yes there are more expenses. You can get by on 24# injectors, but bigger are better. Computer programming is a must with a 383. 355 you probably don't need it at all. Lots of things to do to a 383... like cooling, etc...

 

Do you mean the stock cooling sytm is not sufficient for normal driving ?

 

you'll need to reprogram the computer with a 355 as well, my friend rich or corvette0096 on here has a massair car & zz4 with the SR/219 combo. he had to reprogram. my engine is in my sig, the car ran okay on the stock prom but it was slower & spit & sputtered at times. ed wright got ahold of my prom, sent it back & it runs like a charm. there's very little additional expense in building a 383 machine wise. under $500, the 6" rods cost $20-30 more, the 383 wiseco piston set is $463 which is the only real spendy part but the set comes with good rings which most pistons don't & you spend another $100 on. the part number from summit racing is wis-pt017h3, those pistons and some 6" rods like the $200 ebay eagles and a $200 scat 9000 crank and your in business. you can buy a new damper from GM for $55, you need the 6-3/4" size. if you have a 6spd car now is the time to upgrade to a single mass clutch {you don't HAVE to, but i would} like the $100 for a used Fbody flywheel. machine .090 off and your good to go. this allows the bottom end to get balanced with the flywheel, very good stuff for a long life engine wise.

on to cooling, will it work for "normal driving" all i can say is try it, if it doesn't you can always buy a new radiator. high rpms really bring the temps up, if your only street driving and drag racing you should be okay. road racing will bring your temps up FAST. summertime will be the real challenge but i think you'll be okay for street duty. a 160therm and the fans comming on at 185deg will help you out a good deal as well.


[Modified by gtsyellow, 11:09 AM 12/12/2002]

 

My vote for the best bang for the buck...... 385 :chevy

 

Thank you very much for all the info GTS I really appriciate it. The guy that is building the 383 wants to go all forged. He quoted me about 2500.00-2800.000 depending on what it needs. He will also tune it.

 

if that includes machine work your not getting a bad deal, just stress tight main clearances and time being spent assembling and balancing it. also ask him if he would mind if you bought some of the parts, you could save a few hundred dollars. the scat 9000 is a cast steel crank but your good to 700hp or more, the eagle SIR rod is forged 5140 steel, good to who knows, 500-600hp-ish, the wiseco pistons are extremely strong & have been used in winston cup cars before. you might see what he says, at any rate it sounds like you have your engine setup, let us know how it all goes :thumbs:

 

GTSYellow is right. For that kinda money you're getting a good deal. Also you may get what you pay for. Good advice on the tolerances.
As for program, A DFI type system is great. That way you can change components over the years and reprogram with a laptop. You gotta find the engine tuner with the software however. My vote is a 383. I have a 383 as well. I bored it out again so I say its a 388, what's a cube here and there. Anyway i have no problem reving over 6500 either. :cheers:

 

I am curios why there is so many people saying 5-7k is that to have someone else install it and tune it ?

 

it all adds up, i spent around $5,000 on my long block, $600 on a used miniram, $350 to ed wright, $450 on a clutch and flywheel and that's not counting all the misc. junk you use doing a engine swap. high end engine builders aren't cheap, they spent hours and hours filing bearings, grinding a little of this and that & setting the thing up. you start talking head work, custom cuts for the springs, porting, valves, gaskets & your there in no time.

 

Since my heands are done I already have a cam lifter new timning set etc. What is the average price for just a customer supllied short block Crank,Pistons Rods, Machine work bearings etc ?

 

i got the 383, but like the old saying " there's no replacement for displacement"

 

Your setup is very similiar to what I will end up with How do you like it and do you have a numbers off of it ?

 

383! :yesnod:

 

383. If you want to view some specs visit http://www.slowrider-racing.org
I drove this car with the owner late October in an 8 hour endurance event. We showed the third fastest laptime overall. Considering that the 383 is in a 3500 lb '96 camaro against a variety of large displacement european and domestic production racers and this was actually quite a feat! Just lots and lots of torque from 2000 to 5500. It would spin nicely to 6000. If you forgot to shift down at the corner, no worry, just lug and pull your way through it! Don't undercam it, a 3.75 stroke can accomodate 5 or more degrees duration as compared to a 3.5 stroked engine. speedjohnson

 

Is the Hot Cam considered Undercaming it ?

 

Ok, ok, ok. I'm seeing a few things are here that just aren't right. No way possible will a cast iron SBC crank live to 700 hp. They just don't do it. If they did, why do Winston Cup teams spend $4000 on billet steel cranks? Admittedly they're pushing about 825-850 HP, but still, a cast crank at 700 you have to be kidding. If you're going to build a motor to make ~450 or so horsepower, the safe money is on the forged parts. The bottom end is not some place where you want to skimp. And a 383 running a max of 6500 rpm better live a lot longer than 50k miles, or it was built like crap.

At the least, if I were building this motor (and I do R&D on Winston Cup engines), I would put 6" 4340 rods, forged pistons with a 1.15" compression height and fully bushed wrist pin (going with the forged for those times when one might be temped by NOS), and at a minimum a 5140 crank - the extra $200 or so dollars for the 4340 crank is well worth it, Clevite 77 bearings, and Speed Pro file-fit rings. An engine with these parts should live at 6500 for at LEAST 75k miles, if not more, assuming no NOS abuse.

As far as computer reprogramming goes, any time you make significant changes in your engine configuration from stock (meaning a radical cam, heavily worked heads/intake system, power adders, or cubic inches) you definitely need to change the programming. Changing the shape of the combustion chamber (not necessarily the volume, but the shape) changes the initial spark advance required, as well as the spark advance curve. With an increase in either cubic inches or rpm, you might have problems with an undersized MAF sensor. Even being close to the maximum calibrated flow of the MAF sensor isn't good because the sensors have very poor resolution near maximum flow. But either way you go on the engine, reprogramming should be done.

 

rings and rods generally break before cranks do. the cast steel scat 9000 will take the 430-500hp a good 383 will make all day long. also the hyd. rollers limit rpm. the forged $1000+ cranks are great for endurance racing, super high HP and are just plain easier to set up as the quality is higher & so are the tolarances. however, i still think a ring, rod or stock block will fail before the scat 9000 does. many people have pushed 500-600hp engines without any failures.

 

the 383 will idle better and pull the dyno some 5oo rpms to the left. It you were happy with it in the 350 then it will be milder in the 383. If you thought it was edgy in the 350 then it would be just right for you in the 383. Without knowing auto vs manual it's hard to say how muck is too big. I think if you stay larger than 220 and smaller than 240 @ .050 you would be ok. Also try a higher r/r, maybe a 1.6 on the intake. Remember that aside from just the lift that the larger duration cam will generally close your exaust later and opens your intake sooner relative to tdc, so make sure to have your shop check valve to pistion clearances on the really big cams. goodluck

 

Thanks speed I have 1.6 rockers so that is already configured in. I thought the 350 was a little rough for an everday driver so maybe I will be happy with it. It is a 6 Speed.

 

Thank you everyone for the awsome info and time you have all taken I have learned alot. Please as thoughts come up add them in. I will keep everyone posted on the progress.