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Once you get a crate engine....you can stroke it to 383

H

HighlyFanatic

Guest
i think thats how it goes (if you dont wanna use the stock motor)??

you can always stroke the new block to a 383; but im wondering what kinda gains to expect say

if the block was either

1) a ZZ4 engine
2) an Edelbrock Performer 320 HP engine
3) any regular 350 ci 330 HP engine
 
I'm sure you could, but it would make alot more sense and be a hell of alot cheaper to start out with a good seasoned bare block.

As far as which block to use, it really doesn't matter as long as it's a good one. To do a 383 your going to change pretty much all the internals anyway.

Find yourself a good engine builder and talk it over with him.

Crate motors aren't cheap

To buy one then remove all the internals just to replace them with stroker parts, and then having to machine a brand new block would be very expensive and a huge waste of money in my humble opinion.

I went with a GM crate motor myself, I wanted a brand new motor. A rebuild may have been cheaper in the long run, but I'd never dream of sending it out to a shop and make it a 383 stroker.

Let us know what you do, and we all love pictures.

Goodluck,

Rick
 
shows how much i know :L

basically if you've got an L81 motor, and you want more power (350 HP, 400 ft. lb. of torque), what is the easiest route to go??
 
Now I'll show you how much I know:L and why I went with a proven crate motor.

Honestly I have read that you would want a good set of heads and a cam matched to them. Then a set of headers to let those heads breathe.

Any good cam company will be able to set you up.

There are some very good motor guys right here at :CAC

And there is nothing wrong with doing a 383, I just wouldn't waste the money on a crate motor to do it to.
I don't think I'd use your original block either.

You should be able to pick up a good smallblock for anywhere from $50 to $250.

Someone more knowlegable should be along shortly.

Rick
 
Your best bet is to get the GM 385 Fast Burn. Its 385HP/385LBS of torque. That is if you are going to get a crate motor and have a cool $4000. I have been going over and over it and have finally settled on building up a bare block I have in the garage. I gave $500 for it (still in the crate) a year ago and plan to get Scoggin-Dickey's 383 Stroker Kit for it. For $925 you get Speed-Pro Hypereutechtic Pistons, FM Berings, new 4340 I-beam rods with floting pin ends adn H/D bronge bushings, Sealed Power moly rings, full balance assembly (crank), high volume oil pump and a full Fel-Pro gasket set. Add another $1000 for alumium heads and miscellanious stuff and I should have a 400HP torque monster for around $2500. If you have not checked out Scoggin-Dickey, here is their URL;
http://www.sdpc2000.com/
They have really good deals on parts and you can order a crate motor from them as well. Good luck!
 
Hijinx said:
Your best bet is to get the GM 385 Fast Burn. Its 385HP/385LBS of torque. That is if you are going to get a crate motor and have a cool $4000. I have been going over and over it and have finally settled on building up a bare block I have in the garage. I gave $500 for it (still in the crate) a year ago and plan to get Scoggin-Dickey's 383 Stroker Kit for it. For $925 you get Speed-Pro Hypereutechtic Pistons, FM Berings, new 4340 I-beam rods with floting pin ends adn H/D bronge bushings, Sealed Power moly rings, full balance assembly (crank), high volume oil pump and a full Fel-Pro gasket set. Add another $1000 for alumium heads and miscellanious stuff and I should have a 400HP torque monster for around $2500

for $2500 that sounds awesome, and thats the power im lookin for too...plus i can customize what i want
 
Get SD to send you a catalog. They can supply you everything your looking for. Take a look at the September issue of Car Craft. They built a 440HP 383 using SD Vortec heads (part # SD8060A). As the article states, these are great heads that will flow this type of HP on pump gas and they only cost $635 (ready to bolt on)! With these you might get away for closer to $2000 if you already have a block to use and a few other non-purchase parts. Check it out, you could smoke the rubber clean off with this setup!.:bu
 
g*d damn u guyz are f*ckin great!! thx for all the help....
i dont know many 19 year olds (or people for that matter) that have an interest in restoring/rebuilding older vettes

Hijinx, im wondering if u could give me an exact link to that stroker kit...i couldnt find it on SD's page

and the SD vortec heads are only $320 ???http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=277&pid=9063
 
I think you'll find that is only for one head.

I've got the fastburn 385, upgraded it to 430hp/430ftlbs, from what I learned depending on your tranny it could cost a bit more than 4 grand. The cheapest one I found was about $4200, then I had to change the water pump to the short style. Then a new flywheel, pressureplate,clutch,and throwout bearing as I have a standard, the motor comes with a flexplate for an automatic, add a fuel pump, carb, and whatever else you decide to change for eye candy. I went with march pulleys.
I added about $2000 with the above and the Hot cam and 1:6 rockers.

You might want to look at crate shortblocks and figure out what heads, cam, intake, carb, and ignition you want to go with.

