BYE!BYE! LO3 ...hello 383 ....This is a much bigger project
than i expected it to be! I finally threw out that tbi and put in a
nice edlebrock 750 cfm performer! Just to let you guys know
this conversion is a very time consuming thing to do! Damn computer controlled motors! This was started in end of december of 2001 and everything was installed except for my gauges. I'm hoping i will dip into the very high 11's once everything is smoothed out. There were some things i did that some might consider overkill but i basically put in top of the line parts to be able to handle the horsepower.Some things i put in are:
global wests tubular weld on subframe connectors,
Jegsters tubular rear control arms with polyurethane bushings,
b&m megashifter
7 sport comp. autometer guages including a 5" monster tach.
aluminum driveshaft with loop
beefed up 700r4 with 2600 9" converter
edelbrock tes headers , hollowed cat
BeCool aluminum radiator 2 1" cores,
Goodyear high milar hoses,
3" Borla cat back tuneable muffler
Motor includes:
350 4 bolt main block bored .030" over, align honed mains , scat steel stroker 400 crank with 350 journals. arp 195,000 psi tensile strength rod bolts, block decked , aluminum edelbrock performer heads 2.02" intake 1.60" exhaust valves, heavy duty valves springs and retainers, edelbrock performer rpm intake manifold, edelbrock 750cfm performer carb.Keith black hyperuetic pistons, moly rings, hardened pushrods, half inch lift edelbrock cam , guideplates..etc.....450 hp dynoed at flywheel.
By the way...I forgot to mention that the car is a 91 camaro rs teal with a 2 1/2" cowl fiberglass hood with a new coat of urethane paint and three coats of clear!

"I'ts stang season"
"I'm hunting 'stangs ....here stangy stangy stangy..."



:hail:

 

if anyone has any questions about the swap feel free to ask

 

Your allowed to do that in NY?

 

Were you able to use the factory fuel line? Or did you have to bend it or make a new one?

 

NICE......

Now lets see some more specs....cam/intake

And lets see that dyno chart!

 

I would like information on the suspension mods you made. What are they / how expensive / what do they do...

thats one area im lacking in knowledge.

 

You dont have emissions or are disreguarding them right?, and also, where did u get your engine, was it used, or new?

 

Disregarding emmissions right now for a few reasons....Yes you have to reroute the fuel line because I used a mechanical pump. I just bent some steel lines and routed it above the motor for now but a custom fuel set up is in the works for the future. I would recommend chaning the rear trailing arms because if you ever put slicks on the car they will flex on you. I just put in jegsters tubular ones with urethane bushings.

 

My motor i got from enginefactory.com ...i will let you guys know how good of a motor this is once all the bugs are taken care of.

 

Did u have any hood clearance problems or did it all fit good, also, what engine did it have in before u put the 383 in? How many MPG do u get, ect. I am putting the same engine in my 91 V6 RS camaro but i need to know more info before i buy the engine.

 

sorry cant give you a mpg figure yet ...not enough time on road for that...i have been running into alot of problems with the motor...the motor did fit considering i had a 2 1/2 " cowl...before i had a 305 in there ....

 

I had a 305 and swapped it for a 400sbc with an edelbrock performer rpm intake. It fits with a 3" air filter with about a quarter inch of space left after the half inch wingnut on top of the holley 600. I found the edelbrock signature series air cleaner. worked the best but I know you could probably find a lower profile cleaner out there somewhere. Tight fit I know, but it works and has never touched the stock RS hood.

 

Wow! Sounds good man. I was actually thinking of the same thing. Dumping the LO3 for a 383. Was there anything you used from the LO3? Did you use a non-computer controlled distributor? Did you keep the computer for anything? Does the cam give you a rough idle? When you do get out on the road, I'd like to know the MPG too. Mine'll be my daily driver, so that's an issue. Sounds sweet man!

