383 knowledge anyone?

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BoredandStroked

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Hey guys and girls, been a while. Some of you know I am a real small block lover but I found alot of parts and a 383 block for a cheap price.

My questions are as follows:

How much horsepower can a 383 block hold?
What would need to be done (machine work) to get the most power?
What kind of stroker kits are out there for the 383?
Putting a 6-72 or 8-71 blower on it out of the question?
Putting nitrous in it out of the question?
Whats some good cylinder heads?

Anything else you want to add will be very thankful taken. I dont know much on B/RB block that Ma' Mopar came out with so just enlighten me on anything you know please.
 
BoredandStroked said:
My questions are as follows:

How much horsepower can a 383 block hold?
What would need to be done (machine work) to get the most power?
What kind of stroker kits are out there for the 383?
Putting a 6-72 or 8-71 blower on it out of the question?
Putting nitrous in it out of the question?
Whats some good cylinder heads?

Anything else you want to add will be very thankful taken. I dont know much on B/RB block that Ma' Mopar came out with so just enlighten me on anything you know please.
Click to expand...

I'm not the greatest big block mind out there, but...In the order you asked....

Lots and lots.

The same you would do for any performance or race machine. Have the shop blue print it with there knowledge of the engine is going to be raced.
Theres a few stroker kits out there. Look to Huges, muscle motors and others. Though I can not recomended anybodys services due to not having used them. As a idea,
http://www.440source.com/ or
http://musclemotorsracing.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=9 or this good fella,
http://www.diamondbackengines.com/mainsite/streetengines.htm

Blowers? Why not! You need links for that? http://www.thesuperchargerstore.com/ or http://www.thesuperchargerstore.com/ or
http://blowerdriveservice.com/

N02, AKA Laffin gas? Sure, again, why not?

Now cylinder heads are an interesing question. I guess really depending on the level of performance sought in a car of how heavy could really help in a great debate of what head to use. Also class.
Stocker, Edelbrocks, Indy's, etc.....
http://brodix.com/ or
http://www.indyheads.com/ or
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/heads/chrysler_bb_rpm.shtml
BJR racing can really help wake up stock heads. In which you might be surprised with what you can do with them.
 
440 source sells a stroker kit that knocks it up to 496 inches. Couple that with a decent pair of heads and cam and 600 HP should be easily doable. Make a nice street motor. the low deck motors fit a lot better in the a bodies too. More room for header installation and plug changes.

don
 
First off lets find out what you got. Do you know, for sure, what year the block is. If not behind the distributor is a 1 1/2" square flat spot on the block that will be stamped with a letter then 383. Also, have you got heads and if so what are casting numbers on top of the heads. Then most importantly how much are you prepared to spend since the 383 stock was 330-335 HP and could go to around 450 HP with stock (forged) bottom end. Keep in mind that the heads, rocker arm assembly, camshaft are shared with the 440's. Try this article for starters www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/155_0209_resto/
 
What Demon said. The 383 blocks cannot safely handle 600hp without some attention to details. With a roots blower or centrifical, I would lower that number to 550, and I wouldnt run a longer stroke than 3.75. There are kits to stick 4.25 crank with chevy sized rods in there I believe. But really, 500 hp is easy with bolt ons and good heads.
 
I'd get one of the 438ci kits from 440source it's got a good rod to stroke ratio.
Even if you don't stroke it, it's not too hard to get 500HP out of a 383.
And yea I'd put some nitrous on it. It will give ya some extra horsepower when your at the track without making your motor too radical for driving on the street.
 
The 383 is out of a 63 Chrysler 300 rated at 305 hp with 2bbl intake and single exhaust. I knew I had a Mopar Muscle issue that built a 383 and I finally found it (August 2006 edition). Bad news is they blew it up and said it was due to using the stock 3/8 oil pickup, oil pump, stock oil passages in the block and spinning the motor up to 7500 rpms. It made however 625 horsepower and was still climbing at that high rpms. I would love to run 10s with my 73 Dart running a 383 motor, 727 trans, and 8 3/4 rear. Now I am not sure about running 625 hp but hey... if it can be done and done w/o the engine blowing well hell, WHY NOT?

