well ive bought a complete stock engine and and want to build a stroker but my question is, is it worth going to a 396 over a 383. i mean its only a 13 CI diference is it worth the extra money.

my long run goal is mid low 11s would a 383 get me there. and it will be fully forged.

 

Dollar for dollar, I'd do the 383 every time.

 

396 all the way!! i just got mine and i love every minute of it!

 

well heres another question. how safe is a .060 over bore to make a 388. is it any more or less dependable

 

You're wondering what kind of difference 13 inches will make? What kind of difference will 5 inches make? Bore the thing the minimum it needs to be bored to get the cylinders straight and go from there.

 

.060 over is way too much. The cyl walls will crack. .030 is the way to go. Any more then that and you are risking it. sbc blocks are even known to crack at .030.

i'd say do 396. the only thing differnt that has to be done is a little more clearence for the rod end bolts. Plus a little more money for parts.

 

do you even have to bore them at all. couldnt you use the stock size piston. that would be like a 381 or something right.

 

If you are asking dollar for dollar what should you do.

Depends on the budget.

Heads, Intakes and Camshafts makes power, while a bottom end holds it. Sometimes a bad 355 is going to make you more power for the money.

My philosophy when a customer says I have $xxxx to spend is that we figure out the best way to make the power and then the best way to hold the power and look for the best balance in between.

So if you go 383 vs 396, a 383 on the same budget will kill the 396.

The reason is because the off the self parts for a 383 are so available. And 3.4% more cubes is really not worth the extra money. Where 3.4% more head flow is. Especially average head flow. You can spend as little as $1000 on a 383 rotating assembly where a 396 is about $500 more at the minimum. On top of that you have a little more spent on block prep for the bigger setup and usually a Canton pan to clear the rods. It can easily add up to about $900-$1000 more, which turns out to be the cost of a set of bare AFR 195's. Since you're going to have head work done, and you need new valves, new springs, valve train parts etc... you might as well have all of that done on good heads. That just MHO, some people will argue that but the work required to make a stock casting go that far and then on top of it to put it on a 396 is not the best combo to make the most HP per dollar.

If you have a really big budget where a 396 isin't going to ever hurt it then I just say swap to a SBC or a LS1. You'll make some stupid power per dollar if you are changing everything anyways.

Bret

 

for 383 do you have to buy a new oil pan.

 

No. You can clearance the stock pan if you want.

 

eagle offers a 383 or 396 rotating assem. for the same price racer net is 1825.00 that gets you pistons,rods,crank,brgs.,rings its what they call a comp. assem there good crank,rods and srp pistons h brgs. and good rings do ylou have a good top end cam heads that will also affect price give you local parts store a call and ask them about the eagle assem. you will not be upset

 

I didnt have to clearance my stock pan for my 383 at all, I only had to trim a little on the Milodon Diamond tray.
I used the Eagle Kit that you get from Summit with the KB sig series 18cc dish pistons, Eagle steel S/R rods and the cast steel crank. The block had to be slightly clearanced and the rods just needed breathed upon to clear the cam. I had it balanced with the stock flexplate and dampener. and total machine bill for the shortblock was 450$. It needed only 2 small peices of mallory metal. Thus for 1600$ (I assembled) I got my shortblock.

 

I bought my car with a stroker already, but if I had to do it I would go 3.875" stroke with .060" over bore.

Just watch that wrist pin location.

I have been running .063" over bore for a few years now...never had an issue, ever. Ever sleeve one of these motors and you'll see how much actual material there is.

 

Remember Buddy.....I just did mine. The 383 for the money was better to go with and I don't regret it. As for the pan.....a lot of people just "massage" it. I had clearance issues with it and decided to get a Canton (BEUUUUTIFUL) pan that fit like a glove. I went with it because if you go with the stock pan your windage tray will not fit either. A lot of people just took theirs out but I believe it should be in there. JMHO.

Oh yeah....you don't wanna bore over 30. Some guys who just went 40 over were cracking their walls.

 

I know many people that have went .060" with no problems. If your cylinder bores are cracking at .040", which is only .020" per side, you need to find another machine shop...heck, old 400" where 4.125" bore stock.