1971 383 upgrades

-
3

383dodge71

New Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
1
Reaction score
1
Location
Ohio
Need some recommendations. I know it’s a c-body but hey it’s a Mopar! I have a 71 C-body with a bone stock 383 2-barrel single exhaust. Car is all original only around 35,000 miles. 727 tranny and 8.75 rear with highway gears.

Car probably weighs around 3900 pounds.
What could I do with this motor to make more power. I know in 71 they cut the compression back. I would like to be able to run in the 13s possibly high 12s but 13s is fine! I’m assuming cam, intake, 4 barrel dual exhaust- headers may be a no go on a c-body but I can get hipo exhaust manifolds.
Converter and lower gears? Heads?

I have no problem running 3.91 or 4.30s etc... I can always swap the highway gears back in for a road trip. So what do u recommend? Thanks
 
I put 3.55's in my 71 Fury Wagon I had. Best change ever. 3.23's better if you do a lot of highway miles.
 
Curve the distributor to your engine it is like a 50 shot of NOS
 
Last edited:
a layman's combo would be a Comp 268, Edelbrock RPM intake with 3310 Holley and if possible headers.
 
Not sure about 13s but, I'd start with a TQ intake and carb, cam with at least 268 duration, valve springs to match, double roller timing chain while you are at it, dual exhaust, use the manifolds you have, maybe get them Jet Hot coated, have your distributor recurved and converted to electronic ignition.
 
Probably because he said his “383.” Since he’s working with a 383 and looking for upgrades, not total rebuilds is how I take it.

But if he wants to drop 2K on a kit and then add the costs of machine work and etc.... so be it.

Then 10K later ........
 
When I bought my 70 Polara it was all stock with a 383 2bbl.First thing was dual exhaust off of the manifolds.I later ran hedman shorty headers with that setup.Hooker super competition headers fit well on the 440 I put in later as well.
I converted it to electronic ignition with the old mopar performance kit as well.
Then a 4 barrel swap and a 3.23 sure grip and later 3.55's.
If I had kept the 383 in it after that I would have gone with a small cam and some head work.It is easy to over cam a 383 so be conservative.
 
I wouldn't worry about the 1/4 mile performance. Just make it run better. All the things above will help. Rear gears, distributor recurve, 4 barrel, intake and dual exhaust would all be a noticeable improvement.
 
383dodge71 said:
Need some recommendations. I know it’s a c-body but hey it’s a Mopar! I have a 71 C-body with a bone stock 383 2-barrel single exhaust. Car is all original only around 35,000 miles. 727 tranny and 8.75 rear with highway gears.

Car probably weighs around 3900 pounds.
What could I do with this motor to make more power. I know in 71 they cut the compression back. I would like to be able to run in the 13s possibly high 12s but 13s is fine! I’m assuming cam, intake, 4 barrel dual exhaust- headers may be a no go on a c-body but I can get hipo exhaust manifolds.
Converter and lower gears? Heads?

I have no problem running 3.91 or 4.30s etc... I can always swap the highway gears back in for a road trip. So what do u recommend? Thanks
Click to expand...
Find a nice 440 and put it in it. Prefer 71 down with high comp. Or find a rebuildable 440 and keep a min. of 9.5 to 1 actual. Stock convertor, use a 375 hp cam advance it 2 degrees and have a ton oops 2 tons of fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top