Thanks Rumblefish, Duster done, Demon seed, Moper and ProstreetDuster.

Another thing is money is tight due to needing some for college but I am in no rush to get it done and done right so only the best parts.
 
That was Andy F's engine. It did die of oil starvation...lol. It also was not a 383 anymore. Personally, I would use the 383 for 383 builds, not much else. I like tha fact they are short stroke and rev really well. The heads you have are early heads, using 4 bolt valve covers and bolt down rocker stands. I think it was 64 when the cast in stands and 6 bolt covers were used.
 
Andy F? Anyways... does that limit the horsepower on the heads... if so by how much and can I still put a stroker kit in it and leave the rest the same for now just to get started? Stroker kit plus the oil modifications and all new oil system parts. By the way... what kind of oil modifcations would need to be done to the block. I have a good idea but not really sure.
 
The 383 has the same bore as the 427 and a shorter stroke than a 350...... Something to consider when figuring rod, piston and crank journal dimensions since alot of chevy wrist pin and rod dimensions are used in strokers. The other part of that equation is that RPM and horsepower are directly related and short strokes are more RPM friendly to reciprocating parts. The old addage about no substitution for cubic inches falls short in todays world of bolt on turbos and blowers and NO2. Strong light weight parts and a pan rail girdle should allow all kinds of possibilites without swinging a long arm.... The story about the 625 horse 383 rings a bell as I had a 404 ( 0.020 over 400 with steel 383 crank and rods and 0.040 over 440 low comp pistons, did have the oiling mods for hemi tube and passages) that pulled so fast to 8500 before eating a valve at the top of first....... what a ride that was in an open wheeled car!

my two cents...

Oh.. by the way... I have an "old school" single plane tri power manifold for the early B engine that takes strombergs and also has an adapter plate to accept holleys. Port inject that with 8 fogger nozzles and go to town.....

BD
 
Hmmm... How much for the intake mainfold? Would look very sweet when its done. Did you ever figure out why it ate the valve? Because of the RPMs or the power or wasnt equipped to handle that RPM and power? Thanks for the info!
 
they run dang good my brother in law had a 68 sattlite with a 383 and 440 heads that thing would run
 
AndyF on Moparts..His real name is Andy Finkbeiner or something like that. HE's done a lot of dyno testing and engine building, and most of it gets published in the mopar magazines. He left the oiling system totally stock IIRC, and the thing starved at high rpm. My guess would be from fully grooved mains and not enough oil volume. His engine used 440 Source connecting rods and crank, which was a B block sized counterweight and IIRC a 4.25 stroke with big block chevy rod pin(journal) crank. The writeups are in the mag..I never read them, but he had posted a bit during the buildup well before the article came out. I'm going off memory..and that hasnt been worth much lately...lol.
 
OK new job and new money to play with. I been reading around and looking around for parts and such for my new found 383. I was going to put a 318 stroker in the Dart before but with the big block in hand I tossed that idea. So let me throw some ideas out at parts for the 383.

63 Chrysler 383 block
Decked and bored .030 over with oiling mods (?)
Muscle Motors 4340 steel heat treated 4.15" stroker crank (stock 2.375 rod journals)
" " 6.76" rods
Ross flat top pistons
Childs & Albert 1/16", 1/16", 3/16" moly ring set
Clevite 77 chamfered rod bearings
Federal Mogul 3/4 groove chamfer main bearings
Milodon oil pan 8 quart
Milodon oil pick up "Hemi 1/2" opened pipe inlet"
Mopar windage tray for the 4.15" stroke
Mopar high performace oil pump
Indy 440 EZ heads or Edelbrock Victor heads
Schubeck racing valve lifters
Racer Brown rocker arms or Comp Cams pro Magnum roller rocker arms (both w/ shafts)
Comp Cams hydraulic roller cam w/ valve springs, retainers, and push rods
Edelbrock Victor, Mopar M-1, or Indy intake
Holley 850-950 carb
MSD distributor, wires, and ignition box

