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383 crate motor

5K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  69er 
#1 ·
competition products has a 4 bolt 383 crate motor with aluminum canfield heads "195cc". they are 64 cc heads and yield a 9:7:1comprassion ratio 1 piece oil pan gasket, cloyes double roller timing chain, 202 160 valves,melling high volume oil pump w/ pan. externally balanced and topped off with a timing cover.by the way the heads also have a sergie 5 angle valve job on them. it comes with a howards cams 224/234 at .050 hydraulic cam, with performance push rods. the rotating assembly is all scat 4340. it goes for $3000 dollars, is this a good deal or should i consider another alternative. it comes with no warranty at all because it is a racing engine. what do you think?
 
#2 ·
The price is probably OK. Get a parts list from a online parts seller and add it up. Ask for the names of some people you can contact for reference.
I have bought crate engines before. I always disassemble them (I ask for the gaskets seperate) and clean them thoroughly. I check each component to verify that I'm getting what I paid for. I have found that mass produced engines are very dirty. They are sometimes dry assembled.
I assemble the engine with assembly lube, checking ring gaps, clearances, cylinder hone, and plastigage bearing clearances, I check piston deck height, block surface and heads for warpage. I've probably forgot something but you get the idea.
When you buy an engine without warranty, the only thing you can do to protect yourself is make sure it was assembled right. If you can read and pass high school math you are smart enough to read a manual. Even if you have never done it before, it is likely you will do a better job than someone working in a factory.

backyard71nova said:
competition products has a 4 bolt 383 crate motor with aluminum canfield heads "195cc". they are 64 cc heads and yield a 9:7:1comprassion ratio 1 piece oil pan gasket, cloyes double roller timing chain, 202 160 valves,melling high volume oil pump w/ pan. externally balanced and topped off with a timing cover.by the way the heads also have a sergie 5 angle valve job on them. it comes with a howards cams 224/234 at .050 hydraulic cam, with performance push rods. the rotating assembly is all scat 4340. it goes for $3000 dollars, is this a good deal or should i consider another alternative. it comes with no warranty at all because it is a racing engine. what do you think?
 
#3 ·
383

do you think i should just build a 383 out of the 3970010 350 i already have 2 bolt main, would this be better? there is a local hot rod shop that builds engines,they are top gun racing. i have no clue what it would cost to do this.i want a solid engine that will run for years to come. p.s. what about the 5 angle valve job, is this a good idea..............................help!
 
#4 ·
I just finished building my .060 over 402. I have done numerous engines over the years. I have a engine machine shop with a local high performance following. The high performance part is not really necessary but a reputable business that you can verify their quality work is essential.
I would use a 4 bolt main truck block. These are still in plentiful supply and relative inexpensive. send the block to the machine shop and pay him to check the mains and cam journals and block deck surfaces straightness. Have him check the crank centerline to deck. Everything should be within tolerance. Have him bore the block as necessary and hone it. Have him vat the block and install all new screw in oil gallery plugs and brass freeze plugs. and cam bearings, almost forgot.

Buy a crank, rods and pistons and moly rings as a balanced set. Have your guy fit the rings and set up uniform clearances on your bearings within factory spec.

Buy your heads complete with valve springs compatible with your cam. You can't save money here by buying them bare. A 3 angle valve job is fine for a street car and most racers. I thought a 3 angle was a waste of money for a street engine because you are talking about a very small amount of flow for the dollar spent.

Decide what you are going to use your engine for. If it is a street engine with a few blasts at the strip once a month, don't waste you money on a bilit crank. I like scat or renegade forged cranks. They are cheap and are better than most. You can build a pretty strong engine with a 350 forged truck crank. Buy scat or renegade H-beam rods. These are cheap and stronger than you will likely ever need. Buy Forged pistons. This is the most expensive part but the most critical. If you buy forged pistons, rods and crank, you can plop a blower or big nitrous on it any time as long as you keep the compression around 10 to 1.

