383 or 440 Dilema

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383 will have a bit more room to work with, but that's not saying much. Wither way, it's going to be a tight fit.

I have a 66 Valiant wagon, and one friend of mine keeps telling me to put a 440 in it. A small block it tight enough in one of those for me to work on, I wouldn't want to try to squeeze in a big block and cut the inner fenders etc. But he keeps badgering me to put a 440 in it.

I tell him that if he wants me to put a 440 in it so badly, to go out and buy one and do it himself....

I'm going small block, because that's what I'm comfortable working with, and it's MY CAR!...
 
I say 383!!!!! I don't believe in getting hung up on numbers. HP and ETs are great but as long as the car feels and looks the way you want. That ALL that matters.

And remember back in the day most cars racing on the street and track were 383. HEMIs were for the rich and factory backed racers. 440s only came in high end cars like the GTX, Charger R/T and Coronet R/T. Just compare 1969 production numbers 90K RR to 15K GTXs.

I'm going with a 383 in my Dart because its what I want to do. I love a good winding 383. Everybody has a 440, just go to any car show its all you see.
 
Here Are The Specs Of The 440 That I was going to use Before The 383 Turned up

480 Hp. Bored 30th, Trw 11.5-1 Forged Pistons. Crank Grouns .010 shotpeened LY rods , ARP bolts Balanced Rotating assembly, Hi Vol Oil pump, Moly Drive, Crane Camshaft 512 246@ 50, Rhoades Lifters, 915 Heads Closed Chamber Ported, Stainless Valves 2.14 Inlet, 1.81 Exhaust HD springs retaiiners etc. May Need Rings And Bearings,

My Concern Is 11.5-1 on Pump Gas,

The 383 I bought with a Trans and other Bits, looked to clean for a Rebuilder , IT may have been built years but all the parts seemed newish , Pulled the Pan off the bearings were near perfect looked up and the pistons were aftermarket crank seemed mint and timing chain hadnt much play , it also had a newish fuel pump , new holley dominator manifold etc , Dont Know what the Specs are But Its Probably Not Much More Than Stock,

Some body said earlier that the 440 was the Flagship from Ma Mopar But that was 40 odd years ago,

Thanks For all the Responses It Great But I not holding anybody Responsible , You input is more than Welcome At the End of the Day I will take the info I need and Run with it

Front end Weight and drive ability is a Key ingredient to which motor I use , With Either motor I will be looking at alloy heads, Glass Bonnet, Electric waterpump , Glass Bumper etc

All I want Is A street able Car That Would run low 12s high 11s

Would the 383 do this??? I know the 440 has ran 12.3 in a 300kg Heavier A Body
 
Yes. A 383 will do it. A 383 will do what a 440 will but at a higher RPM.
 
I agree with Rob ---^ Flip a coin, or go with what your comfortable working on and knowing how to work on. the 383 is smaller its a B block the 440 is a RB block so will take up a little more space under the hood.....

Then you have to ask yourself, I use the 383, can I afford parts in the future? Again, you use the 440, will you be able to afford the parts in the future? Which is cheaper to maintain?

I always said, just because you can, doesn't always mean you should!

The 383 will do what the 440 does, but as said here, at a higher RPM, it would need to be pushed a little harder to reach the same numbers as the 440......
 
I weighed up the pro, s and cons, eventhough I like a reving engine shorter stroke which the 383 would give me , I opted for the 440 which is already worked, got the motor and mounts set up today , got a centre sump, only slight problem was the rocker covers had to be removed to move the motor into place , its sitting centre , the oil filter cleared the sump with my intermediate brackets which the elephant ears bolt up to , will have a go at it again tomorrow might get some pics up
 
Had A 440 sitting here to put into an Aussie A body Valiant, Then a 383 came my way and It made me think , What would be the best for the old girl . got all new suspension already there plus 8.75 diff. The first thing is weight vs stroke another is of course space for headers plug wires etc , Just got A manual reverse valve body for a 727 which I orginally purchased for a SB 360, But put a Lokar cable kickdown on Instead,

Which way would you go and why, Oh yeah Its street and strip probably 50/50 :burnout::burnout:

I have the same dilemma. I'm going with a 383. Plenty fast for the street, have an almost stock 383 Formula S that I used as a daily driver for years. It comes down to useable RPM for me. All things being equal, the 383 will make power at a higher RPM. These guys are making 600 HP through 3,000 rpm with a 440, but it is over at 5,600. I figure with that kind of power, I now need a Dana 60 to hold the rear together. I really like my 8 3/4 rears. It is your car, your decision. I just thought I'd give you my thought process and conclusion. As usual, missed it by that much...
 
