Abe91Z28

I'm posting this for my friend who is curenly building a 383. H has about 2k to spend so, here is what he is going to buy. He also has some quesions on pistons and rockers.
Here is the list he gave me to post. I'm asking for any suggestions or comments on this engine setup

-Plain Cast Steel Crank
-6" H-beam rods (by eagle)
-he wants to keep compression@ 9.5:1
-Pistons? (he would like to know what would be a nice set of pistons for this car, but he can't afford forged)
-Edelbrock performer RPM heads (64cc)
-Edelbrock performer RPM Air gap intake
-Demon 750 Street Carb vac. second wires
-Comp Cams Xtreme Cam 274 grind
-Roller Rockers? (wants to if he should use 1.5 or 1.6 here)
-MSD electronic Dist.
-MSD 6al booster

thanks for any info on this. Its going to be his first time with a stroked engine, so hes basically open for sugggestions
-Abe

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1991 Z28 305 TPI.

Mods: Hypertech Airfoil, gutted airboxes, K&Ns,polished 91' rims (they turned pink!), and all rear end bushings & tranny mout are energy suspension poly ones now

MORE TO COME: Any suggestions on what to do next? I really want to try and make the 305 run 13s (i've mostly been doing basic repair to the car, but now most of its done i have money to mod!)e-mail me@ abraham_39@hotmail.com

86_327_camaro

well i would change the 6" rods part to a 5.7" rod and i would go with a Keith Black piston. not only would that save time and money (because there is a LOT of grinding with a 383 6" rod motor and if you have a block clearanced at a machine shop that means more $$$) but there are more choices for pistons in the KB line. rod length also depends a lot on what kind of motor he is building. Is it a street motor, strip motor or a little of both?

rocker ratios are in my opinion personal preference. the specs on the cam are measured with the 1.5 rockers. 1.6 rockers will give you a little more lift and i think they give you a few degrees more duration. and you can mix and match rocker ratios. 1.5 intake and 1.6 exhaust rockers are another option. they give a little more lift and duration on the exhaust side which might give a little more power

RB83L69

1. IMHO that CR is too low for that cam. I'd shoot for closer to 10.5:1.

2. Cranks are either cast nodular iron, or forged steel. AFAIK there's no such thing as a cast steel crank.

3. That's already well over $2k of parts in that list, with no machine work. $900 of heads, $350 carb, $500 rods: that's $1850 right there. I would guess it's going to cost about $3600 to build that motor, plus the cores. There is no mention of rings, bearings, gaskets, oil pump, exhaust, other peripherals such as a balancer or flywheel or flex plate, water pump, timing chain, push rods, ... and the single biggest-ticket item, machine work, is left out.

I would downgrade the rods; the cast crank will protect them from ever approaching their stress limit. They are not necessary and are a waste of money in that combo. I would use stock rods and forged pistons long before I would spring that much for rods and cheap out on pistons. My piston choice would be TRW or Speed-Pro forged. Another possibility might be a rotating assy. package such as Internet Racers Supply offers. However, even that is $1300 for crank, rods, & pistons alone.

My choice for rockers would be Comp 1416, which are 1.6 roller-tips. The springs and other hardware that come on those heads will support that with no further modification.

The rest of the list is a good match. I had that cam for a while in my 400 and really liked it.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

406 S10 Man

iTrader: (1)

i agree that the total cost would far eclipse the 2k mark. i have a very similar motor in my s10, but it is a 406 with the next step up in the Xtreme line. i love my 6 inch h beams, but they are not for a guy who can't afford forged pistons. the friend building this motor needs to rethink his plan a little. if he only has 2 grand, i would stick to a 350, use the stock rods, KB hyper pistons, the next step down in the Xtreme line, a performer rpm manifold, and a used holley 650-750 vac. and, if he has any cash left, some aftermarket iron heads. i have the Dart Ironeagles, so I am a little biased, but at this price level, he is going to be hard pressed to find aluminums.

don't want to be a grinch, but i tried to build a hot motor on the cheap and it blew up hard. i ended up biting the big one and poneying up the cash for the stuff i should have bought in the first place. hope this helps, let us know what happens.

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88 S10
Dropped 3/4
Dart equipped 406
12.20 @ 115.25 mph

jrob350

Check dec/jan Hotrod. Has big article on 383 stroker buildup. Powerhouse(I think) has a complete stroker rotating assembly for $469 and offer balancing option for $199.

AlkyIROC

I still have all the information about my 383 on my web site. You can check out all the parts that I used to build one. Nothing hi tech or exotic about any of the parts. The Demon 850 carb was about the most expensive single part on the whole engine. If the stock bottom end had some better bolts or the stock pistons were forged, the engine would probably still be running. My best performance results (below) were with the 383 and 3.27 gears.

My current big block buildup is going over budget. Keeping track of every nut and bolt purchased to build an engine from scratch is going to be close to $7000 when done. Machine work for just the bottom end was almost $1500 and the machine work is about the same for a big block as it is a small block.

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Follow my racing progress on Stephen's racing page
and check out the race car

87 IROC-Z Pro ET Bracket Race Car
383 stroker (carbed) with double hump cast iron heads and pump gas
454 Big Block almost ready for the 2001 racing season

Best results before the 383 blew up
Best ET on a time slip: 11.857 altitude corrected to 11.163
Best MPH on a time slip: 117.87 altitude corrected to 126.10
Altitude corrected rear wheel HP based on power to weight ratio: 476.5
Best 60 foot: 1.662

Racing at 3500 feet elevation but most race days it's over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car, 91 454SS daily driver, 95 Homebuilt Harley