[Novaman78]

I am going to start building a 383 (actually 385) stroker here soon and i would like some tips and suggestions from guys who have built them before. Here are the engine components i have came up with so far.
350 four bolt main built into a 385 stroker (4.040 bore, 3.750 stroke)
Intake valves are 1.94 in
exhaust valves are 1.50 in
9.8:1 - 10.0:1 compression ratio with KB hyperutectic 383 pistons
Small tube headers with mufflers
Single plane intake
.488 intake / .510 exhaust lift cam
234 intake / 244 exhaust @.050 lift
aluminum roller rockers with 1.5 ratio
I don't have the specifics on the heads yet but i will et them soon. If anyone has anything to add or change please let me know.

 

[killerformula]

what heads are those? 1.50 exhaust valves are kinda smallish

 

[Novaman78]

Im not sure. A buddy of mine has them and said if i wanted them he would take 200 bucks. He told me what they were but i forgot.
I think he said they were like the Gm 462 heads but better flowing.

 

[killerformula]

you have a pretty healthy cam picked out, I would have no smaller than 2.02 valves and 1.60 exhaust

 

[Novaman78]

Ok. What brand and size cc heads would you choose.
Here is the air flow for the heads my buddy has.
intake
lift cfm
.050 18

.100 50

.200 119

.300 167

.400 198

.500 212

.600 218


exhaust
lift cfm
.050 27

.100 54

.200 91

.300 121

.400 134

.500 139

.600 14

 

[killerformula]

wow those are pretty good numbers. I use darts on mine which perform pretty good. AFR's are the best if you've got the munie.

K

 

[Novaman78]

Which darts did you use. I was looking at the Dart iron eagles (here ) or the ones my buddy has.

 

[firestone]

I would consider running a Performer RPM intake manifold. The single plane is too much for that combonation.

Good luck
Adam

 

[camaroman7d]

You didn't mention what the goals or what kind of use the vehicle is going to see.

You also didn't say what kind of single plane intake.

I see a couple of issue (parts that don't match well). The "small" tube headers and single plane do not go together well, nor does the cam and those heads.

You basically have two high RPM power producers (cam and intake) and a couple low RPM torque parts (heads, headers,)

The head flow numbers at .600 don't do you any good with the cam you have picked (it's not a bad cam), I built a 385 with a very similar cam but, those heads would not be my choice. The valves are too small to feed 385ci (IMO). If you plan to run the car on pump gas with that compression you might want to think about aluminum heads. You may be able to pull it off with iron heads but, you will be pushing it.

While AFR heads do perform well to say they are the "best" is not correct. There are several heads out there that will out perform the AFRs if you compare them in an apples to apples situation. The AFR heads are ported from the factory that's why they get the flow numbers they do. A decent port job on a set of Trick Flows can out perform the AFRs. With that said I chose to go with Dart Pro 1's on my 385, they are ported and work very well.

To make any real suggestions we need to know a few things, What kind of car is it going in (how heavy)? Automatic or manual trans? If automatic what stall? What rear gears are you running? All these things will determine what parts will work well. If you want a hard running car it is all about combination, meaning picking parts that work well together.

Sorry to ask so many questions but, these things must be known if you want good recommendations and not just guesses.

Royce

 

[Novaman78]

The intake i was planning on running was the edelbrock torquer intake. I would rather have gobs of torque im not to much on speed i just like the feel of your head smacking the back of the seat when you punch it. This engine is going into a 78 Nova, im not sure on the weigh. I have a th 350 trans and im going to add probly a 2800 stall and i have 3.08 rear gears. Any thing else?

Found it, the car weights 3264lbs.

 

[killerformula]

I'd get some steeper gears, but you may not have to go too much. Definately get a posi.

Bigger valves would be nice too, but if you've got those flow numbers with the size valves that are in it, they're pretty respectable and would make power. Perhaps a ported set of trickflows would outperform the AFRs.... if you have time, money and knowhow to port them! Great thing about the AFR's is that they flow out of the box pretty respectably, which is what I think this guy needs. If I"m not mistaken, they outflow the Pro-1 heads by a pretty good margin (pro1 and IE's are virtually the same, flow numbers are off by 2-5 CFM if I remember correctly...

All in all you're on the right track. Check out my project journal if you want to see a similar build-

K

 

[1BAD80]

For the money, a crate motor may be a good idea. :thumbup:

 

[camaroman7d]

killerformula,
Maybe you missed the part where I said my Pro1's are fully ported? I didn't bash the AFRs I said they are good heads but, they get their numbers because they are ported. This is not a bad thing it is just a fact. If you don't mind waiting 6-10 weeks for your heads (which is typical for AFRs) then that's great. I am just not a great fan of them it's my personal opinion. There is also more to a good set of heads than flow numbers.

