So I picked up a 383 stroker today.

880 block. Line honed, decked, bored .030 over.
Scat crank and rods
3.75 stroke
Speed pro teflon coated flat tops w/four reliefs
Vortec iron heads studded,swirl polished 2.02 intake, 1.60 exhaust
Edle brock RPM intake
Comp cams .510/.510 roller

My question is fuel delivery ...
My options are

Demon 650, Vacuum secondarys Fresh rebuild.

GM 454 TBI with adapter.

I have both of these on hand.
What would be the expected HP of this engine? The compression comes in at about 10.5:1.

 

I would run the demon myself but I have no experience with adapting fuel injection to an older engine.It may want more cfm but then again it could use more head also.Sounds like a big torque motor to me.Compression could get iffy with iron heads also.

 

The ZZ383 is tested and advertised with a 750 .... so that's what I went with ...

 

whelp ... Im going through it adding arp head studs, making sure the seller told me the right info, checking for hidden damage, etc.

Had my first moment of "OH S###".

I put my inspection scope through the head and checked out the rockers. GOOD
Pulled the plugs and check the valves and piston tops. GOOD


Went to flip the engine to pull the oil pan and check the crank/rods.
One valve cover off ...
Heads, intake, alt, PS pump, AC pump, and brackets all still connected ...
Engine stand mounting plate lined up with ... the crankshaft ...

The engine rotated itself about 1 second after I pulled the retaining pin. Needless to say I was checking my pants afterwards. My wife and neighbor were standing in the garage at the time. The PO hadn't drained the oil. So I dumped about 6-7 quarts of oil and about 1/2 gallon of coolant on my garage floor.


Anyone got tips on how I should go about flipping it upright? Doing it by hand seems risky with the top heaviness.

 

used my hoist hooked to one side to rotate the engine.
Removed the accesories and it can be rotated by hand now.

Progress report:

383 on stand- waiting for carb studs, fuel pump install, Alternator, and PS pump.

Found out my block had been partially drilled for a mechanical pump. The hole went all the way through to the cam but tapers the deeper into the block it goes. Im cupping the end of a 1/2 in drill bit and VERY slowly finishing out the hole.

I have the orginal 350 out of the car and im starting my engine bay clean up. Wire brushes and degreaser. Prime and paint all the metal after im done.

 

If there was no mechanical fuel pump on the engine originally, are you sure the present cam has a fuel pump lobe on it?
Did the person you bought this from ever run it?
If so, how was it broken in?
Good luck.
Hope not too many more oh sh*t moments.

Bman

 

The PO had an electric pump on it.
Whats a good way of checking for a FP lobe without pulling the cam? The engine is still on the stand for a few more days. Im thinking put a thumb against the push rod and having some one turn the crank.

The PO claims he put 2-2.5k miles on it. Every cylinder still has a pretty crosshatch pattern on it and I could still easily read the part numbers on the pistons. I checked all this with a cheap inspection camera. Pulled 2 roller lifters and they looked new.


The builder has a policy of "Engines dont go to customers until we break them in." He puts the engine in his S10 and drives it to and from work for 5 days(48 mile round trip). He does a oil change with AMSOIL high zinc break-in oil every other day and a oil+filter change after the 5th day.

Had one more ... incident.
A fine screw fell from somewhere overhead and landed in the intake. Murphys law. It picked the one cylinder with an open intake valve. Inspection camera through an exhaust port (wouldnt fit in the intake) and a wire grabber thing through a spark plug hole got it out, after 2 hours.

Its beer thirty and almost time to degrease for bed.

 

Sorry but I am not on here very often.
If you can reach the cam through the fuel pump location put a rod into it until it reaches the cam , rotate the engine by hand and see if the rod moves about 1/2 in. If it does that consistently then your cam has the lobe for a manual fuel pump.
Good luck with your project.
Bman

 

Dude ..
The engine rotated itself about 1 second after I pulled the retaining pin. Needless to say I was checking my pants afterwards. My wife and neighbor were standing in the garage at the time. The PO hadn't drained the oil. So I dumped about 6-7 quarts of oil and about 1/2 gallon of coolant on my garage floor.

Gravity strikes again if only we could plan for it...
...................
A fine screw fell from somewhere overhead and landed in the intake. Murphys law. It picked the one cylinder with an open intake valve. Inspection camera through an exhaust port (wouldnt fit in the intake) and a wire grabber thing through a spark plug hole got it out, after 2 hours.

Space debris ? ?


Your more a danger to that motor then any mechanical issue it may encounter..

 

Considering I fired it up for the first time today ... I think it held up to my physical abuse.
Found out the screw came from the lock on my garage door.

Now I need to put in the rack and pinion conversion.