Rick
 
wow Ralley thats a handful, i guess im still confused :(
...maybe gettin a shortblock crate engine is the easier route

first i thought building an engine from ground up would be easier (lol, i guess its a bit cheaper....but im a novice). so now im thinking, great im back to gettin a crate engine. :D

my only problem is that if i go with the fastburn 385, i dont think i can use hooker headers/sidepipes with it because of the "angled heads" in the fastburn 385 engine (hookers website says you cant use angle plug heads)

:cry: i've heard that Sportsman II angled plug heads, and trickflow angle plug aluminum heads are exceptions and work fine. but i dont wanna buy the fastburn and then have to spend a grand on heads!! BLAH!!

the only modification i would make to any engine (as long as it meets my requirement of ~350HP/~400 TRQ) is change the CAMS!! to aggressive ones
 
based on my new-found knowledge

the Fastburn 385 is a "LONG-BLOCK"

and the ZZ4 is available in a "short BLOCK"
 
RalleyRed said:
builder and talk it over with him.

Crate motors aren't cheap

To buy one then remove all the internals just to replace them with stroker parts, and then having to machine a brand new block would be very expensive and a huge waste of money in my humble opinion.

ur absolutely right, but i wouldnt have known that. thanks for the eye opener
 
Here are the links. You may have been confused. What Ralley is saying is that he has the FastBurn 385 crate engine and sank another $2000 (on top of the $4200 for the engine) to get it up to 430HP and in his car. If you can score a block, these links will get you what you need to build a hot 383 (minus any machine work you will need to have done)

383 Kit ($925)- http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=452&pid=577

Vortec Heads ($640) - http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=277&pid=9063

Bare Block ($570) - http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=244&pid=132

Figure $350 for a Speed Demon carb, $150 for a Edelbrock Performer intake, another $150 for and HEI distributer from Summit, $50 harmonic balancer, $60 flex plate, and another $100 in miscellanious stuff.

Thats right at $3000 if you dont have anything you can already use or you cant score a block for $50-100 somewhere. I am not adding machine cost, because that varies so much. You could scavange around and cut this cost considerably. All the prices above are for brand new items. Hell, the bare block from SD is a new 4 bolt main unit.

Hope this helps.
 
cool and what about cams?

and with the Edelbrock intake, would this engine fit in a regular hood ('81) in terms of height?
 
You know your best bet might be going to some shows and fine something your impressed with and talk to the owner.

Trying to decide what to do isn't easy, if your like me and don't know how to build your own motor and don't know anyone that you can trust to build one for you it makes it even harder.
Thats why I went the route I did.

It took me a few years and this site to finally do something about my Camero powered Vette.

Take your time as you will only want to do this once.

BTW, I hope your wrong about the Fastburn heads and Hooker sidepipes.

Rick

Oh and the ZZ4 short block and the Fastburn use all the same internals, I thought about going that route too, but didn't want to deal with finding someone to put it together for me.
 
how many "hours" at the MOST do you figure in machine cost, and actually putting all this together??
 
I agree with Ralley, take your time and do a lot of research. As for the cam, that's an individual choice, but the I would opt for something mild. Nothing worse than not having brakes becaus you have no manifold vacuum to run them.

I live in Dallas and have talked to the guys at Dallas Export. They seem like good guys, but I have not talked to anyone who has a motor from them. Their deals are very good. I have actually thought about taking them the big parts I plan on (block, heads) and let them do the rest. They will do that too.

There are a number of great books out as well on building small block Chevys. I really like "John Lingenfelter on Modifying Small-Block Chevy Engines". He gives a lot of good practical advice. It is not a how to book on building, but more of good, very experienced advice, on what to do and not do. I really suggest this book to anyone trying to decide on what they want in an engine.

Good luck.
 
Hijinx said:

I live in Dallas and have talked to the guys at Dallas Export. They seem like good guys, but I have not talked to anyone who has a motor from them. Their deals are very good. I have actually thought about taking them the big parts I plan on (block, heads) and let them do the rest. They will do that too.


awesome! i'll have to search for that book. looking at that engine, those cams are pretty aggressive arent they? 275/285
 
check out GM's "HT 383"

GM performance has been offering a crate sbc 383 stroker motor ... complete with GM warranty ... ready to go, brand new for about $3500 to $4000. With 3.8" stroke (not 3.750") and 4" bore (not 0.030" over) it makes 383 ci and retains standard bore with plenty of meat left for future oversize. That's everything from vortec heads to oil pan and has a roller cam & forged crank ... I think you have to supply carb & maybe distributor ... maybe not. I think motor's referred to as an "HT 383" and is advertised as a truck motor. Recently, one of the car mags did a phase-by-phase performance buildup on this motor and the results were very impressive. Build up or not ... the HT 383 specs are great right outa the box ... is certainly worth taking a look at. Regardless of your route ... do plenty of research. I do not suggest balancing a motor (nor paying for an already balanced rotating assembly) until AFTER all the parts have been fitted into the block and ALL clearances checked & verified. Rods may need to be machined for cam clearance in strokers ... even rods that have been previously cam clearanced. This has to do with your particular cam profile, any cam advancing that might be done, rod length, any piston pin offset etc. If pre-balanced assemblies' rods need additional clearancing ... then the assembly requiresd balancing once again. My local expert auto machine shops typically charge about $100-$150 for balancing. Also, strokers built from a 350 block typically require the block itself to be clearanced in several positions. Get some books and do some homework first ... knowledge is power also.
JACK:gap
 

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