I have a 96 SS and am currently pulling the engine out. I have a brand new water pump, Optispark, long tube headers, ignition coil, plug wires, spark plugs. I'm pulling the motor because it has 140K on it and just want it to be done right when I get it back on the road. What's my best way to build a 383 with around 400 to 450 horse and 420 tq or better. Should I be looking into 4 bolt main? Forged crank? Flat top pistons? I'm keeping my stock 3.23 as well. What kind of Cam should I go with for good bottom end and reasonable driveability? What brand names should I be looking at for heads and ect? Sorry for the paragraph but I'm really lost in this dept

 

I'm sure a few people will be jumping in here to give you some help, but I would first do a search for "383 build" as this is a frequently ask question.

That should pull up quite a few threads with replies and give you a chance to do some reading.

Then, everyone is going to want to know how much you are willing to spend and how the car is going to be used, i.e. daily driver, weekend only, street/strip, etc?

Just for reference, on my first 383 build, I told the engine builder I wanted low end torque and wouldn't be revving over 6000 rpm. We went with 16 cc dish pistons (head combustion chambers cc'ed out at 53.6 cc) for a compression ratio of about 10.6:1.

Heads were mildly ported and we went with a CC305 cam on a 112 lsa. We went with forged internals and left the block 2 bolt. We used 30lb injectors and a 54mm ASM throttle body. Ed Wright did a mail order tune.

That was a fairly mild build, was very streetable and made 365 rwhp and 388 rwtq.

If I was doing it for the first time, I would probably get with Lloyd Elliott or AI, tell them what your goals are and get a heads/cam package if that is in your budget. I'd also go ahead and convert over to 4 bolt.

Lastly, start saving for drivetrain and rearend modifications as that stock stuff isn't going to hold up for long.

 

Find a setup that works and duplicate it. That way there's no guesswork. Often times my car is used as an example of what works with no elaborate fancy parts.

And do you want 400WHP or CHP? Huge difference there.

 

Joe, I notice that you ran the time in your sig in freezing cold weather. What does your car run in the summer?

 

I was running 11.0x consistently in 900+ DA at Atco and Cecil (there are vids on YouTube). It took a 42 degree day and a new round of suspension improvements to bust into the 10s.

 

I have not run the car in anything hotter than 80 degrees or so. Untuned on a hot humid day with NUMEROUS other issues it went 11.5 @ 118.

 

The car is going to be a mix of weekend and daily driver. I'm not real sure about my budget yet but i'd like to keep it low haha. I was thinking about maybe getting a short block from Golen for around 3 grand. Any input on that is appreciated. I guess my main foal is to keep the friggin M3s and Audis that are all over my neck of the woods in the rear view.:death

 

M6 and 3.23s is all wrong period, you have a double overdrive with .50 being the top one, you want at least 3.73 though most like 4.10s.

HEADS are the most critical part of making HP followed by cam and displacement is the last factor.

Far as a stroker crank forged is the only answer because aftermarket cast are weaker than stock, stock is actually very good.

140K is not a reason to rebuild the engine. I would do gears and other boltons then a cam on the stock shortblock. If that doesn't keep you happy then you can try ported stock heads like Joe and I use, then if that isn't enough you can look at a stroker but $3000 wont buy you a truly quality assembled shortblock.

Ask Joe he had a Golen engine before he did it right the second time around.

 

Get rid of the ten bolt. Very hypocritical of me me. Run 3.73's and you won't notice hardly any difference in gas mileage but you will notice a big difference in acceleration

 

M6 is a LOT harder on the 10-bolt so I wouldn't call it hypocritical I would call it realistic.
Far as fuel economy I would if anything expect a real world gain with 3.73s not a loss. The EPA's fuel economy testing is crap and causes cars to be setup to lug from the factory. Works for their bad tests but not out on the road.

 

You indicate you have an M6. All M6's from 94-02 left the factory with 3.42 gears.

As Dwayne indicates, there is really no rational reason to stick with the 3.42's. I swapped in 3.73's with my stock M6/bolt-on engine, and it really didn't provide the punch I wanted.

 

Well I have my differential out and the ring gear has 42 teeth and the pinion has 13. I divided the pinion into the ring and came out to 3.23076

 

I'm beginning to think that the 383 will be something I'll do down the road when I can do it all out hardcore. For now I'm going to rebuild the 350 and try to keep the cost down a little. So I guess I just need to :Machine the block and paint her : Go with .030 bore over? : Have my connecting rods, and crank checked by a mechanic?: New bearings, gaskets : I'd like to get it up to at least 340 at the crank. What's the best route to do that? Can I modify my stock aluminum heads for more power? Cam? Edelbrock intake with a bigger throttle body and would I be needing hydraulic roller or solid roller cam and lifters? Thanx for all the reponses, I'm takin em all in.

 

All you need for 330 at the crank is a fresh rebuild, and bolt on's.

If you throw a cam in your (now 355 after .030 over) it will put you at more like 330whp. I'd put a cam in it while it is out.

 

I would just build it once if it were me. I built a 355 with cheaper parts, drove it for two months and now im tearing it apart in 3 weeks too build a fully forged motor. Hp is very addicting and it's something that ill never have enough of. You may spend an extra 1k too build it but think of it as an insurance policy.. you could piece together a forged rotating assembly from this site and a few other rather cheaply. I found a set of j.e forged flattops 040 over last night for 250.00 shipped that retail at 800.00. I believe there is a set of eagle 6.000" rods on this site for 300.00 as well.