7t2vette

My engine that is! Get you minds out of the gutter!!
Okay here is my dilema: I have already purchased the following items for my engine rebuild..........

Edelbrock Performer RPM air gap intake
Edelbrock Performer RPM heads
Edelbrock Victor Jr. water pump
MSD Pro Billit distributor
MSD 6AL
MSD Blaster 2 coil
Holley Street Avenger 750 carb
Fluidamper
Crane 1.5 roller tip rockers
Headman 1-5/8" ceramic coated hedders

I can't decide whether or not to stroke it because I have some doubts that the heads will flow enough for 383 cubes, but I am not 100% sure about it. Will the heads be good enough for a 383? I am tentatively going to go with a Comp Cams Extreme Energy 274, and also a 2500 stall convertor. Should I just go with a 355, or will the cost of stroking the engine be worth it with those heads?
Somebody help me!




[Modified by 7t2vette, 10:07 AM 6/9/2002]

MasterDave

You'll get lots of opinions here so I'll start. Leave it a 355, the parts you have will put your engine in the 1800-6200+ power range and it will idle with a definate fender shaking rump-de-rump at 700 rpm. You will blow the tires off leaving the line at anything over 2200. I've got pretty much the same setup except for the alum heads. (see my sig) A 3.55 or 3.70 rear will make for a happy engine. If it's an automatic, you'll need a higher stall converter. A 383 is torquier for sure, but is not needed IMO. :cheers:

StrayDog

carefull you could go blind.............. :eek:

7t2vette

Haha....or grow hairy palms maybe!!

I forgot to mention that I have 3:55 gears and will be using 2-1/2" exhaust with Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers. I also have a Be Cool rad, and Spal electric fans.

To stroke or not to stroke.....that is the question!!!!!!

QuickVet

i say go for it, otherwise you will always wonder if you made the right choice. more cubes will not hurt you :D

0Mike69@ECS

Sure why not??? Although you could prob get similar #'s with a straight 355 package. Then if you decide later that you want a little more hp & torque... then stroke it. Of course more hp is always fun! :cheers:

robzr

Stroke it! I know a guy with a 406 that runs Performer RPM heads and he has a c2 in the 9s with nitrous with that motor. Yah it would make a little more power with AFRs or Canfields or something, but if you already have those heads you can still build a great motor. Your setup on a 383 will make more horsepower and torque across the board than the same setup on a 350. The pistons are the same cost as 350 pistons, the rods are the same, and you can get a crank good for 500+ hp for $200 (consider reconditioning your stock crank if you to reuse that could cost half that, that's only $100 more). You may have to clearance your block yourself (gkull posted instructions on this), pay your machinist $100-200 to do it, or if you go with stroker style rods, it will not be necessary - the stroker rods cost a little more (but at the same time, they are significantly stronger rods). At any rate, dollar for dollar it's going to be the cheapest horsepower you can buy, and unlike a lot of power upgrades, it doesn't move your torque curve north. And they are reliable, GM's selling a 383 with an even longer stroke (3.80 vs 3.75), and they still use 5.7 rods.

Rob

69 N.O.X. RATT

How about a small shot of NOS, would be a lot cheaper.

Vetterodder

If you're replacing the pistons anyway, why not? Like Rob posted, it won't cost that much more and the power you'll gain is power that can be enjoyed with out having to rev higher. If you didn't already have the heads I might recommend something larger but there are plenty of 383's out there doing just fine with lesser heads than the RPM's

7t2vette

Would the heads really choke my upper rpm limit on a 383? What kind of redline could I expect to see?

robzr

Your redline and power curve is not limited by how small your heads are, but how well the heads flow. Your cam is going to dictate how high you can effectively rev, you could easily bring a 383 up to 6500+ with those heads and the right sized cam. Keep in mind a 383 is only about 7.5% larger than a 355, we are not talking a humongous difference in displacement here. But that said, those extra 28 cubes on a hot motor are easily worth 30 horses and 30 ft/lbs pretty much across the torque curve. For the money, that's real cheap power. If you want to upgrade to better heads you can get Canfield 200s for about the same cost as those Performer RPMs.

Rob

7t2vette

Rob, I was under the impression that besides how well a head flows, that port volume also played a role in determining upper rpm limits. Edelbrock claims that with thier RPM package they get 420 Hp from a 355, but I am hesitant about going with a cam as large as the RPM cam just to keep the car somewhat civil, but would the RPM cam in a 383 be less radical than it would be in a 355? Could I expect 450 Hp in a 383 with an RPM cam, or is that wishful thinking on my part?

