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So a racing shop did the carb tuning for you and a dyno tech did some dyno tuning and neither of then thought to look down the throat of the carb? The dyno tech did not suspect the numbers were a bit weird considering the massive torque vs the diminutive HP?
These are some of the reasons many of us do our own wrenching. It's hard to find competent help.
Maybe Buccaneer should be your mechanic, he called it with a problem based solely on the dyno numbers.
Last edited by REELAV8R; Apr 29, 2017 at 12:03 PM.
The engine will be inspected to determine why it blowed up, but here are some more pics.
One of the pistons disintegrated with the remnants distributed inside the engine:
Looks like a stroker with the filed down piston rods bolts. Needed to clear the block on the downstroke and possibly the camchaft on the upstroke.
That carb gasket is fubar.....for sure.
I would not be surprised that the piston was destroyed by detonation caused by the carb gasket and the carb secondaries not being able to provide sufficient fuel at higher rpm.
If that is the quality of work of that builder, you better start from scratch with a good shop.
Otherwise you will never feel safe while driving nor comfortable....what's the point in that?
Might as well park it in the driveway.
But good luck getting it all solved and enjoying it.
Anyway, there are few things money cannot fix. I have a new 383 crate coming from GM. I'll know next week if the 700R4 was put together by Buba.
No...the filing is done in conjunction with the balance. Part of why some look a little more filed down than others.
I have 2 383 strokers I will be building. One lower end already has the clearancing done and the neutral internal balance done.
Forged crankshaft and rods, hypereutectic pistons.
The other step is to notch the block at the railing where the pan bolts on. You clearance each rod as it rotates around. Some will hit the railing hard and need a deep notch. Others less so. But be carful not to puncture the water jacket.
Do an "advanced search" in the search function about building a 383. LOTS of great info there.
From: Arizona - If you don’t know CFI, STOP proliferating the myths around it...
Originally Posted by bmans vette
Looks like a stroker with the filed down piston rods bolts. Needed to clear the block on the downstroke and possibly the camchaft on the upstroke.
That carb gasket is fubar.....for sure.
I would not be surprised that the piston was destroyed by detonation caused by the carb gasket and the carb secondaries not being able to provide sufficient fuel at higher rpm.
If that is the quality of work of that builder, you better start from scratch with a good shop.
Otherwise you will never feel safe while driving nor comfortable....what's the point in that?
Might as well park it in the driveway.
But good luck getting it all solved and enjoying it.
Save the wave!
Dennis
If the primaries, let alone the secondaries were not opening enough, you were running rather lean, which may be why the piston let loose. I would definitely NOT use that shop again for any reason. What 383 did you buy...Specs? The next one hopefully will put a **** eatin' grin on your face when you hit the loud pedal.
No risk of using that shop again as all this wonderful work was done about 20 years ago in another province. I'm just thankful the engine blowed up on the track and not on the mountain road we use often.
This 81 'vette is for daily driving into my senior years. A nice balance between power and easy driving with the automatic transmission and all. The more powerful option would have been too expensive, I'm looking at getting a more powerful car for the track with a manual tranny. Debating on whether it will be a C3....
Finally had the 81 dyno'd. Made sure the guy understood I could not be disappointed with the results as I was very content with how the car drives. Just want to calibrate the feel on my backside:
Max hp at tires is 220 @ 4300 rpm
torque is 320 lb-ft @ @2250 rpm
No dispute from the race shop that the engine was a 383 stroker and running strong. He guessed that the engine would producing 350-375 hp.
The racing shop also found that the carb was set too lean, probably for fuel economy. I had him optimize the carb for power so the engine wouldn't run hot on the track.
Will do. I expect to be breaking in the engine in a few weeks.
Here's another view of the wheels with the Okanagan valley in the background. We have a pilots view of the valley 2500' below. We get CAVU, VFR on top, solid IMC and some times severe icing conditions! All from the comfort of our living room... :-)
Will do. I expect to be breaking in the engine in a few weeks.
Here's another view of the wheels with the Okanagan valley in the background. We have a pilots view of the valley 2500' below. We get CAVU, VFR on top, solid IMC and some times severe icing conditions! All from the comfort of our living room... :-)
What a great view and awesome looking car......who cares about a crappy engine with all that on your plate.
Good luck with the engine swap.
Bman
WTF? That's the equivalent of putting a square peg into a round hole. Unbelievable!
WTF indeed...
This morning I recalled that the previous (first) owner didn't want a full up fire breather 383, he wanted a scaled back version. And that's what he got based on the dyno test I had done. I'm thinking that Bubba simply restricted the flow into the engine to get the scaled back performance.... :-)
Although I'm trying to be funny, the more I think about it the more sense it makes since that gasket was no accident. The Bubster drilled holes into the gasket to make it fit the engine....
This morning I recalled that the previous (first) owner didn't want a full up fire breather 383, he wanted a scaled back version. And that's what he got based on the dyno test I had done. I'm thinking that Bubba simply restricted the flow into the engine to get the scaled back performance.... :-)
Although I'm trying to be funny, the more I think about it the more sense it makes since that gasket was no accident. The Bubster drilled holes into the gasket to make it fit the engine....
Bubba thinks he is a NASCAR mechanic and that is his "restrictor plate".....
Last edited by bmans vette; May 1, 2017 at 06:58 PM.
I would definitely NOT use that shop again for any reason. What 383 did you buy...Specs? The next one hopefully will put a **** eatin' grin on your face when you hit the loud pedal. 
