383 Build up questions...

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Pana.Mopar

Pana.Mopar

Duster Down Under
Joined
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Hi All,

I've just purchased '68 383 and 727 from Los Angeles and should have in my garage in about 6-8 weeks or so.. This is to go into my Duster...

I'm going to purchase the Schumacher Tri-Y's, Engine Mounts, Torque Strap kit shortly to make the swap nice and easy...

I;m after engine combo suggestions.. The Duster will never see the drag strip and is a nice weekend cruiser but definately want to be able to blaze the tyres quite easy and get a nice sound out of that big block..

Can anyone suggest recommended comp ratio, cam, induction, head work (if needed?) for a nice mild but strong combo? I havent seen the engine yet so don't know what heads are on it etc...

Thanks in advance for your assistance...
 
When I picked up 2 383's both from 68 Newports they each had the following heads;
2951250 (1968 440 heads) (440 1968 2.08 1.74)
Why they come up as 440 heads I dont know but these appeard to be original on these engines. Iended up picking up 4006452 heads for them as they have the hardened seats and flow well.
 
Let me ask you, is there a "ET" you wish it to be able to perform?

Basic "Hot Rod" principals apply here.
The cam your use will need to perform in the RPM range you want it too.

In general, a basic build could be as easy as;

750 carb
RPM intake
Pocket ported heads.
(A smaller vale size in a 383 isn't a bad thing. If your OE valves are 2.08's, it is possible to use these to a great advantage. See BJRracing for tips and tricks)
Standard tube size headers are OK fine for "General useage"
Upgrade the tranny and slip in a set of gears onthe car and you'll roast the crap out of the tires with a sneeze.
 
A true 9.2-1 ratio with Engle cam K-54 .470 lift 260*adv duration w/214*@.050 112cl, then get 750 vac secondary holley and an rpm dual plane manifold and some hp exhaust manifolds or headers.

Multi angle valve jog on the heads and stay with 2.08/1.74 or 1.81 exh
You don't really have to head work but can have them mildly ported.

3.23-'3.91' gear will work with this cam and stock stall convertor to 2500rpm stall convertor being optimum.jmo
 
Since you never responded in the other thread, I'll be a little more forward. Why would you spend $200 (I figure shipping is more to where to you are) for conversion motor mounts when you can build your own Direct Connection K-member from what you already have and use factory mounts (should be able to find these for less than $50 on e-bay, etc.)?
 
There was a buildup of a 383 in an old Mopar Muscle magazine where they got 450 horses out of their's. I believe they had 9.5:1, a .545 inch cam, 906 heads with the bowls hogged out, M1 intake and I think a 750 Holley.

Also, I am interested about building your own DC K-member, Mr. Lusk. I'm thinking about the big block swap and don't really care to spend the $200 like you said. Details?
 
rumblefish360 said:
Let me ask you, is there a "ET" you wish it to be able to perform?

Basic "Hot Rod" principals apply here.
The cam your use will need to perform in the RPM range you want it too.

In general, a basic build could be as easy as;

750 carb
RPM intake
Pocket ported heads.
(A smaller vale size in a 383 isn't a bad thing. If your OE valves are 2.08's, it is possible to use these to a great advantage. See BJRracing for tips and tricks)
Standard tube size headers are OK fine for "General useage"
Upgrade the tranny and slip in a set of gears onthe car and you'll roast the crap out of the tires with a sneeze.
Click to expand...

Hi There, Honestly, I'm not going to really race the Duster but if it could run a flat 13 sec ET I would be more than happy... Currently the car has 3:55 rear as well.. Good cruising gears...
 
Jim Lusk said:
Since you never responded in the other thread, I'll be a little more forward. Why would you spend $200 (I figure shipping is more to where to you are) for conversion motor mounts when you can build your own Direct Connection K-member from what you already have and use factory mounts (should be able to find these for less than $50 on e-bay, etc.)?
Click to expand...

Hi Jim, Apologies I missed your last post.. How difficult is it to make own Direct Connection K-Member? Is this easier than just purchasing the entire Schumacher kit? I'm not fussed about the freight as I have a bunch of other parts to come over anyways...
 
Well, to use the Schumacher mounts for your k-member you still have to cut the driver side saddle shorter AND drill a new hole which will be difficult to get lined up. The instructions and pictures are over at BBD. One of the members here came over a week or two ago and I showed him how easy it was to make one.............
 
Drilling the hole was not hard to do at all.
 
Drilling the hole is the easy part. Lining it up with engine dangling would be the harder part. And here again is where I see a problem. You have to modify the K-member anyway, so WHY NOT save $150?
 
Jim I've done 10 swaps at least and thought I had read the tech pages front to back.Must have missed that one.Good post i will try that on my next build.
 
Jim Lusk said:
Well, to use the Schumacher mounts for your k-member you still have to cut the driver side saddle shorter AND drill a new hole which will be difficult to get lined up. The instructions and pictures are over at BBD. One of the members here came over a week or two ago and I showed him how easy it was to make one.............
Click to expand...
On the 73 and up you have to drill a 9/16 hole, the only thing you are doing is cutting the front of the driver side motor mount enough to make clearance for the oil pump.this is an easy job to do.

IMG_6371.jpg


IMG_6373.jpg
 
You DO HAVE TO DRILL A NEW HOLE on a 73-76 V8 k-member to use the Schumacher kit. This is because the driver side saddle must be shortened to clear the oil pump.
 
Jim Lusk said:
You DO HAVE TO DRILL A NEW HOLE on a 73-76 V8 k-member to use the Schumacher kit. This is because the driver side saddle must be shortened to clear the oil pump.
Click to expand...


Yep, i've done 3 BB conversions on the saddle mounts useing the Schumacher kit, i found i had to make the hole alittle lower (from there templet) to level out the engine.
 
that depends on how much money you want to spend just a basic rebuild should do what you what. mill heads 20 mild porting on heads cut the lip out under the valve gasket match hydraulic cam headers 780 vac. holly or even an edelbrock.most of witch you can do your self. should be in the 1000 doller area.for it all.
 
Assuming my 383 has 906 heads and it standard bore, what pistons should I purchase to get the comp ratio up into the 9's??? Should the heads be shaved and the block decked as well?
 
Keith Black has pistons for a zero deck height and slightly below that. Decking the heads or block is between you and the machinest on what it needs or doesn't need.
 
We did a 383 quite a while ago ran low low 13s in our 67 charger(@3800lbs) and it was stupid simple barely more than a stock rebuild with a cam, had the stock rotating assembly(including the original pistons) balanced with good rod bolts, edelbrock torker cam(prob go with something a little more modern(I just built a 383 with the 268 xtreme energy cam and it sounds pretty good)torker intake and a worked thermoquad, super comps,3k stall,full manual vb and 3.91s. We had stock size valves with a little cleanup work and a really good valve job. We put tons of passes on that engine and it never missed a beat we ran it for yrs ended up selling it to a friend of ours and he put dual quads on it and put it in a 57 fury he built for his grandfather and its still running well.
Good luck,
Jr.
 
Heres a pic of a pic of the car, you said you wanted to be able to smokem. I posted another pic of a pic in another post, sorry guys we just dedicated a wall in our house just to our hotrod pics. Anyways heres a pic of the charger smoking them like you want to lol:
1205090816.jpg

Have fun.
Jr
 
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