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383. What should I do?

4K views 30 replies 10 participants last post by  BuzzLOL 
#1 ·
Hey everyone. I have found myself between a rock and a hard place. I picked up the truck I have with a 383 in it. I have tried getting a hold of the engine builder but to no avail. I want to reach the 500hp mark for this engine, but it is impossible to know what to do without a baseline of where I am now. Hell, I may already be there. The guy I got the truck from had no idea what was in it as he was the second owner of the engine.

So, my question is, what's the best route to take to determine what I currently have in the truck? Pull the engine and start disassembling it to find what the internals are? I am at a loss here, but I'm not afraid to tear into it and get it done right if I have to. Let me know what your opinions are and I can go from there. Thanks in advance guys!!!
 
#2 ·
yep, if you want to know what you have, then you have to take it apart.

You can check casting/stamp numbers on the heads to find out what they are, as well as the carb and intake, and you can measure the cam by just taking off the valve cover. the compression you can guess at with the cam specs and the cranking compression figure.

but to be exactly spot on you'll need to disassemble it, it could very well be nothing more than a junkyard 305 with a cam and a dress up kit.
 
#3 ·
yep, if you want to know what you have, then you have to take it apart.

You can check casting/stamp numbers on the heads to find out what they are, as well as the carb and intake, and you can measure the cam by just taking off the valve cover. the compression you can guess at with the cam specs and the cranking compression figure.

but to be exactly spot on you'll need to disassemble it, it could very well be nothing more than a junkyard 305 with a cam and a dress up kit.
That's kinda what I figured. Not a big deal. I have all the time in the world. I sure hope it's not a 305 haha. I guess time will tell.
 
#8 ·
every 350 with vortecs and a limpy hydraulic cam makes 400 hp,so a 383 with cast heads should make 500 hp,because 383s are magic,,,

OP,Im not dissing your truck but it takes quality parts to make 500 hp. 750 or bigger carb,good heads and compression,good roller cam,very good headers... If you have cast iron heads Im guessing lower than 500 hp without even knowing what else is there,,,

Take it apart
 
#18 ·
The plot thickens...we have the good old 461 "Fuelies" in the mix. Not the best, but not the worst you could do.

500 hp capability is potentially there, but needs a very good head porter to get you there.
I don't have to get to the magic 500hp number. Honestly, I have some money to spend on the engine, but not a small fortune. I would be happy with a reliable 400-450hp engine when all is said and done.
 
#19 ·
I have a couple of questions that are bugging my mind:

-What is the purpose of this build/research, is it just to get the 500hp?
-Does it run good or does it need overhaul?
-Don`t you like how it performs or just want more power?
-Is there a reliable chassis dyno that you can get it dynoed and figure how much power it has?

This is just a start before going in the parts needed to build a 500 hp 383.
 
#23 ·
I have a couple of questions that are bugging my mind:

-What is the purpose of this build/research, is it just to get the 500hp?
-Does it run good or does it need overhaul?
-Don`t you like how it performs or just want more power?
-Is there a reliable chassis dyno that you can get it dynoed and figure how much power it has?

This is just a start before going in the parts needed to build a 500 hp 383.
The purpose of this build/research: I want a reliable ~500hp (could be less, I'm fine with that) engine to drive around as a fun toy.

It runs well now. As far as I know, the engine build has less than 5,000 miles on it. But, without contacting the original builder, I don't know how true that is.

I seems to perform well. Like I said, I don't have to hit the 500hp mark, but I would like to be in the area.

I'm not sure if there is a reliable dyno in my area, but I can get to one within 3 hours of my house.
 
#22 ·
As a side note the man who operated this final step was John Racin (pronounced ray-seen). This guy was an onry character who smoked about 3 packs a day, unfiltered camels. He was so damn stubborn that when the hoist would jam he'd load the engines in by hand. Now I've lifted a sbc by hand before and they are some heavy engines. He did it so often that the discs in his spine were all out of wack and he developed a curved back. Well, naturally a guy like this doesn't take well to sitting around and engines weren't coming out in a real regular order. So when the engine production slowed down he'd start just running cylinder heads and intake manifolds through the corvette, he'd just lay a pile of them in there and pull them out. Didn't make much sense but it lead to a lot more "corvette heads" and "vette intakes". Some of the crew that had been there for many years also called these gimmicked parts "Racin heads" or "Racin intakes" or "Racin vette engines". Others called them by john's nickname, "camel back".

John's since passed away but many people still refer to all the new parts that are passed off in this manner as "racin parts".

True story.
 
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#27 ·
That's a pretty good idea. I guess I didn't really think of that. Sounds like it may be time to take my first run down the strip.

Sounds to me like you already got what you want except that magical 500hp dyno paper;)

Engine runs and drives good, if it sounds healthy, no leaks and noises after 5000 miles then maybe this time you got what you paid for and it was built properly.
I sure hope that it was built properly haha. Like you said, it runs and drives just fine, so maybe I am just being overly cautious. I am going to look into seeing where I can find a dyno to get it on and see where it's at. Thanks for everyone's replies. I appreciate them all.
 
#29 ·
. Well, you got the good block... the -010 block... and the good heads... the 461's... maybe even the 461X's with even bigger ports... they can be ported to 500HP... with properly sized cam and compression ratio...

. Pulling a valve cover you can measure valve lift and get a good idea of cam size/duration...

. A wire down a sparkplug hole can determine crankshaft stroke... most 383's are 3 3/4" stroke... new GM 383's are 3.80 stroke... but there are other uncommon ways to get to 383"...

. A compression test gives an indication of engine condition and a hint at power...

. Time from 0 to 60 MPH plus your vehicle's weight, tranny, and gearing will give us a clue to power...

. What RPMs will it rev to cleanly/strongly while accelerating? (BTW, don't waste time going to a strip or dyno if it won't rev to max RPMs with breaking up/misfiring... prolly needs a tuneup)
 
#30 ·
if it runs strong, runs good, why do you think you need/want 500 ish hp..
have you ever owned anything with anything close to 450hp??
and in a truck??? I'd spend my time doing a leak down test, a compression test wet and dry
a tune up.. then work on getting truck to put the power to the ground.. without spinning the tires.. from launch, 1st to 2nd shift, 2nd to 3rd, THEN go back and recurve the timing curve, and play with carb tuning.. you might have more than enough engine NOW.. if you can't get this ones power to the ground, a 500hp one will only be worse.. ya the bragging rights that you have 500hp sounds great until the person in a 350 hp truck smokes you.. then it's not so cool anymore
 
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