I dont know the quality of gas where you are, but I'm betting against 11.5 compression every time. Nothing wrong with a 10.0 warmed over 383
 
All I know is I spank my brother's 440 '70 Dart with my '67 383-S, he takes off faster early on but I usually pedal faster by the end of the 1/4 mile. I'd say whatever gets you on the road sooner, even if it's a small block.
:burnout:
 
Yes. A 383 will do it. A 383 will do what a 440 will but at a higher RPM.


Also requires: bigger cam, more converter (if auto), more gear. In an apples to apples comparison (same top end, cam, appropriate headers) the 383 makes less hp simply because it's 57 cubic inches smaller. There's no magic equalizer based on bore/stroke.
 
All I know is I spank my brother's 440 '70 Dart with my '67 383-S, he takes off faster early on but I usually pedal faster by the end of the 1/4 mile. I'd say whatever gets you on the road sooner, even if it's a small block.
:burnout:

Already Got a good 360 , 727, Manual 3500 stall, Hopefully The 440 will Kick its *** with the right convertor diff etc
 
I dont know the quality of gas where you are, but I'm betting against 11.5 compression every time. Nothing wrong with a 10.0 warmed over 383


98 octane is best out of the pump , would ideally need it up to 101++

Would use additive or Avgas for the strip
 
This decision could also be affected by what aussie A body is it going into and the legalities of engineering it . A 383 may be legal out here for engineering purposes but a 440 may not be. This can sometimes favour a 383 or 400 being used (can always stroke it and they wouldn't know).

The formula is 5 x weight in kgs (on registration papers) for engineering purposes.

Eg

Would have to weigh 1442kgs or more to be legal with a 440

or

1255 kgs or more with a 383

My VC valiant early a body 66 model weighs 1350 kgs on the papers so I couldn't legal engineer a 440 into it and get it registered.
 
Also requires: bigger cam, more converter (if auto), more gear. In an apples to apples comparison (same top end, cam, appropriate headers) the 383 makes less hp simply because it's 57 cubic inches smaller. There's no magic equalizer based on bore/stroke.

I took for granted for the sake of conversation it was not necessary to include the obvious. I guess I was wrong.
 
I took for granted for the sake of conversation it was not necessary to include the obvious. I guess I was wrong.

Threads like these need the obvious stated, or they wouldn't have been created in the first place. Someone not aware of what else is needed might read what you'd said and think all they have to do is rev higher, and they can be just as fast.
 
just another 440 tire frier, only to be beaten at the stripe by a lowly 383 chev stroker.
lowend torque can also kill 60 ft times.
 
Threads like these need the obvious stated, or they wouldn't have been created in the first place. Someone not aware of what else is needed might read what you'd said and think all they have to do is rev higher, and they can be just as fast.

If they really think like that, they need to take up paper dolls.
 
If they really think like that, they need to take up paper dolls.

That's the problem...many in the car hobby really do think like that. Not just once but a few times I've butted heads with die-hard chevy guys claiming the 283 was faster than any big block simply because it could rev higher.
 
That's the problem...many in the car hobby really do think like that. Not just once but a few times I've butted heads with die-hard chevy guys claiming the 283 was faster than any big block simply because it could rev higher.

But it's not just Chevy guys. There's guys like that in all circles. Usually, it's the guys with more money than sense.


A true 283 story since you DID bring it up. I went to school with a guy......actually a pretty good friend of mine who had a 55 Chevy 2 door. 283, 4 speed. His dad was a real old school car guy. Not really dedicated to one make, just loved cars and really knew his stuff. Anyway, they had Alton's car so hyped up and this is no bullshit now.....seen it many a day in the parkin lot first hand......that it would literally jump a coke bottle with the left front tire. That was a big heavy old car too.....but it would haul *** for what it was. And yes, Alton would rev that thing until you just KNEW it was gonna come slap apart, but it never did.
 
Also requires: bigger cam, more converter (if auto), more gear. In an apples to apples comparison (same top end, cam, appropriate headers) the 383 makes less hp simply because it's 57 cubic inches smaller. There's no magic equalizer based on bore/stroke.

Cubic inch builds torque not Horsepower, 383 is in a slight disadvantage in the hp department because of the slightly smaller bore which cost some potential airflow
(Horsepower).
 
true, But The Space , they xtra weight , and not having to get custom fenderwells made make a difference and the 440 was not very streetable at 11.1 compression,

The Plan is to get the 383 in and running to get it mobile , while the body is getting done nothing worse than pushing a dead car around the I will look at @ 496 Stroker Kit got some Indy heads also , Should be able to keep the compression around the 9.5,
 
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