 

im thining about stroking my 350 to a 383, what kinda machine work was done, and how much did it cost you. i think im going to go wth the holly stealth ram setup instead, so i dont have to **** with the computer ****.

 

Hey Manolis,

Were you able to use your cruise control or did you get an aftermarket one? I want to do the 305 to 383 swap myself, but would like to keep my cruise control without having to necessarily go with a TPI setup and aftermarket MPFI don't support cruise.

 

I just put a 383 stroker in my Trans Am and boy let me tell ya, thoses otors are real TORQERS!!!!. I had mine dyno tested at 367 hp and 424 ft lbs and traction is def a little bit of a problem. still have some suspension work to do. I don't know why more guys don't do this engine swap though b/c really the motor really doesn'y cost much more than a beefed up 350 or 355. anyone thinking of this swap though you better have a posi or that rear end may not make it through one summer. next year I get a bonus at work for my 5th anniversary so thats when I take my raw heads off and have them completely worked over and get a little bigger cam since that part is pretty cheap compared to the head work. I want 500 foot pounds a#$ kicking torq then I will be happy. CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW 383, I KNOW HOW MUCH FUN TEHY ARE!!! go to http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/84transam/ to view my freshly built 383.

 

testing to see if this image comes up. this is my motor if you can see it.

 

how about this time??

 

These guys are awesome! I put in a request for info and a demonstration tape early this week and I had the tape by Friday. Watched it this weekend. The video wasn't at all professional but they gave a lot of good info. Now the engines they assemble use a completely matched set of components from Edelbrock. They use the Performer RPM line of camshaft, cylinder heads, air gap intake manifold, 750 VS carburetor. I know most of you guys will probably scream about Edelbrock being a bunch of crap, but they do advertise their 383 stroker as making 449hp and 457 torque at the flywheel. So this is a really strong starter engine. I'm sure you could make more power by going with a Holley carb, and maybe AFR heads and Comp or Crane cam, and probably a better intake manifold. But for a starter crate, I don't think that can be beat.

For $5300 completely assembled and ready to start its not a bad setup. Oh yeah, these engines are completely turnkey setups. All you have to do is apply electricity to the ignition system, connect the fuel line from the tank to the block-mounted mech. fuel pump, install your exhaust manifold (stock or headers), and mount it to the frame and tranny. I think that's pretty cool. They even have layaway plasn so you can lock into a sale special if they're running one at the time.

They will even include a TPI, and serp. belt setups on request.

Oh and no I don't work for them or do I even know the owners. I was just very impressed with the company and strongly leaning towards them for my 305 to 383 swap.

 

Thats what I call power! That reallllllllllly makes me want a stroker
!

 

Hey transam12sec!

I'm originally from Milwaukee, what a small world!

 

Neat, when did you move?

 

I recently got my 383 TPI running in my 92 Z28. I also switched to a TH350 because I had one laying around from a race car that had to be sold. The 383 has some grunt and is born for street racing. Why don't more of you guys look into assembling the motors yourselves? You can save some cash and have some good bragging rights over your friends.

 

Transam12sec,
When I graduated from high school, I went to college in AZ. Graduated from college and haven't been to Milwaukee since.

92zzz28,
I don't know why more people don't have this legendary engine setup. The small block torque monster!

 

Right on!!

Even though my gas mileage sucks, the 383 combined with the th350 and a loose converter has some tire frying torque.

 

Thats all that matters.

 

Hey, sounds cool!!! I REALLY want one of those!!! Also, could you set up a 383 to make it get decent gas mileage? If so, how?

 

I'm sure you could tune the carb to get a little better gas mileage. Or, get a T56 tranny, and you'll be good to go.

 

hey im getting ready to have a 383 built for my gta I have a 350tpi can you give me some info on how you did the switch and what if any problems you ran into. I know i need a new chip.15/8"headers,52mm Tb.

