383 commando ..whats it worth?

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oldcarjunkie

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buddy of mine intro'd me to a guy today and this guy supposedly has a 383 commando short block there, he said he sent the heads out and the guy jacked them and told him they got stolen(this was a while ago) so no heads,he said he drove to conn to get the motor .He says he has a new cam, i think he said new intake, valvles and valve guides, he might have more but thats what i remember him saying.

so short block 383 (commando?) needs rebuild
valves, valve guides
intake and new cam

whats its worth? and are all the 383 heads the same? or will i have a hard time getting heads?

He said he would let it go for 800, however if its worth it I know i could get it for less due to my buddy being good frinds with him and we are going to do some powdercoating for him very soon as well.

So is it worth the 800 or more? not that ill pay that. but id like to know. thanks in advance.
 
I wouldnt pay $800 for it unless the block is freshly machined and its a good cam and intake in the boxes that come with it.

I think $400 tops.

Any big block heads will work.
 
ok, Im almost sure the cam and intake are new as well as the other parts, but i asked him directly if the short block was ready to go or needed rebuild and he said it needs redone. next time i see him i will try to make a list of what he says he has.
 
I dont think a 383 block is really worth much. Does it come with a crank and rods ?

Intakes usually sell for $100 to $150
and a cam with lifters $100 to $150
383 shirt block that needs a rebuild $100
 
yeah pretty sure its a complete short block, crank/rods etc, just been sitting there since he sold the car he was going to put it in.
 
Too many people think that an old engine is gold. A 383 is barely worth the scrap price. You shouldn't have to pay more than $200-$300 for a rebuildable 383.
 
A short block has no heads. A long block has heads and no intake. If I was you I would look around some more. Don't get stuck on "Commando", it it just a term for a performance build. You can do alot with $800 toward an engine that will outperform a "Commando". Look for the code HP on fender tags at a rural salvage yard to get your core and go from there.
 
Only differeance between a HP and a regular 383 or 440 is the cam, exhaust manifolds and valve springs. Your going to replace that stuff anyways so dont worry about it being an HP, a Commando or a Magnum.
 
I agree with dusterdon 383's are good big blocks not $800.00 good you can get a buildable 440 for less then that. As far as the heads go all big blocks are interchangeable just like smallblocks just remember some are better than others just look at valve sizes the bigger they are the more flow you have. And that ='s HP. You should shop a little before you buy! Good luck on your build.
 
Ya I always giggle when I here the HP, Commando and Magnum names being used by sellers. When the engine came fresh from the factory they meant something but nowadays cuss of the many times these engines have been rebuilt the term is "usually" redundant. Anyway 300-400 tops as long if that comes with the forged rods and forged crank otherwise 5 cents a pound IMO.

Terry
 
Actually a Commando in a big block is a regular motor, the HP version was a Super Commando, which is the Plymouth version of the Dodge Magnum. Like Adam mentioned internally it is really only the cam that is different.


Chuck
 
I wouldn't even bother with a 383 unless I was restoring a car with the original 383. For performance use I would get a 400 block they are all stronger than any 383 built. I was just an the local Pick your Part and there was a big block in a van, not sure if it was a 400 or a 440 (bad memory) but it was 1/2 price weekend so the complete engine would have been about $80. I am building a stroker 400 so I didn't care if it had a cast crank. 400 blocks and 75 and later 440 blocks are the best blocks Chrysler ever cast, larger thrust bearings and stronger main saddles. Why have an inferior block, its also easy to find a good steel 383 crank if you want to build a steel crank 400 and not a stroker. (383 and 400 have the same stroke)
 
yeah i actually dont remember hearing of a commando till the other day, he made it seem like it might be something special, i thought maybe that was something more then the normal 383, thus i knew you guys would know if it was worth it. the motor that is in the duster right now is way to radical for my needs, i could pull that and have that redone, but its a purpose built race motor and i hate to undo that when i could probably just sell it and redo another motor and the person who would get the current motor would be happy too, but it may come to me just having this one redone, im just not sure at this point what all has been done inside this one. the things i do know is its 12.5 to 1, 650 lift(comp cam part number 23-630-5), im not sure how opened up the heads are. i also know the motor( supposedly) came out of a 68 gtx. I also have another set of heads here that do need redoing.
 
I read though this thread and I agree this 383 is not worth nothing except a core charge if it will take an over haul, Hate to see one bad cylinder in a 383
I just paid 200 dollars for.
800 dollars sure would go a long way on a 400 B.B.
 
sweatybetty said:
heres some good info on big blocks.
i wouldnt pay $800 for a 383 unless it was for some "#s matching" car

http://440source.com/blockinfo.htm
Click to expand...

lots of good info on there, thanks.
No matter what block/motor i get to build its going to be a slow build until i have more funds, currently all the money is going in the cutlass i have mainly cause i have it in my buddies garage, and the project must keep going to get it out of there and done, after that the duster is My next project as i help him with his project car
 
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