Buy a quality set of aluminum heads. The old style heads, even double humpers are poor breathers compared to modern heads. I have a set of 65 dbl hump heads in the garage. They are so tiny. I will use them on a 32 coupe that will never be raced.

With all this said, if you are not going to race this thing much and never use nitrous, use the block you have, a stock crank, stock forged rods, hyperutechnic pistons and some iron dart heads. This will build you a stong engine that will be fun for less than $2,000 total.

Just don't ever drop one of the pistons on the concrete. It will shatter like glass. Like a dummy, I bought not one but 2 like this, this year.

I'm sure I missed something but get you a good book and read it thoroughly before you start.

backyard71nova said:
do you think i should just build a 383 out of the 3970010 350 i already have 2 bolt main, would this be better? there is a local hot rod shop that builds engines,they are top gun racing. i have no clue what it would cost to do this.i want a solid engine that will run for years to come. p.s. what about the 5 angle valve job, is this a good idea..............................help!
 
#5 ·
To start with I really enjoy building my own engines, from the planning to assembly to hearing your baby cry for the first time, Chocktaw knows exactly what I mean. Now lets say you do buy that "racing engine" w/ no warranty, you have no idea how it was put together or the quality of parts that were used unless as said before you tear it down. Worst scenario....first time you wing it........POW!!! What recourse do you have?? None. Best scenario, the engine is put together perfectly with quality parts and runs great, you win, But......its not your baby. Do yourself a favor, if you are knowledgeable enough build the engine you have wheather a 350 or 383, you,ll enjoy it so much more, good luck with whichever you choose......Dave
 
#6 ·
Dave is right, I remember one of the most exciting things ever was when I was 16 years old, I bought a 56 Ford for $40 that had a rod knocking. I bought a junkyard engine and installed it myself in my parent's driveway, With no experience, just a Motors Auto repair manual, When the engine fired for the first time, I was like Dr. Frankinstein in the old black and white movie. "Its ALIVE! Its ALIVE"

327NUT said:
To start with I really enjoy building my own engines, from the planning to assembly to hearing your baby cry for the first time, Chocktaw knows exactly what I mean. Now lets say you do buy that "racing engine" w/ no warranty, you have no idea how it was put together or the quality of parts that were used unless as said before you tear it down. Worst scenario....first time you wing it........POW!!! What recourse do you have?? None. Best scenario, the engine is put together perfectly with quality parts and runs great, you win, But......its not your baby. Do yourself a favor, if you are knowledgeable enough build the engine you have wheather a 350 or 383, you,ll enjoy it so much more, good luck with whichever you choose......Dave
 
#8 ·
We build a lot of the 383's in the off season when every body is racing and we try to find the truck blocks that have the 2482 center caps on them as the are the GM performance cap if we can't find one we will convert the 4 bolt block to 3 center billet caps or even go to splayed caps in the center but the first thing we do is sonic test the cylinders for proper thickness.

Here is a link to a 383 we bulilt for a customer and tis engie had the AFR's but we have used the 906 vortec casting with very similar results and we used the same cam as well.
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106715&highlight=DYNO
 
#9 ·
Choctaw Bob said:
When the engine fired for the first time, I was like Dr. Frankinstein in the old black and white movie. "Its ALIVE! Its ALIVE"
Choctaw Bob is right...build it your self. Not only is that first fire-up a rush, you get the same feeling cruisn' and listening to that sweet sound and knowing it is something you created yourself. :thumbup:
 
#10 ·
Look at the cam that CNC NE used in the engine that made all that torque. Try to duplicate that grind. Just remember if there is any doubt, less duration is usually better on the street. You are looking for torque and a flat torque band that starts around 2,000 RPM and keeps it up til 5,000. High RPM Horsepower numbers don't mean a thing on the street.

backyard71nova said:
thank you guys from the bottom of my heart, i'll just take the time to build my own engine, aleady bought the 383 embelems for my 70 nova, now just got to get to work, what do yall think about a 268 advertised duration cam?
 