 

along with getting your motor built you better have your tranny rebuilt to hanble the extra torq and you will want a diff torq converter prob. I would also have the rear axle checked out to make sure things are all ok otherwise your axle won't last long. 383 strokers have ALOT!! of torq. if you have t-tops especally you should def get either sub frame connectors or at least a 6 point roll bar. stiffing up your chassis is very important with this swap or you will twist your car.

 

hey thanks for the info.I think my tranny and rear are in good shape I will leave them alone unless they start giving me a problem,I dont have t-tops but i am gonna put subs in anyway.I have the following mods allready. Air foil,400hp fuel pump,flowmaster muffler,under drive pulleys,ported plenum,k&n filter,160 fan switch,180 thermostat,b&m shift kit,bbk fuel presure regulator set @50,hollowed cat,screens removed from MAF.

 

My '92 has been a project now for almost 2 years. I've completely redone the suspension (Hotchkis LCA, panhard rod, Spohn torque arm, Moog tie rods etc..., Koni reds, LCA relocation brackets), new 10 bolt 3:73 rear with Moser axles, Zexel//Torsen HD diff, SLP gears, in 4th gen housing that's been coated with POR 15, Baer brakes all around etc... This has all been in prep for the engine. I've got a Miniram II that was going to sit ontop of AFR 195's with comp cams 1.6RR's etc.... and the stock bottom end (lack of $$), but I've been really thinking about finding a 383 short block now and just getting it all done at once finally. I'm looking for approx 10:5:1 compression with a 4 bolt 1 piece rear main seal block with all forged components. I dont know if the 195's will be enough for the engine at that point or will I have to up them. I want the engine to be nice and streetable and run on pump gas. I've been looking around the net to find some short blocks with what I'm looking for and am just trying to decide what to do.
Any suggestions/recommendations?

- Joel

 

Your AFR 195 are plenty of cylinder head for a street bound engine. I have the 190 and have not ported them yet and I have no problem. I am running a TPI setup so airflow above 5000 rpm is not limited by my cylinder heads. The velocity of the air charge is where your power is being made. You can never have too much air velocity, but you can easily have too much volume in the intake runners. The large runners come to shine when high rpm are used and needed, mostly racing only applications. For the best throttle response and streetable power curve go with the most velocity with the smallest runner volume you can get away with to properly feed the engine. In your case I think you have selected the best cylinder heads out there.

I have used the bigger 210 on an older drag car and they are some killer heads but ,IMHO, too much for a street car.

 

will my slp headers fit a 383?
how expensive is a 383?

 

Sory guys but i havent been on here for a couple of years.. lol

but just want to warn everybody TO STAY AWAY FROM THE ENGINE FACTORY..

Worst experience of my life with those people..first off the first motor i purchased from them was garbage...i was driving it after the initial install and the rocker arms popped off and the oil pressure dropped and all my bearings were screaching ...ruined the whole motor..they took it back under warantee and they sent me another 383... they specifically told me not to put in a thermostat because of the flow to the heads during break in..more bs... so when i did put in a thermostat... the block cracked right where they notched it to clear the longer throw of the crank..and the whole motor was gone once again..this time they did not want to warrantee my motor and told me i was assed out because the warantee was up...

that was when i brought the motor to a local machine shop and he told me that any machine builder knows not to go too deep on the notch because of the water jackets...

Figure i tell you guys to stay away from them to save you guys any hassle..

 

Hey, I have a '91 RS, 305. I was looking into a 383. The company that makes it is called "Blueprint engines" has anyone heard of them? do they have good engines? I've seen their 420 hp rated 383 on jegs for around $7500 and another one of their 383 on summit that has 405hp for $3995. both are fully dressed engines and carburetored. which would be a better choice? and it's a "gen 1 sbc". what gen is my LO3? and would it fit? would I still need to use a computer? what else does the computer control?
Thanks,
-Anthony

 

^what did u go with? I know this is a real old thread..just curious what route you took and how everything came out..