C4 383 - 100 Horses Sleeping at Rear Wheels

[Edmond]

Wow, that is terrible to say the least.:cry I could imagine that you're not the only person to have been taken like this from them. I hope that you get this matter settled quickly and get your engine built like you want it to.

 

[delnic]

Yes, I'm in the "I've been screwed over club." I am still angry. Golen Engine Service just moved from Bedfort, MA to Hudson, NH. I am working on a cash settlement from them. I don't want them to fix it because I could never trust them again.

On a good note, I just ordered one of GM's Bow Tie 383 short blocks. Bow Tie 383s are new engines, not over bored engines. They come with a 4340 crank and a bunch of other great stuff. I am getting it from Scoggins-Dickey. I am having custom JE pistons made so that the compression ratio will be 10.8:1 with my 63 cc chamber AFR heads. Hypereutectic pistons come in the Bow Tie 383s, but I want something a little stronger.

By the way, how does your 357 85 run in the quarter?

 

[delnic]

Edmond, I believe that you are correct in that I am probably not the only person that they've taken. It is an insult to have such a mutt engine in my Vette and to have paid for it. My Vette is really sharp, and take great pride in the way it looks and runs. It really bothers me to have such a piece of junk under the hood. I will remedy that very soon though and will let you know what it dynos at. My Bow Tie 383 will arrive in 5 - 6 weeks.

 

[Edmond]

Edmond, I believe that you are correct in that I am probably not the only person that they've taken. It is an insult to have such a mutt engine in my Vette and to have paid for it. My Vette is really sharp, and take great pride in the way it looks and runs. It really bothers me to have such a piece of junk under the hood. I will remedy that very soon though and will let you know what it dynos at. My Bow Tie 383 will arrive in 5 - 6 weeks.

I'm glad that there will be a good ending to this. We often hear of this happening and no one getting any compensation.

Definitely keep us up to date on how the new motor runs. Did Scroggins-Dickey give you any performance numbers?

 

[Hrtbeat1]

ad Man and to think I almost bought a LT1 383 short block from them.


I like you figured they were respectable. I would still consider taking them to court. After all they did admit to you that it wasn't right. Not to mention your expense to find out it was wrong. If they dont give you a good price ... you could have damaged your valves ... something to think about.

That still chapps mah but. ad I know one company I won't recomend. Sorry it happened to you, but thanks for sharing

Keep us posted on how the new block does.

 

[tntcorvette]

my 357 made 353 rwhp with a somewhat restrictive exhaust (2.5" non mandrel bent and bad cat's) now I have a 3" system with new cat's on the car. Hopefully i'll pick up another 10 hp or so.

My gear is way too high for my setup which is a 3.07 dana 36. I've never had the car at the 1/4 mile but im confident i'll run a solid 12 but I know if I had a lower gear i'de run a 11 with out a problem.

I'll be at the track this year for sure for some test and tune.

Good luck with the new motor!!!

 

[delnic]

Scroggins-Dickey did not give any performance numbers, but if it does not pull at least 380 RWHP I will be very dissapointed. I will let you know after it is dyno tuned in about six weeks.

 

[delnic]

I sure wish someone had warned me before I bought from them. I'm told that the antifreeze stain in the bottom of the number eight cylinder is probably due to the engine being freeze damaged when they built it. In other words, they probably started with a bad core. Recall that core 350 blocks that will be used for a 383 applications are supposed to past a pressure test. Evidently they did not bother to pressure test the block that they sent me.

Also, when the engine arrived, it did not come with a cam card. I called them and asked for the cam card and I was told that they could not locate the card - - it had been lost. I kept asking them for the cam card over a period of a couple of months, and get this. They sent me a regular piece of bold printer paper with a duration of 217/219 printed on it and a .540/540 lift with a lobe of 114. I called them back and explained that the sheet of bold printing paper that they sent was not an official cam card and that I wanted the original car. I also pointed out to them that the cam that them initially told me was in the engine was suppose to be a 210/220 with a lift of .510/.510 on a 112 lobe seperation, which contradicted what they printed on the sheet of paper that they sent me. They finally sent me a cam card from CompCams that stated the cam was a 210/220 with a lift of .510/510 on a 112 lobe. When I called CompCam and gave them the cam part number on the cam card, they told me that the lift was .502/510. At that point I said forget it and for the sake of knowing exactly what kind of cam I had in the engine, I ordered a Lingenfelter 74219 (219/219) cam and placed the cam of unknown specs that came in the engine in a box and left it in my garage. So the nightmare is actually deeper. Be elated that you didn't buy a 383 LT1 from them.

 

[tntcorvette]

well look at the bright side...at least you will be driving one very powerful 383 very soon. I've seen similar 383 s/r,74219/afr combo's put out ~360rwhp.

You should install that 74219 cam -2 degrees and it should make peak hp around 5600 rpms. Im going to say with your heads and higher compression you should hit 370rwhp w/o a problem.

Check out Beach Bum's dyno results.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=118157

 

[delnic]

Thanks for the info. I will pass the -2 degrees to my machanic. I could live with 370 rwhp. Your rwhp numbers of 353 for your 357 are impressive. I would be happy with anything on the north side of 350 rwhp for my 383. As you said, if you put 3.54 rear gears in yours, it would run stronger, not that 353 rwhp is anything to be ashamed of.

 

[tntcorvette]

Thanks for the compliment. Beach Bum has one of the quickest sr/383/afr combo's around and I think he was running the stock '85 computer. With your DFI, heads, and higher compression I dont see a problem hitting 370rwhp. The torque is gonna be killer though. You'll definetly run 11's w/o a problem.

 

[delnic]

I would be elated if mine runs 11's. Do you think that I really need a high stall torgue converter with my setup? If so, which one would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[Vette_Newb]

Man that sux...

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff29820.htm

 

[tntcorvette]

The stock '85 conver can flash up to around 2600 rpms or so....for now i'de just stick with the stock converter and go from there.

 

[delnic]

Thanks. I had reached the same conclusion because the higher the stall speed, the more slippage, and the more heat in the transmission.

 

[delnic]

That's a mighty fine looking 89!

 

[Mad-Mic]

I would be elated if mine runs 11's. Do you think that I really need a high stall torgue converter with my setup? If so, which one would you recommend? Thanks.

if you go with a new stall let me know. we have a builder that builds our stalls for all of our cars. this is the shop i'm working at and my friend is the owner. www.fbodycentral.com i would recommend a 3000 stall and nothing more. LS1 guys are going as high as 4000 stall. with a custom stall from us we garuntee 2 restalls for free and depending on your needs we can stall it for a harder hit off the line or a more gradual hit. i've learned alot about stalls from the guy that is building them. if you want just a run of the mill aftermarket stall go with a vig or a pheonix. our stall costs is in the 600+ range 700+ for a vig.

always add a tranny cooler to the setup. keeps the tranny fluid nice and cool since the higher stalls add heat.

the one thing i would worry about is the D36. i'm thinking i'm on the edge and will most likely be upgrading to a D44 at the end of the year if it lasts that long.

 

[Mad-Mic]

also for you non DFI tuners out there DFI is similar to LS1/LT1 edit. it does not set the parameters itself. you have to tune the fuel and spark curve along with a few other things. this is something i'm learning now at the shop

 

[delnic]

Thanks. If I go with a high stall, I will keep that in mind.

 

[Mad-Mic]

Thanks. If I go with a high stall, I will keep that in mind.

anything higher than what you have. especially now that you have a built motor cause i'm sure you'll flash the stock 2400 rpm converter now alittle more than the stock motor