Good cheap 383 builds??

Without actually calculating the compression, I don't think you can really be sure. I put a '65 383 2 bbl engine in a '72 Valiant. I left the stock cam in it, which I'm sure didn't bleed off much compression. Anyways, it definately wasn't fond of running on regular, so they do have a little compression in stock form. I used the steel shim gaskets in it when I put the heads back on, (the stock 516's, stock exhaust seats). I ran it as a daily driver, approx 15,000+ miles per year for 4 years. It still ran very well. I did give it a squirt of Gunk brand lead additive every fill up. Probably did no good, but made me feel better...