383 build

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NodakDuster

NodakDuster

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so a while ago I bought an engine from a member here who claimed it was a 383 stroked to a 426. Well today I was getting around to freshening up the engine before I installed it in my 73 Duster and started to tear it down to replace all the gaskets and give it a once over. Come to find out I got screwed on the stroker part. It is a 383 bored 30 over with l2135 flat top Pistons with no valve reliefs. It has a deck height of .020. The heads are 906 heads that have been mildly ported. I have yet to check the cam size out but is there much that can be done to bump performance up in this thing. With no valve relief and shallow deck height the odds of running a big cam in it are nil. It does appear like it was balanced during the rebuild. See pics below.
Is there much I can do with this thing or am I stuck with a slightly built engine that I would have to stick a ton in to improve performance?

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IMO some low CC heads would be your best choice the Edelbrock E Street and RPM are 75 cc which will help your compression - run the numbers again IMO people like to over cam a motor if your .020 down add a .040 gasket gives you .060 quench they say the quench needs to be around .045 be sure to get the correct pushrods
 
Who screwed you?
Shame on them!
 
bOb shingler said:
how do you know it doesn't have a 440 crank in it? and it it doesn't put the asshole's name out here will ya?
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Good ? the pistons have a 1.920 compression height so with a factory crank they shouldn't be down .020 rather close to zero deck
 
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I figure that with a 3.75 stroke crank, the factory B rods @ 6.358" and that piston it would have about +.170" deck height.
 
If the measurements dont add up, and this is a fraud stroker, out him. This was no mistake, if the listing said "stroker".
 
you can have the heads cc'd

if they are 79, you will have around 9.5 compression with a .040" thick head gasket but that will be around .120" of quench/squish clearance if they are not closed chamber.

to increase performance, you could put clay on top of the piston then put the head on with s few lightly tightened bolts then drain 2 lifters than set the lash to zero then turn the engine over then check how thick the clay is in the narrowest portion . i would run a cam that gives the valves no less than around .050" clearance between the piston on the intake and .100" on the exhaust.

after you determine how much lift you can run, look online and see what cam has close to that lift that will rev to where you want it to or have a custom cam made.
 
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From the markings on the crank which were hard to read it looked like the casting numbers for a 383. Also the ends of the counter weights would need to be turned down to clear the block and this machining is not present. Putting all of that together I assume I have a basic 30 over 383. I don't want to say a name until I know 100%. What else can I do to check crank stroke? The rods are stamped as factory b rods by the way.
 
Put a piston at bottom dead center and stick a tape measure down the hole. See what you get at the deck of the block. 3.375 is a 383.
 
426 usually needs a ton milled off of the 383 TRW forged pistons,a 383/400 B block rod,and a 440 crank,with the mains dropped to B block size.Unless it has some kind of custom rod...
 
Forementioned milled 383 TRW piston,from my phone five minutes.ago....

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This does not have custom rods as they are standard b rods. I'll measure it tomorrow morning for stroke. I'm pretty sure I got screwed from the looks of it. At least the engine appears to be in good shape so I at least have something to work with. Not what I wanted but I will make the best of it.
 
NodakDuster said:
This does not have custom rods as they are standard b rods. I'll measure it tomorrow morning for stroke. I'm pretty sure I got screwed from the looks of it. At least the engine appears to be in good shape so I at least have something to work with. Not what I wanted but I will make the best of it.
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You might be surprised,383's can really crank....Make your parts decisions carefully,and ask lots of questions.
 
Will do! I'm thinking of getting a set of trick flow heads for the 383. I can reuse the 906 heads on a 440 I'm rebuilding for my 300 Hurst as they are correct for my 440hp build.
 
NodakDuster said:
Will do! I'm thinking of getting a set of trick flow heads for the 383. I can reuse the 906 heads on a 440 I'm rebuilding for my 300 Hurst as they are correct for my 440hp build.
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don`t you just love it when people lie to you !?
 
Well this morning it is official, I was screwed lol. The stroke measurement is 3.375 which is the stock bore stroke for the 383.
So now that that band aid is ripped off time to make lemonade.
So leaving the bottom end alone minus a cam change, I am thinking of the trick flow heads. I have a six pack setup I want to run on it so that is what I am going to try and build around.

Here is the link to the original sale. As I said it has been awhile so no way to recourse the sale as it has been so long. It is a lesson learned and now I have to move on.

[SOLD] - built 383/440 crank 516 heads
 
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Lame that you bought what you thought was a stroked 383, but I'm with bomber...set it up right and that "little" big block will still motivate pretty damn well, even with the pistons .020 in the hole.

FWIW, younggun2.0 has a flat topped 030 over 383 (same pistons as yours) with a healthy bump stick and TFS aluminum heads and it hauls the mail in his '69 Dart...first iteration was edelbrock heads, untouched, with a comp 294 solid flat tappet cam and an M1 intake...that thing screamed.
 
txstang84 said:
Lame that you bought what you thought was a stroked 383, but I'm with bomber...set it up right and that "little" big block will still motivate pretty damn well, even with the pistons .020 in the hole.

FWIW, younggun2.0 has a flat topped 030 over 383 (same pistons as yours) with a healthy bump stick and TFS aluminum heads and it hauls the mail in his '69 Dart...first iteration was edelbrock heads, untouched, with a comp 294 solid flat tappet cam and an M1 intake...that thing screamed.
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can you post up his thread or get him here? Did he post up a time slip? Was the 294 solid a Comp Cam?
 
here's the video of his car...



294S comp magnum single pattern if memory serves...this is when it had edelbrock heads and an M1 intake 750cfm carb--not sure what kind though...high stall custom converter (3500-3800 I think)
 
You can also view it on youtube, click on his username and view his other vids...that Dart is very nice
 
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