please help picking motor..

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Mrkidd

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Ok I came across a man who has 383 ,

440,274,318 ploy...with trans ..all going for really cheap there are a lot of heads I was looking for maybe a .383...I'm not looking for something to break records just something to have some kick...what would you buy and look for and why..?
 
need alot more info than that.

if i was putting the engine on a log splitter, i would choose the /6. on a wind mill, maybe the 383.

what kind of car? early or late a-body? auto?..........................
 
Sorry...its a 69 dart..it has a slant six in it...auto...I have a rear end already I'm mad he got rid of a 340 for 150 dollars the other day...errrr..he doesn't know what he's got..
 
If you have a 440 available go with that alot of HP potentual. If you want a nice little street thumper , alot can be done with the 273 or 318. find out what year poly that is, so can be changed over to a Hemi.
 
How hard and expensive would it be to convert the poly to a hemi that's sounds COO..
 
the difference from going with say, a 383, to a 440, is the 383 being a low deck engine, and with headers is not as hard
 
Like I said . Not all 318 polies are changeable. you would have to get casting #. A good place to get answers is The H.A.M.B forums. These guys have about a 1000 years of knowlege between them as far as old Hemis ,polies. They will let you know what is and isn't and what to stay away from. anything Hemi is spindy . I was about $8000 into my 354 before the smoke cleared. Actually you would be money ahead if you took that 318 punched it out to 360. Back in the day the 360 was the engine of choice, it bested alot of BB Chevies and ford and probably would be cheaper to build.
 

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Thanks for the input...
Anybody else...I got to make my mind up by Thursday...
 
Go with the 383 but ask him if he nows if it is a B or RB . B being the short deck 383 and RB being raised deck same block as the 440.
 
I would pass, it is usually better to have a plan first than to just buy parts because they are cheap, for instance
plan A: small block: find and build a 360
plan B: big block: find and build a 400
 
Ok so is it better to have a RB or a B engine ....
 
zigs said:
Like I said . Not all 318 polies are changeable. you would have to get casting #. A good place to get answers is The H.A.M.B forums. These guys have about a 1000 years of knowlege between them as far as old Hemis ,polies. They will let you know what is and isn't and what to stay away from. anything Hemi is spindy . I was about $8000 into my 354 before the smoke cleared. Actually you would be money ahead if you took that 318 punched it out to 360. Back in the day the 360 was the engine of choice, it bested alot of BB Chevies and ford and probably would be cheaper to build.
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????? that sure wasn't the 360. i think your thinking about the 340. and i don't think you can punch a 318 to 340 size.

zigs said:
Go with the 383 but ask him if he nows if it is a B or RB . B being the short deck 383 and RB being raised deck same block as the 440.
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did they make a rb 383? pretty sure they are all B motors.
 
I want something that can be a daily driver and at the same time stomp some cars on the way....Im not to worried about handling I have a Subaru for that...the only thing that worries me is that I only have a 81/4 rear and I believe the 440 would eat that up really fast....are there more parts for the 440..then the 383...??? because Ive been floating and I see alot of poeple building 440 projects..?
 
440 near stock would be peppy enough and the 8.25 will last as long as you aren't running big sticky tires.
 
abodyjoe said:
????? that sure wasn't the 360. i think your thinking about the 340. and i don't think you can punch a 318 to 340 size.




did they make a rb 383? pretty sure they are all B motors.
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Yes but hard to find and I think your right about the 318 to 360. I think were confusing the guy. He only has two or three options this other guy has to sell. 273, 318 poly and 383 and yes 361 383 400 were all B's . Don't underestimate the small blocks.
 
Mrkidd said:
I want something that can be a daily driver and at the same time stomp some cars on the way....Im not to worried about handling I have a Subaru for that...the only thing that worries me is that I only have a 81/4 rear and I believe the 440 would eat that up really fast....are there more parts for the 440..then the 383...??? because Ive been floating and I see alot of poeple building 440 projects..?
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I have a 383 in my 68 Dart GT Daily Driver. Built it in 2005 -06, been driving it ever since. Rear end is 8 3/4 - 3.91 SG.

It stomps easily most cars we find along the way. 8)



I built my 383 Dart from a car that had originally a 273 V8. (manual steering & manual brakes). I aslo retrofitted ,920 Torsion bars and an AADCO front Sway Bar. Handling is good for a car its age bracket. IOW, the extra weight of the 383 big block engine is not an issue.

Parts were plentiful an Not a problem at all.

I installed front disk brakes from a 1973 Duster, proportioning/metering valve was off a newer Mustang. Radiator was NOS from a '73 Grand Wagoneer (400ci engine).

PM me if you want more details.


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abodyjoe said:
????? that sure wasn't the 360. i think your thinking about the 340. and i don't think you can punch a 318 to 340 size.




did they make a rb 383? pretty sure they are all B motors.
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No, they did make an RB 383 in 1960. A real oddball. I think I may still have the intake around here somewhere.....I thought it would be interesting to have a 440 with a factory looking 2bbl on it. On your engine choices....decide what you want to do with the car (race, strip/street, cruise, grocery getter, etc.) and then build the car accordingly. A small block setup is the cheaper, easier to work on choice. Forget the poly 318. An LA360 would be my first choice if money matters, a crate 408 if it doesn't. An LA318 is fine too if you're willing to give up some horsepower to keep reliability.
 
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