Now back to the original post.

If you choose to run the heads your buddy has for you, then the single plane intake would be a bad choice (IMO) also if you are trying to make low end torque, a single plane is not the best way to do it. A smaller cam will also give you more low end. Those head however will make plenty of torque down low. I think you should shoot for a RPM range of 1500-5500 with those heads and the gear you have. A stall of 2000 should be about right. With the smallish heads (for a 385) and small tube headers you should make plenty of torque but, the engine is not going to want to RPM very good, this is why I suggested a 5500 RPM limit. Pick a cam and intake that will make power/torque in the RPM range and you will be in good shape.

Royce

 

[killerformula]

Sounds like you're on the right track with this build. I agree with Royce almost completely. Dual plane is going to be the way to go if you are truely interested in torque. A mild stall as royce suggested is also a pretty perfect compliment. I would also suggest a smaller cam if you're interested in a torquey ride, and those heads you speced will work well 268 split duration comps would work with them, check it out. I don't think you need Pro 1's or AFR's for this build.

Your 3.08 gear may work well for this build, but I'm almost positive this is an open unit. If you are going to have a slight stall and a motor that's building torque quickly, I really think its in your best interest to scrap this open unit. When you make the change I wouldn't step up past 3.23's or 3.42's. Your car is light and your motor is going to make plenty of torque, not to mention they'd be great gears to use in a driver (considering I'm sure it will be on the highway from time to time).

Royce, perhaps AFR heads aren't the best flowing heads out there, but they do fulfill a couple of valuable criteria. First off, they come ported, which is a big plus. They only cost about 100 dollars more than an unported set of Pro-1 heads and top out at flow numbers that are on average (using memory here...) about 30 cfm higher. Dart heads tend to be pretty meaty, so I'm sure your port job is excellent (judging from the quality of the rest of your build!). But for a guy who very probably is doing his first build, wants the best bang for his buck and doesn't want to pay 600 dollars for a pro port job and doesn't have a clue how to do it himself, AFR's are great heads! I totally agree with you when you say there's more to a set of heads than numbers, and that's why the AFR's are good. They've proven that they have good turbulence, great velocity and good top end flow. For a guy like you, Royce, I'm sure they seem a little cheesy, and we all know who they're marketed to (bolt-on wizards, which is pretty much what I am so far). For guys like you who can do a great port job, know exactly what they want and how to get it from their heads, they're not that wonderful. But if you're in the market for an aluminum set of heads and want the biggest bang for your buck from an out of box set of heads, AFR's are pretty much unbeatable. I guess what I mean is, Darts adn AFR's are kinda like apples and oranges. Maybe thats what you meant anyway-

K

 

[camaroman7d]

Killer,
I totally agree with you. The advice you gave above is exactly what I would suggest as well. That is also a very nice cam for what he is trying to accomplish. The gears you suggested along with a posi is a must (at the very least a posi) with all the torque he is going to have, he is going to do nothing but fry one tire with an open diff.

We are on the same page and you are right about the AFR's they are a great value for someone that want's bolt on power. They are very good heads in general. I just hear too many people thinking they are the best heads on the planet. I see now you didn't mean it that way. No disrespect intended.


Royce

 

[Novaman78]

So what you guys are saying is with the setup i have posted to get rid of the single plane intake and get a dual plane , get a posi and a set of 3.42 gears and 2000 stall. Am i right?

 

[gpeak]

Guess that about sums it up....lol

 

[camaroman7d]

Yes, except you left out picking a different cam. Killer listed a perfect cam for your combo. 3.23-3.42 gears (something in that range) along with a posi would be perfect.

On the intake, go with a dual plane that has an RPM range of 1500-5500.

Royce

 

[killerformula]

yup, sounds like a great build. You'll get good gas mileage and plenty of power. You're going to enjoy it, I promise!

K

 

[Novaman78]

All right thanks guys. If i were to go with the dart iron eagles these Would my setup still be pretty good or what would i change there? Or what set of dart heads would you guys suggest? Killer you said a 268 split duration comp cam. What is the number on that do you know?

Ok i did some research. Im going to stick with my buddies heads. Ok now on the intake Firestone recommended the Performer rpm intake by edelbrock. Well Edelbrock recommends my the .488 / .510 cam that i chose. Should i still go smaller on the cam size or go as they recommended?