#13 ·
I agreee with 327 nut that good vacuum is essential in a good street engine. If you run a Edelbrock or old Carter/Rochester Carb, you need a minimum of 12 to 15 inches of vacuum to hold the rods down so it won't flood. You can get by on a little less but not as reliably in all situations. I have 2 Edelbrocks that I tried to run with a 300 deg Comp cam that I owned. It made about 5 inches of manifold vacuum which wasn't enough with the lightest springs.

327NUT said:
Again .... for a good reliable, STREETABLE DAILY DRIVER 383 that has enough vacuum to work your power brakes I would recommend the Comp Cams XE268H.
 
#16 ·
383

the block is a 1974 3970010 thAT CAME OUT OF A 1974 C-10 PICK UP, I REALLY AM CONSIDERING THE CAM YOU RECOMENDED. CR WILL BE AROUND 9:7:1 TO 9:5:1 DID I MENTION YOU GUYS RULE! :D I HEARD THAT THE 2 BOLT WILL HOLD UP JUST AS WELL AS A 4 BOLT ON THE STREET, AND WHAT ABOUT THE CAM? I DON'T WANT TO BE DUMB, BUT WILL IT HAVE A NICE SOUND TO IT. I PLAN ON PUTTING HEADERS AND SUPER 40 SERIES MUFFLERS WITH TURN DOWNS RIGHT AFTER THE MUFFLER. THE COLOR IS GOING TO BE 2005 COLORADO, SUNBURST ORANGE " COPPER COLORED" WITH A 4 INCH COWL HOOD. BRAKES ARE MANUAL AND WILL STAY THAT WAY, THE ONLY THING POWER IS THE STEERING. I HAVE TO CONVERT THIS CAR TO HEI, BUT MSD SOUNDS REALLY NICE TOO. HAVE A SET OF AIR SHOCKS FOR THE BACK. I HAVE ALOT OF WORK TO DO ON THIS CAR :pain: I'M THINKING ABOUT 3 YRS TO FINISH.
 
#17 ·
383v8 small chevy

backyard71nova said:
do you think i should just build a 383 out of the 3970010 350 i already have 2 bolt main, would this be better? there is a local hot rod shop that builds engines,they are top gun racing. i have no clue what it would cost to do this.i want a solid engine that will run for years to come. p.s. what about the 5 angle valve job, is this a good idea..............................help!
What are you going to do with this motor is the first thing you need to ask your self? Are you going to run a manual or automatic trans. If automatic do you want to run a stall converter? If you want a good lumpy sounding cam in the motor things of this nature will most of the time become a factor! what rear end set up are you running, and last but not least what gear ratio! hope this is a little help cwptaz!
 
#18 ·
yes, that is a good post. i think you have some good advice, here. i personally don't have an issue with the $3000 engine. i think it is a great price and would like to know who is selling it. canfield heads scream and the scat rotating assembly isn't cheap either. building your own is cool too. the essence of hotrodding. the advice here too was good, you cant go wrong with the xe268. at least for a 350. i think for a 383 i would move up to the xe274 if it was me. but i'm alittle. . . well, tired of going slow. i also agree with you as far as a 2 bolt being as good as a 4 bolt. for the power levels your talking about and for a sbc.
 
