would it be better to use a 5.7in rod or a 6.0?

 

If you use a 5.7 then it ends up being a 381 or something like that.

If you want the true 383 uses the 6" rods, 4.030 bore, and a 3.75 crank.

 

I dont think that rods mean anything as far as ci goes. The only thing that is going to affect that is the bore size. I am by no means the expert on this but if you are going to keep this beast on the street I would say go with the 5.7s.

 

Your cubic inches is determined by multiplying the bore size, stroke, and number of cylinders.

Or something along those lines. If the rod length doesn't affect the cubic inches it will definatley effect your stroke effeciency and compression.

I built mine with 6" rods and the only problem I ran into was hitting the water jackets during clearancing. That was fixeed by cementing the bottom half of the block.

BTW... My motor is going to be a daily driver making ~420 RWHP.

Its your call! I would go with the 6" rods though. It gives that little extra adge of performance.

 

If you have to buy rods anyway, then go with the 6"ers. It doesn't cost much more and the rings will seal better and last longer, although you won't see any real power gains, as you may have heard.

The type and manufacturer of the rods has a lot to do with clearance issues in a stroker. Some rods require very little clearance- some rods you'll strike water, hit a cam lobe, etc.

Before you lay out money for the rods talk to someone who has actually already built a 383 with them and ask about what learance problems they encountered. I have used stock 5.7" rods and they clear relatively easy.

 

i used 6" eagle h-beams with an eagle crank in my 2-bolt 010 block. had to clearance the oil pan rails and bottoms of the cylinder walls but didn't get into any jackets. they also clear non-small base circle cams by a mile so long as its not a roller cam. the only rods i know of that clear roller cams are those $800 crower sportsman rods.

 

The 6" rods are better for the rings and cylinder walls, but are also harder to clearance for and leave less deck height on the pistons which means your wristpins will be all up in the oil control ring.....as far as I know this hasn't caused anyone problems but its an idea I just don't like the sound of.

 

From what i've heard, the only reason to use 6 in rods is the fact that it lowers rotating mass. I'm about to build a mild stroker and i plan on using the 5.7 rods so i don't have to mess with the block clearancing.