383 Stock strength

[Rogue]

In my "Welcome Wagon" post, I said that my wife and I are wanting to produce about 400hp and max 450hp. There are a many things that I don't know about the internals of any Mopar and was wondering:

What is the max HP that the stock connecting rods can handle? (ours are in great shape)
Should we buy new/aftermarket main caps?
How about a Girdle?
The lifters will be replaced, should we get the ones with out the oil band as I've read they're better?
The stock pushrods are in great shape and we'd like to go with edelbrock performer heads, will we need to change the stock pushrods?

Thanks for all the great help and hope the questions aren't too easy for you!:-D

*Rogue

 

[rumblefish360]

What is the max HP that the stock connecting rods can handle? (ours are in great shape)

They'll handle more power than your looking to make....or that I suggested to lie about. ;)

Should we buy new/aftermarket main caps?

No, have the machinest mic them up and alighn bored if need be.

How about a Girdle?

Only if your fat. The engine doesn't need it at this level.

The lifters will be replaced, should we get the ones with out the oil band as I've read they're better?

Better for what? Best bet, get the lifters that the cam manufacturer has for the cam in question. IF your doing a roller cam, I'll have to take a step back and let someone else answer this question. There may be something to a roller cam/lifter I'm not aware of. Thogh a stock Hyd. replacement or solid lifter can come from the cam grinder, no problem.

The stock pushrods are in great shape and we'd like to go with edelbrock performer heads, will we need to change the stock pushrods?

Alot depends on the cam to be used. Now, since I read this question, I'll assume your going to use a Hyd. cam. The stock pushrods could be used over again. The thing to be concerned about is how far the lifter is depressed down when the lifter is on the base circle of the cam with the pushrod installed with the rocker arm on the assembled head.

It should be depressed at a min. of .010. And that is generaly seen as cutting close. According to the MP books, the last .010 of lifter travel is the max it should be depressed downwards or left up top. As in barley depressed. There approx. .100 of travel, according to the MP books.

 

[moper]

400hp can be accomplished with most stock parts. However, stock parts that are 80K miles and 50yrs old may need to be addressed. The parts and machining has come a very long way. So with proper attention it's not hard to make big power. A couple notes on a 383. Pistons.. nothing currently made yields what the catalogs say when installed in a typical 383 block and run with typical open chamber heads. You machinist MUST pay attention to things like the block's blueprint deck height and head chamber sizes if you want to make any real power. This is one of the largest mistakes in 383 builds and why most are lazier than they could be. Rods and main caps will be fine and girdles are not needed as Rumble said until you get way beyond where you want to be. As far as wearables like lifters, pushrods, fuel pump pushrod, oil pump drive, rockers, etc... Just budget to replace them and you will avoid a ton of stupid little issues that can make life miserable.