Noel Carboni

In a very general sense, more cubes is better. I say stroke it.

Short of megabuck options, there ain't no replacement for displacement.

Just a general suggestion: Think about the torque - what amount and at what RPM range. Horsepower will follow. Sometimes more low-end torque at some expense of high-end horsepower will make a street car more driveable and fun.

-Noel


[Modified by Noel Carboni, 8:17 PM 6/9/2002]

carl a

i opened my stock valves to 2.02 intakes--used original heads-- and stroked the original motor to 383....with the 373 rear --and the 700r-4's low1st and 2nd gears ,,she launches ! im sure it would run even better with headers and bigger heads-------where does it stop?-----got 40 grand in her already.... then your blowin it up at the strip trying to run low 12's... blowin half shafts ect.ect..


[Modified by carl a, 10:49 PM 6/9/2002]

Fevre

Look at this way, you won't make any LESS horse (but I think you will make more) with the 383 but you will must definately gain torque down low where you will feel it off the line and up to 5000+ rpm's. Like others said, spend $500 bucks now and you will have room to grow later much easier then if you went 355 now.

7t2vette

Alright, thats it......I'm Strokin it big time baby!! I guess I really have nothing to lose, except a few hundred bucks for the crank, so why not. I guess there are a lot of 383's out there using 5.565"(400) rods and re-worked stock iron heads that are doing just fine, so my RPM's just do just fine.....besides, changing heads at a later date is much easier than changing cranks!!!!

Thanks for all your replies, I love this forum!!!!!! :cheers: :cheers:

I will keep you all posted, and maybe one day I will actually finish my web site which will document my full body-off resto.....maybe.....if I can find the time.......no honey, I'm not on the computer again!........gotta go!


[Modified by 7t2vette, 7:24 PM 6/9/2002]

flynhi

Seems to me the question you should now ask is: with 383 cubes and the other components you have, what is the cam of choice?

GROSSPOLLUTER60

Why not port the heads a bit? :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash:

7t2vette

I am thinking of perhaps porting the heads a little, I was going to get them gasket-matched at the very least, but I will think about a little port work now too.

Okay, so next question...........what cam to use? I am considering Comp Cams Extreme Energy 274, or maybe Edelbrock's RPM cam, any other choices I should consider? Remember, this is mostly a street car, with the occasional trip to the strip, and I want my vaccuum accessories to function properly.

So.................

robzr

Port volume is important at low RPMs, as a smaller volume increases the velocity of the intake charge. The only reason why smaller port volume is counterproductive to higher RPM power is because smaller ports tend to not flow as well, which obviously limits the amount of charge. If you can have small volume with big flow, then you have the best of both worlds.

If your heads are new, then I personally would recommend against getting them ported. You could return them, or sell them at a small loss, and then buy some Canfields or even AFRs, which will flow better than mildly ported RPMs, cost less when it is all said and done, and also have more potential for the future (if you do decide to port them later on). If you have already used them, then work out the numbers both ways.

As far as your cam choice goes, it's your personal preference, and will probably want to keep it somewhere between 218 - 240 on the intake. You will also have to take the compression into consideration, which is going to depend on the heads and pistons you end up with. I wanted my 383 to function with 3.08s, 1 5/8" headers, 2200 stall, get 20 mpg and run mid 12s on street tires in my 3600 lbs '76. I went with 10.0:1, AFR 195s, 224/230 hyd roller, dual plane intake, 750 cfm speed demon. The cam was a good cam for a mild driver, but I'm a little nuts with the gas pedal if you know what I mean, so I only saw 15 mpg ;) and decided the cam was on the conservative side. It did pull to 6500, but was running out of steam a little before it got there. I also didn't quite see mid 12s, I ran 12.8@108, but that was with the 3.08s, 9 leaf spring, old KYBs; and a crummy old HEI; with an MSD and some suspension work I think I would have easily done 12.5s on Radial T/As. If I could have stayed out of the pedal for a tank or two I think I would have seen at least 17-18 mpg, maybe even gotten 20 with highway driving. It also pulled something like 13-14 inches vacuum.

Car Craft just built and dynod a pretty cool 383 combo, AFR 195s, 10.5:1, Victor Jr., 750 cfm Holley HP, 292s (solid flat tappet, 246 ish duration), it made 540 hp with a little tuning and a carb spacer. I wish I had built mine a little closer to those specs (single plane, 1 3/4" headers, big cam). Gas mileage is nice and all, but going really fast is a whole lot nicer :) George Kull gets like 20 mpg out of a 550 hp 396 stroker small block, if you are concerned with that he may be able to give you some tips.

later,

Rob