Hi Guys, I'm throwing around the Idea of buliding a 383. I want to use my L 82 block and probably a set of brodix IK 200 heads. I have a few questions.

1. I want an Internally balance assembly, which is better out of the box, Scat Or Eagle ? Do you need to have the balance checked?

2. When you buy the full assemblies are the rings already filed to size?

3. If I have my crankshaft bearing bores aligned , would the crankshaft bearings that come in the kit be the right size?

4. Anyone in N.J. have an estimate on the basic block work? And a good machine shop in South Jersey?? I will probably clearence the block for the crank and assemble everything myself.

Thanks for the replies.

 

1. I want an Internally balance assembly, which is better out of the box, Scat Or Eagle ? Do you need to have the balance checked?
A- That's a toss up and each kit would have to be checked, I returned a 4340 Eagle crank because it was bent by .001" others might use it. Every assembly has to be balanced

2. When you buy the full assemblies are the rings already filed to size?
A- Some are some aren't, they will tell you in the kit description if theya are file fit

3. If I have my crankshaft bearing bores aligned , would the crankshaft bearings that come in the kit be the right size?
A- Never buy the bearings ( unless they are part of the kit and can be exchanged ) first. Always check your crank and rod clearances first then you buy the bearing size you need

 

Thanks Motor head.

If I by a balanced assembly , should I still have it checked by a machine shop?

 

Try RON's Machine RT9 in Bayville.

Forget this he is no longer there

 

If I bought it, yes I would do it

 

Of those two....I'd use SCAT. Eagle seems to get rods right..but have a tough time getting cranks sized correctly.

I'd buy an assy designed to be internal balanced and then have it done locally. The *factory* balance jobs are done to *nominal* weights. They don't actually weigh your pistons and rods like a good independent shop will.

You might look at Compstar kits too. They are the Callies version of imported stuff and from what I've seen are good parts.

Avoid CAT brand...or no name like the plague! Also be very aware of *seconds*...there are lots of those in those internet kits. Buy from well known folks.


JIM

 

Thanks Jim,
now I'm thinking that I should just reuse my rods from the L82 and get new pistons and a 383 crank. This way I can get my own bearings after every thing is checked. Does this sound better than buying the whole kit???

 

What cam and what kind of rpms are you planning on turning. If you are going to turn it past 6500 rpm I would not run the stock rods. I never liked the stock rods anyway. If your running around 400 HP and keeping at 6000 or below you will be fine. If you want to save some money at that level you could run a cast crank and hyperutectic pistons also. How fast you want to run = how mauch money you want to spend. Don't expect to spend 2 grand and have a 500HP 383. Anytime you want to come check out mine, I'm not to far away you are always welcome.

I do have a good machine shop over here also. It is a little ride but the guy is extremly meticulous.

 

I agree the Scat is better sizing then the Eagle cranks but the Compstar cranks are dead nuts on as far as journal to jouranl and flatness and are right on as far as straightness and their nitriding is better then the Eagle and the Scats.

If your planning to be over 400 horse and 400 foot pounds of torque you may want to go to a better rod and the Callies Compstar 6 inch rods are a very nice choice. The scat Procomp 6 inch I beams are good choice as well and I think they are only around 300.00 dollars a set.

The Mahle powewr pack piston kit runs about 525.00 with rings.

Using the 6 inch rod kit they will surly internally balance no problem.

Before you spend any money on cleaning and magging have the block sonic test for cylinder wall thickness, Don't go by core shift.

If we have a block come in that has 2482 on the center caps those caps are a good choice for what your building, But if it has the 3412 caps you may want to up grade to a billet 4 bolt replacement caps.

If we use a customers block and we sonic test first, clean and mag, If it needs caps and a ARP bolt kit, line bore and line hone, square the decks, bore and plate hone with hardware a gasket thats going to be used in the final build, stroker clearance, hone the lifter bores, runs 995.00 to give you an idea and we use Pro-Gram caps.

