No Go

I'm trying to put together a 96 LT4 and having difficulty on whether to go with a 396 or a 383.

The price difference for all forged rotating assemblies is over $1000 between the two favoring the 383 of course.

The 383 is SCAT/SRP product and the 396 is similar components with a Callies crank.

I would expect the Callies crank to be of higher quality (more durable), but if the SCAT is sufficient for my needs...it is kind of no gain for me.

I'm not building an all out motor-no nitrous, no blower, but do want it to run to 7000 rpm with a solid roller (possibly).

Are there other less expensive cranks/etc?

Been looking at http://www.flatlanderracing.com for most of the stuff...customer service is lousy though...nearly fed up with them.

Thanks

:)

gkull

I would not waste my time building another 383. If it's performance your after 396's are the way to go. I look at it as them costing the same with all forged parts.

But your right I have not seen budget 3 .875 or 4 inch stroker cranks.

It takes a pretty big solid cam and good heads to pull 7000 rpm

JUAN J SANCHEZ

That's all the same for all small blocks that one might be building from scratch! Why build a 355 if you can build a 383- Why build a 383 if you can build a 396- Why build a 396 if you can build a 406- and so on and so on....
Just build the biggest engine your budget let's you.

No Go

Thanks folks for the replies.

I guess this is mostly common sense, but the other catch is my compression.

The 383 is flat top making 11.6 with a lousy quench of ~.060 or

the 396 (or 395 actually) with an ideal quench of .039 and 11.4 cr (preferred).

Is it worth 1000 bucks to me...that is the million dollar question...:)

My LT4 CNC heads should do the number for flow and the chambers are small 55.6 cc.

:)

Red Rocket

396 all the way. :chevy

OatBoy

extra cubes are good no matter what.
i'd go for it.

No Go

I agree with the statement "build the largest engine you can...afford"

I'm having tough time doing the 396. The $1000 higher cost, more block grinding, even the piston selection is only a .030 for the SRP's. That means a move up to JE for anything different.

I guess another way to look at it is for the extra cost, I could rebuild my 383 (or 381 or whatever) a second time.

Hmmm.

Thanks for the replies.

gkull

Are you sure that none of the vendors have dished forged pistons with the rotating kits for the 3.750 or 3.875 lengths? :confused:

OatBoy

yeah but think of how much cooler you would feel with a 396, lots of people have 383s, but a 396 small block, thats manly. :D

No Go

My CR's above are quoted for a flat top (with 5 cc valve relief) for the 3.75 stroke and the 3.875 uses a dished piston.

Moving to a dish on the 3.75 results in a too low CR...maybe that is the best...I suppose 11.1 isn't too bad.

:)

SloRvette

I'm going from a 383 to a 398 right now (397.4 really). The 383 was a Scat 9000 crank with 6" Eagle ISP rods, KB hyper pistons.

The new assembly is an Eagle 4340 crank, ESP 6" rods, custom Ross pistons.

The 383 didn't require any clearnace work to fit in the block. The 398 is taking alot of clearancing. H beam rods with 7/16" bolts aren't helping.

The Eagle crank is only available with 6" connecting rods. The Callies will work with 5.85" rods. That gives you more room for the wrist pin. Counterweight to piston clearance issues. The Callies Dragonslayer crank takes a pretty good amount of mallory to internally balance (I was told 4 or 5 pieces), the Eagle doesn't need metal to balance.

I'm not really sure if the 396 is worth the extra effort and cost over the 383. I did it to try something different. My 383 needed new pistons, was externally balanced and I got a taste of nitrous and liked it. Say tuned for how it turns out.

No Go

Ah the hidden costs is what I want to avoid!

4-5 slugs of Mallory metal? Someone mentioned to me that it runs $90 a slug...that is extra $360 to $450! That is half the cost of a crankshaft in many cases...

Thanks for the reply.

:)

backtrail69

:thumbs:

gkull

No go There isn't a hidden cost on the crank. You just order a a balanced master kit. I would not buy a crank with heavy metal added. The correct idea is: Get a lighter crank!

DieL

I know someone with a scat 9000 series crank in a z28 that routinely sees 7000 rpm. When i was searching for parts SCAT basically guaranteed me the cast crank ( think it was $200u.s.d) would hold 550 hp as long as it wasnt revved beyond 7k. If i was rebuilding this sucker again i bet i could get similar power with cheaper parts, probably less than half the cost.. ive learned what the term 'overkill' means, the hard ($$) way.

I went 389.. I like the number.. and I wanted a bigger bore, less stroke ( for higher rpms)
:cheers:

No Go

But 389 is a Pontiac engine!!!

:)

I would somewhat agree that a cast crank would be sufficient for my needs, but since I'm not an ace tuner or engine builder I do expect some minor flubs on my part, such as not perfect clearances, etc and spark knock, lean conditions, etc as I tune it. I like the built in safety factor...

Heck I thought I was doing good by skipping the splayed 4 bolt mains, Lunati/Callies/Carrillo/JE stuff...:)

LittleBoyBlu99

:iagree: :cheers:

BAM92

There is no substitute for cubic inches.