383 Vs 383
- Thread starter 67-Fury
- Start date
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
David also co-hosts the show "Roadkill", which is well worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL12C0C916CECEA3BC
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL12C0C916CECEA3BC
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
What kills me is that the vast majority of uninformed dweebs out there think that the 383 Chevy is the REAL 383..."What do you mean, Chrysler made a 383???"
Landyacht
Active Member
I think the 383 is the better motor.
Mopar power.......hands down.
This summer guy asked what kind of engine I had, and I said 383. "Stroker?" Me, "NO Big Block", and just left it at that.
Sweet! I love the stuff Dulcich does, shows you how to make efficient power economically.
Let's see if I understand SBC 383s... SBC 400s had the longer crank, 350's had the 4 bolt mains available... these were basically junkyard put together pieces at one time for the racy crowd. Thanks to a zillion "how to" articles and SBC 400s relative scarcity... the aftermarket suppliers created 383 kits on up to completed engines.
I never thought stroking an engine was a very good idea longevity wise...
The Chrysler factory 383 was plentiful, reliable and plenty powerful. I think Chrysler's engineering has been underrated, except by those of us who love them.
Those are my thoughts... feel free to pick them apart...
BTW I would speculate 90% of those SBC 383s never get a true all on 1/4 mile pass... I believe the majority are cruising and just the leftover wet dream of someone who read too many HR and CC how to articles...
I never thought stroking an engine was a very good idea longevity wise...
The Chrysler factory 383 was plentiful, reliable and plenty powerful. I think Chrysler's engineering has been underrated, except by those of us who love them.
Those are my thoughts... feel free to pick them apart...
BTW I would speculate 90% of those SBC 383s never get a true all on 1/4 mile pass... I believe the majority are cruising and just the leftover wet dream of someone who read too many HR and CC how to articles...
When I first got into cars, the only guys who had SBC 383's were the street/strip crowd, they flogged their cars at the track once a month or so. But they always said they had to adjust something every time I saw them.
I have a race against a coworker's 81 vette with a 300hp 350 crate motor vs my 66 Polara with a smog 440 with a 750 edelbrock afb, .484 purple cam and tti headers and full exhaust. His 4 speed vs my 727 with manual valve body Cars weigh about the same, I'm maybe giving up 150 lbs there, but I'm almost 100 lbs lighter than my coworker. This video makes me feel better about my chances. That and his car was daddy's so he might not flog it as hard as I'm willing to.
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Gotta give it up for the Chevy stroker engine, it IS a pretty good piece, that packs some great power for the money. That's what my son wants in his '76 Buick Skylark, along with a TH700R4. We'll see what happens in the Spring.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
The Chevy has a lot better head than the 45 year old 906s
Wildaugust
Senior Member
Interesting video.
I owned a 283 at one time and it was a good engine. Some of my friends owned 283s, 327s and 350s and they were all basically good engines. The Vortec cylinder heads really are actually quite good. The thing that always irked me though, after I owned my 390 and my 383, was that every performance part imaginable was available for the SBC and was always a whole lot less expensive. That and that SBCs were being swapped into everything, no matter whether it was a Ford body, Mopar body or whatever. I mean look at how many '53-'56 F-100s are cruisin' with SBCs between their fenders. It got a bit boring after a while.
Yeah, it's amazing how many people just think SBC stroker when you mention 383. Some of them, quite a few in fact, don't even seem to know there ever was a 383 Mopar, that it was a "production" engine or of it's significance as a Musclecar engine back in the day. My guess would be that almost none of them know about the other 383.
This 383 was actually in production for three or four years, starting in 1958. It was part of the MEL-series of Ford Big Blocks, which included the 430 cubic inch T-Bird engines. I'd be willing to bet they've never heard of it.
Still, though, when I think of 383, I will really always think of the Big Block Mopar engine that proved itself many times over, between the fenders of Roadrunners, Chargers, 'Cudas and C-bodies.
...and to think, he called that 383 garbage!
I owned a 283 at one time and it was a good engine. Some of my friends owned 283s, 327s and 350s and they were all basically good engines. The Vortec cylinder heads really are actually quite good. The thing that always irked me though, after I owned my 390 and my 383, was that every performance part imaginable was available for the SBC and was always a whole lot less expensive. That and that SBCs were being swapped into everything, no matter whether it was a Ford body, Mopar body or whatever. I mean look at how many '53-'56 F-100s are cruisin' with SBCs between their fenders. It got a bit boring after a while.
Yeah, it's amazing how many people just think SBC stroker when you mention 383. Some of them, quite a few in fact, don't even seem to know there ever was a 383 Mopar, that it was a "production" engine or of it's significance as a Musclecar engine back in the day. My guess would be that almost none of them know about the other 383.
This 383 was actually in production for three or four years, starting in 1958. It was part of the MEL-series of Ford Big Blocks, which included the 430 cubic inch T-Bird engines. I'd be willing to bet they've never heard of it.
Still, though, when I think of 383, I will really always think of the Big Block Mopar engine that proved itself many times over, between the fenders of Roadrunners, Chargers, 'Cudas and C-bodies.
...and to think, he called that 383 garbage!
Lets face it, the 383 Mopar had a crappy cam, decent cam might have made a big difference, I understand the fairness aspect, but the came in SBC would be a major upgrade over a stock 350 cam, the one in the 383 is a downgrade.
Nick
Even with a crappy cam, it gave the SBC a damn fine run for its money, the BB Dodge started making torque a lot faster and at lower RPM then the SBC, in real world, its torque that gets you down the track, not HP
Nick
Even with a crappy cam, it gave the SBC a damn fine run for its money, the BB Dodge started making torque a lot faster and at lower RPM then the SBC, in real world, its torque that gets you down the track, not HP
Catfish-65
Member
I was thinking the same thing Wildaugust, I have in my garage a 1960 Mercury Convertible that is sporting a 430CI engine I love it. Catfish -65
Didn't Ford use the 430 engine in the Lincoln ?
Wildaugust
Senior Member
Yeah, they used the 430 in Lincolns, but it was available in late '50s T-Birds and was even optioned with dual 4-Barrel and three 2-Barrel intake/carb configurations. It was also available in Mercurys as well. After around '62-'63, the larger displacement 462 version became the only MEL engine still produced and was exclusive to Lincoln. The 383 was used in Edsels and Mercurys for three or four years IINM, then replaced by the 390 FE engines.
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