Most likely the rings will have to be fit, and the bearings will have to be sized as well.

Then on most pistons the pin bores will have to be check and in most cases honed to size and both ends of the rods will have to be sized as well.

If the shop your dealing with does balancing your better off to have them do it as we have seen some prebalance jobs that were not very close, Get this they never removed the pistons from the carton and the rods were still sealed in their plastic packages, HMMM howed they do that??

It depends on how much money you have to spend.


Good luck with your build Carl

Here is a build we did a few weeks ago with the AFR's and the I K's are a good choice as well.
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236517

 

Thanks for the replies,
I thought the L82 Rods were forged? are they not that good?

I was thinking of the following
L82 Block Machined
Scat cast 9000 crank
L82 5.7 rods ?
new forged pistons ( speed pro) ?
Ik 200 heads
cam to match

My goal would be around 400 to 425 HP and Torque.

 

What you're planning will work...but you have to check around. The aftermarket H-beam or I-beam rods are a real bargain by the time you pay to put good bolts in a stock rod and resize it all. They will also still be press fit, which isn't an issue at this level....but you are so close to building a real *nice* shortblock...I would save another month or two and get better parts. Most cranks are designed for the aftermarket rod weights and lighter pistons are always good. I like the forged pistons. Some folks get by with Hypereutectics....but I won't use them unless it's something pretty mild.

All that said, I did do a 383 with a stock 4 bolt block, SCAT steel crank, stock rods with good bolts and some KB Hypereutectics for a buddy. It's a perfect deal for what he does and he's run it for a few years with no issues. I decked it 'till pistons were .002 OUT of the block, used iron heads and it runs well at 10.2 compression and a little solid flat tappet circle track cam. But I knew he wasn't going to wind much over 5000...maybe 5500rpm tops.

To answer your question...the L-82 rods are OK. They are just stock rods with a little better inspection...nothing really special.


JIM

 

IK 200 brodix shows to use a felpro 1206 intake gasket, that means it has a fairly big runner entry size, IK 200 could cause you grief in manifold selection if your going to use a dual plane manifold.

 

Those rods should be OK have them resized and checked for bend and twist which most shops over look.

Good luck with your build Carl

 

400-425hp 383?
You don't need forged pistons.
You don't want IK200 exactly 'cuz what LM said.
very little weight difference comparing OE 5.7" Ibeam w/ bolts to Aftermarket 5.7" Ibeam with bolts.
suggest a cast crank, 6" Ibeam rods w/ capscrews, hyper pistons with thin ringpak (less friction & bore wear).
just my 0.02

 

The 6 inch rod pistons are alot lighter then the 5.7 rod pistons.

 

the shorter pistons are lighter ... and the additional mass of a 6" rod is typically a little less than diff between same-mfg&mdl 5.7 piston & 6 piston ... Yep, you'll probably end up lighter w/ a 6" build v. 5.7.

But still no sig diff between same-design OE & aftermarket5.7 rods. My first comment about 5.7 rods is meant to counter any suggestion to buy aftermarket 5.7 rods in order to get lighter than L82 or L48 rods ... 'cuz typical scat/eagle Ibeam 5.7 rods are Not significantly lighter than L82 or L48 rods ... aftermarket rods can be cost effective but don't do it solely to save weight. IMHO, a few grams either way in a street motor ain't diddly. FYI ... some of the SP books piston weight specs are muddied 'cuz some weights include pin but most without pin ... but the listings don't tell you that ... thanks sealed power.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.
Should I go with the IK 180's , becuase I was going to use a RPM airgap manifold.

 

You would be happier with the low end torque.

 

With all things the same, how do the IK180s compare to the Dart Pro 1s? I believe the smallest runner is a 195, how much low end are you going to loose with the Darts?

 

Reconsider something like the internal balanced scat rotating kits. www,flatlanderracing.com, they have kits for a 383 from around $850 to as high as $1600 Call brodix they are easy to talk to. phone # 479-394-1075.