I know I was going to do a high reving 431-438 stroked 383 but I looked again. Muscle Motors sells the 496 kit for just about 100 bucks more then the 431 kit. So why not have the bigger kit and get a lil bit more torque. I will also have the intake and heads port matched to get a few more horses. I do plan to race this motor just about every weekend or every other weekend and drive it around town about 5 times a year at the max. So what is everyones opinion and suggestions?

I just need a lil help with heads and the intakes then I should be good to go and start it from there.
 
BoredandStroked said:
Hmmm... How much for the intake mainfold? Would look very sweet when its done. Did you ever figure out why it ate the valve? Because of the RPMs or the power or wasnt equipped to handle that RPM and power? Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
1390280987_l.jpg

I don't think it had enough valve spring for 8500 rpm. I was running a vertex mag with no rev limiter and it just got away from me.... hard to admit but true. After it swallowed #2 piston and valve parts and took out the cylinder wall sucking a few gallons of antifreeze and piston parts into the tunnel ram and making the steam cloud from hell the thing locked up through the tranny causing a wonderfull hopping motion on those 13/33 W goodyears' at about 85 MPH...... I did get it off to the side intact after a few tense moments and got a good cheer upon exit anyway. Would rather had a time slip though!! Let me dig out the manifold and adapter plate.. not sure where all that stuff is. I did put some holley tri-power carbs on the bay that would work pretty cool on it. Still cheap at the moment
 
?? Now it's not a 383 anymore, right? So the head requirements from your other post changed too? I still wouldnt run SREZs(angled plug) or Victors. I'd run the MP Edelbrocks with one of Jeff at Modern's programs if he has one for them yet.

Lose the hydraulic roller if you're running Schubecks. Run a solid roller profile.

The carb is too small. look for a modified HP, or a Dominator 1050.

my .02 here...Looking at the crank and oiling system..To run the 4.15 and chrysler rod you will need to clearance the oil pickup boss. If you go to the heim pickup, you make the area weaker still. I would use the 440Source crank with Chevy journals. It's a drop in, and he has a nice rod for the $$ to match it with the chrysler width. And dont forget to radius the 90° turn in the oil's path in the block. I'd also make sure the valley area is deburred and the return holes smoothed out.

For 8000 rpm and a decent roller, buy the best rockers you can once. (T&D would be a good choice) Or you'll be buying Crane golds over and over as they break.

The intake, I'd run the Victor...
 
The MP Eddys I can get from www.mopartsracing.com correct? How big of a change would it be to add nitrous? Lower the compression, cam and such I know possibly. But anything with the heads?

I heard that if I run a solid roller that it will wear down due to me taking it to shows and such. Is this true or just a bunch of junk? What lifters and cam do you recommend?

Carb size I should be looking for about 950 - 1050?

Whats all the things I should look at and consider on the oiling system?

Thanks Mguner, I will look at the tri holley carbs but right now I would like the manifold just fine.
 
If the lifter "wears down" you have a huge problem. The profile of a solid roller is more aggressive than a hydraulic roller. That's because if the hyd lifter was run with ramp speeds that high, the hyd part of the lifter will collapse. IMO, either run a solid flat tappet, or a solid roller. Schubecks can be had for either one. What wears out are the vale springs. But by keeping the cam size down a little and running a head that makes it's best flow lower than .600 lift (which means valve lift under .650 or so and duration @ .050 under 300°ish) you can get some longevity from the springs. The lifters should survive in any case.
For oiling, The easy way is a single external swinging pickup, Milodon pump, and good drain back with a crank scraper as opposed to windage tray. That eliminates the need to "watch out" for the internal oil pickup passage. Also, the lifter bores should be bushed. Both for oil control and safety should a spring, rocker or pushrod fail and a lifter pop out.
 
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