RustyRatRod's Guide To Hot Rod Bliss

As a basic recipe for hot rodding, a big block in an A body is as simple and as true as it gets. Though a little costly to do, it would be worth it in a lot of respects to go that route. Big engine/little (& light) car. It is a bit more involved to get done but not terribly so that it becomes a huge pain in the backside to complete.

The nice thing about most 383's is it has good power right from the factory, (Hp & TQ) as is and if not, upgrading the power to the stock HP outputs is an easy to do thing. Sprinkling the engine with aftermarket parts adds a few more HP. Once the wallet has the power to get headers, intake and possibly a bigger &/or better carb, it will find easy HP without ill effects.

OE HP engines @ 330 HP gain well with bolt on parts. I don't see any problems getting to 400 Hp with the basic bolt on's and a very mild upgraded over stock cam that could still use the OE torque converter.

The next two keys to it all are handling and braking to complete the whole car package.
Street machines/fighters look towards reduced weight as a final component. Which doesn't hurt any car for performance. Just how far you go is a path you choose.