383 thoughts

Hi all, just my thoughts on 383,s most people put the 440 or 400 mopar on top simply because of bore size, so generally speaking a 383 is our/mopar, s 3rd most desirable big block, but in chevy land everybody wants a 454,that is there first factory choice..... Why biggest bore and cubes, but when I look at a 383 I see a 4.25 inch bore same as a 454,so essentially speaking if a 383 had a 4 inch stroke it becomes 454 cubes 4.25x4.00,call me crazy but every time I see a 383 that is unwanted/unloved I feel for it, because the 454 is loved and revered by gm heads as the ultimate factory big block, but to me a 383 is close in specs anyway.... Chevy deck height 9.8,mopar deck height 9.98,bore is the same, the mopar is 5mm taller....... Soooooo if you built a 383 with a 4.0 inch crank x 4.25 bore, exactly the same specs as a factory 454 chev and both had to use factory heads, could the mopar 454 run with the chevy 454???? Just a bit of fun guys that's all, the 454 is gm, s number 1 and the 383 is our no 3 go to engine, but personally apart from heads, they are very similar, I also understand that if you were putting a stroker crank into a 383 you might as well make it 474/499 cubes rather than just 454,i just think mopar guys are lucky to have such a big bore even in our 3rd most wanted engine and it equates to gm, s biggest

I've always loved the 383's , best thing too is you can keep your original heater motor when swapping them in A bodies, when you swap in the 440 you can't run tall valve cover's without moving the heater motor, at least that's the way its always worked out for me.

That was a really rambling post, but I get what you're saying. I'm not sure anyone makes a 4" crank for a 383. Just put a 4.15 stroke crank in it for a 470.

RustyRatRod said:

That was a really rambling post, but I get what you're saying. I'm not sure anyone makes a 4" crank for a 383. Just put a 4.15 stroke crank in it for a 470.

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It's a ramble alright, my point, I, d rather a 383 than a 454,cause I like mopar, makes sense to me

matty wardle said:

It's a ramble alright, my point, I, d rather a 383 than a 454,cause I like mopar, makes sense to me

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The big Chevy ain't nuthin to sneeze at if it's right. I did a quick look and don't see a 4.15 stroke piston for the 383......though I'm sure you can get one made. There are off the shelf pistons for a 4.250 stroke piston for the 383. That would give 482 cubes. With the 400 block, you'd have 503 cubes.

What makes an engine to me is the basic archetetere deck height and bore x stroke and I see similarities between the two, except for the canted valve heads of course, that's where the chevy would probably be better