The price you see is delivered to your door, no tax). I couldn't duplicate it for the price after rounding everything up, paying for machine work and assembling it myself. Plus, it was in stock at Summit and at my shop within a day or two of being ordered.

63mako

I have a 383 in my 63. 535 hp

Crunch527

KCJohn,

I've done the 383s with air gap and have always used the big block hood.

Anyway, you can't go wrong with a stroked 383, 406, 434...lots of bottom end torque...fun, fun, fun!

Frank

skids

I just about pulled the trigger on the same Smeding engine.
Ended up with a Tristar 383. Little pricey but an awesome engine.
Basically same as their 406.
https://www.tristarengines.com/pro-s...cylinder-heads

65air_coupe

Love the three dueces, what are they and did you have to go to the L88 hood to clear them?

KC John

I have a couple of additional questions for you. Do you have side pipes? If so what headers are you using?

Do you have your original gauges? If so how did you make the tach work with that distributor?

Lastly it looks like you must have a BB hood in order to be able to use an "AIR-GAP" style manifold. If not, what kind of air cleaner did you use if you have a SB hood?

Thanks

DucatiDon

Ive seen that You can get an adapter that takes the electronic tach/speedo signal from an HEI and converts it to mechanical output for a tach/speedo cable.

Stan's Customs

I also am considering a stroker motor as we speak.
Can you tell us what cam and which AFR heads you used....and what carb and intake?
Sounds like you really like the combination.
...Stan

skids

Hey John,
I am using Hooker stainless side mount headers, with the msd tach drive dist, and yes a 67 bb hood. The L88 air cleaner base gives a good drop and the repos are actually nice units. I used one prior to installing EFI

DucatiDon

My 383 has AFR 195 Eliminators, Howards Roller cam 235* @ .595 lift, LT1/Z28 intake and a Holley 3310 750 cfm. I use the factory 65-66 shp drop base air cleaner with zero issues. I don't have dyno data but it feels strong. And I am running factory 2.5" exhaust manifolds.

63mako

I built them, Large base 1970 chevy 350 Rochesters on the ends with Pontiac tripower tops and baseplates, center carb is a Carter Mercruiser carb off a 305 Mercury boat. Fabricated everything else. 840 CFM, gets close to 20 MPG. Smooth transition to outboards. no problems but lots of work. Good luck finding a large base intake though. Car has a tilt front end and the hood was part of it when I bought it. 535 HP with Viper 6 speed and Tom's 12 bolt 4.11. It screams.