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350 or 383 in 3650 lb. car ?

916 views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  F-1Rodder 
#1 ·
Do I build for horsepower or torque in a 3650 lb. car with T350 Trans and 3.31 rear gears. A buddy of mine has a 383 with a mild cam that puts out about 425 ft. lbs @ 3500 RPM but only around 320 peak horsepower. I can buy this or a 350 with bigger horsepower numbers but only around 380 torque. I figured the bigger torque numbers would be preferable with this combo. But the 350 is about a thousand bucks cheaper. Is it worth the extra cash for the extra torque?
 
#2 ·
320 hp from a 383 isn't much and It would be pretty easy to get more. My guess is that you would have to change the heads and maybe the cam. The 383 gets its low end grunt from the larger rotating mass. Actually, the torque should pretty well be availabler down much lower in the rpm scale. And, it is the low rpm torque that gets the car moving from a still state.

I have built the 383 and it is amazing how much immediate power there is. I think the 383 has more potential.
 
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