#19 ·
This has been fun. If God allows, we (or/and someone else) will be here to enjoy your build with you. You have the basis for a good street engine. The 2 bolt block will give you good service up to a point. You have time to think about the choice of all the components as you define in your own mind what you will expect the car to do for you and how much money you want to spend. In the end, for most of us, the money always rules:) I never have more than I can spend on racin stuff. If you are poorer than you would like to be, like me ,It will be the same for you. Your choice for compression ratio is good for a street engine. You should be able to get by with regular gas. One of the things one of the posters was trying to say is that a shorter duration cam will build cylinder pressure while a longer duration cam will let some pressure off. That is why an engine that has a little too much pinging with a part throttle high gear load will improve if you retard the cam 2 to 4 degrees. You can achieve the same thing with a longer duration cam. You choice of cam seems like a good one to me. You will have to balance gear ratio, converter stall speed, and car weight with the cam duration and lift. Sometimes you can build torque with more lift and less duration.
Watching you do this is going to be a lot of fun. Take lots of photos so we can share it with you.


backyard71nova said:
the block is a 1974 3970010 thAT CAME OUT OF A 1974 C-10 PICK UP, I REALLY AM CONSIDERING THE CAM YOU RECOMENDED. CR WILL BE AROUND 9:7:1 TO 9:5:1 DID I MENTION YOU GUYS RULE! :D I HEARD THAT THE 2 BOLT WILL HOLD UP JUST AS WELL AS A 4 BOLT ON THE STREET, AND WHAT ABOUT THE CAM? I DON'T WANT TO BE DUMB, BUT WILL IT HAVE A NICE SOUND TO IT. I PLAN ON PUTTING HEADERS AND SUPER 40 SERIES MUFFLERS WITH TURN DOWNS RIGHT AFTER THE MUFFLER. THE COLOR IS GOING TO BE 2005 COLORADO, SUNBURST ORANGE " COPPER COLORED" WITH A 4 INCH COWL HOOD. BRAKES ARE MANUAL AND WILL STAY THAT WAY, THE ONLY THING POWER IS THE STEERING. I HAVE TO CONVERT THIS CAR TO HEI, BUT MSD SOUNDS REALLY NICE TOO. HAVE A SET OF AIR SHOCKS FOR THE BACK. I HAVE ALOT OF WORK TO DO ON THIS CAR :pain: I'M THINKING ABOUT 3 YRS TO FINISH.
 
#21 ·
Bubba, you said a mouthfull! You got that right big time. Sell it to a neighbor and you drive the guy nutts with ideas. He drives you nuts with the dumb stuff he does to your baby. Better to part it out down to the smallest parts.

jray said:
First thing to get firmly implanted in your mind is that you are never "finished" with a project until you sell it....preferably to someone in another state so you won't see it again and buy it back :D
 
#22 ·
i've been posting for about a year now and it seems i can never make up my mind, but i have to say all you guts have been great! got a 383 bottom end with scat assembly, and flat top pistons for 1500 bucks! now i'm looking at heads and it seems that the canfields are the best bang for the buck. i'm running this in a 1970 nova, and i'm going to run the xe274 with 2200 stall.with 373 gears with a turbo 350. what do yall think?
 
#23 · (Edited)
Comp cams says the you should use a 2200 plus converter for this cam. It looks like this cam may make enough vacuum also. A good choice for a street /strip cam.

backyard71nova said:
i've been posting for about a year now and it seems i can never make up my mind, but i have to say all you guts have been great! got a 383 bottom end with scat assembly, and flat top pistons for 1500 bucks! now i'm looking at heads and it seems that the canfields are the best bang for the buck. i'm running this in a 1970 nova, and i'm going to run the xe274 with 2200 stall.with 373 gears with a turbo 350. what do yall think?
 
#26 ·
xe274

I agonized over the cam selection on my 427 vette for the longest time. In the end I chose the xe268, 2200-2400 stall in case I step up to the 274 in the future, and some flowmaster 40s: it sounds good and runs great. Gobs of low end and plenty of power for this old man. Of course I cheated and had someone put the engine together. I ordered a kit thru PAW. I had some iron heads. Next time, God willing, I want to suck it up, and put it together myself for that rush you guys are talking about. :thumbup: I saw my dad put together an 1959 XK150 Jaguar dual overhead cam motor years ago and have wanted to build a motor ever since. Still got time, but I've got to get my new garage built to do it.
 
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