I’m 48, but I’m not trying to make the car run up on Hellcats or anything like that. I just want a fun torquey cruiser that can boil the tires. Honestly the car is great as-is, I just can’t leave anything alone and I want more out of it. I have an LS swapped Jeep that suits my ‘modern’ speed itch. I’ve been basically a motorcycle guy for the last 30 years and just starting to get into cars heavily. I’ve always liked them and wanted to do one but space/time/money was an issue back then. Everything I have other than my daily is either motor swapped or at least has a cam and headwork. The workshop part of it is more fun to me than the driving.
440 swap or build the 383?
- Thread starter Scotty76
- Start date
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
If your 383 is not using oil/blow by I would do a cam swap. Those early 60s cams are pretty lame. If you have the 284/484 cam well you own it, but you can do much better. I personally dislike that 284/484, the 292/509 cam is waaaaay better. The stealth heads will bolt on and put you approximately same compression as cast iron #516 heads on your car, but breathe better. That stock 4 bbl intake is not that good and exhaust manifolds are crap. So air in air out and you will make more power. 440 is a crap shoot, low compression is Dyno ok, but they suck on the road/track, so I would not go that route, plus they want a arm and leg plus your first born for some junk they pulled out from a fishing pond
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
Ain't that the truth!
A 400 ci or 440 stroked I don't think makes any difference for a big old Chrysler on the street on pump gas, it just matters what is easily available and cheaper. You could stroke the 383 up to a 496 but know nothing about it.
Some bathroom reading.
www.forabodiesonly.com
www.forbbodiesonly.com
Some bathroom reading.
383 to 496
So I was speaking to somebody up at the local car show and told him I would like a little bit more horsepower out of my 383. He said and suggested the Stroker 496 kit for the 383. So what I'm wanting is a least be up in the 400HP range and just wasn't sure if doing a good set of heads,cam and...
www.forcbodiesonly.com
stroking a 383
I have a 383 I want to put in my car I would like to stroke it can someone please tell me what Factory Chrysler parts I could use 2-stroke a 383 thanks in advance for your help
www.forabodiesonly.com
383 with Stroker kit**PRO'S and CON'S
Do I go ahead and just rebuild the 383 and go .40 over with a good set of pistons with valve reliefs with under .500 lift cam with 906 heads or send extra money for rotating kit or just find a 440 and rebuild??? street driven car 200-miles a month in summer only, 66 Belvedere II very clean...
www.forbbodiesonly.com
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
I will do some more pontificating, because of above mentioned strokers.
Yes the 400 block is desirable because the bulkheads are thicker above the main bearings. Until you get upwards of 700 hp range this means very little.
The 400 and 440 are desirable when striving for these kind of numbers because bore size equals more airflow or bore is not as close to valves so more air can move into the cylinder.
If you only have 4.25" and the valves (side by side) add up to around 4" + gap between you start to get close the the cylinder wall. This makes the air turn again and hampers flow.
All of this is for big power and getting to higher rpm.
The 400/440 will take a overbore to accept a 4.375 piston which is a very common piston size that fits in many stock blocks.
Strokers are nice, but if your only going to put a medium hydraulic flat tappet cam in it, what did you gain? Hey, if you want to strive for 650-700 from a stroked 383 go for it, your not making that with a hydraulic flat tappet.
This is why I suggested just a cam swap and intake and exhaust. Plus everything is reusable on a stroker. The intake would not switch to a 440, but you could skip it if your still not sure you may go that route.
Yes the 400 block is desirable because the bulkheads are thicker above the main bearings. Until you get upwards of 700 hp range this means very little.
The 400 and 440 are desirable when striving for these kind of numbers because bore size equals more airflow or bore is not as close to valves so more air can move into the cylinder.
If you only have 4.25" and the valves (side by side) add up to around 4" + gap between you start to get close the the cylinder wall. This makes the air turn again and hampers flow.
All of this is for big power and getting to higher rpm.
The 400/440 will take a overbore to accept a 4.375 piston which is a very common piston size that fits in many stock blocks.
Strokers are nice, but if your only going to put a medium hydraulic flat tappet cam in it, what did you gain? Hey, if you want to strive for 650-700 from a stroked 383 go for it, your not making that with a hydraulic flat tappet.
This is why I suggested just a cam swap and intake and exhaust. Plus everything is reusable on a stroker. The intake would not switch to a 440, but you could skip it if your still not sure you may go that route.
Cartel
Active Member
Dont mean to hijack but is it worth getting source heads on a non stroked 383?
If you are looking for "flow numbers at .500" lift", probably. If you want a good-driving street car with 2.76 gears, probably not needed. Just my suspicions.
ONE reason to NOT do a stroked 383/400 block is because it's a "low block". Why does that matter?
Several years ago Fryberger and Dulcich did a dyno comparison between a Chevy 383 motor and a Chrysler 383 motor. Same equivalent cams, heads, etc. Above 3000rpm, their dyno curves for horsepower were right together, but the Chrysler had more torque below that. How'd that happen?
Distances between the cyl heads. Chevy, narrower and tighter, when compared to the Chrysler B-block being wider up top. Wider spread means longer intake manifold runners and more lower-rpm torque. Then expand that with a 440 on the RB block.
Consider something else . . . most all of the current astronomical horsepower engines all have a bore size of right at 4.00" diameter. Getting their displacement from a longer stroke. It seems that this bore size has emerged as being more optimum for getting a full-burn of the mixture (wave-front speed being a prime consideration) with more power and fewer emissions. Then add-in better intake ports for better cyl filling.
It used to be that big bores meant big power, for a reasonably-stock engine, with the suspicion that no matter how big the bore was, or how the piston crown was shaped, every spark generated full-power, no matter what. It CAN do such, to a certain extent . . . until you start considering flame front speed and how some of the mixture on the fringes of the chamber might not fully combust BEFORE the piston starts downward after TDC.
In a Darin Morgan YT vid, talking about pro-stock cyl heads, he noted that the bigger the intake valve, the better. The interesting thing was that he said most of the pro-stock heads had a 1.60" exh valve! I know, a pro-stock motor is not a street motor, but some of the same cyl port flow issues can be similar.
There's a video at Nick's Garage YouTube channel on a '73 'Cuda 360. Engine was supposed to have been rebuilt, but the owner wanted to know what it was. Turns out it was not a 360, but a stroker 360 of 408cid. Didn't sound radical in the exhaust note, BUT it hit 425 horsepower on Nick's dyno! At a streetable rpm level, too. That should be B-engine territory! Customer did good!
Personally, I've always liked 383s. Same bore/stroke and rod length/stroke ratios as a 302 Chevrolet! A good blend of power and economy. Just need some modern cam upgrades, cyl head upgrades, and a good exhaust system to work pretty well.
Just some thoughts and observations,
CBODY67
Last edited:
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
As usual way late to this discussion. Having read through all the comments my vote goes to Just Carb's solution. Simply on the basis of economics and how to move all that Cbody mass most efficiently. But like you said if you already have all the fun go fast toys why not leave well enough alone?
Similar threads
