blue

I'm interested in doing a 383 upgrade. I am wondering how much the upgrade is if you get quality parts and engine work. I saw an add from Golen Engine Service who have 383 LT1 short blocks for $2500 and 383 LT1 long blocks for $4500. I do wonder what quality parts they use, but I suspect that just the parts for a quality 383 upgrade on my engine would be over $2500. My '94 Z28 has 110 K, ported heads, rockers, and cam.

MyGreenBabyZ

The machinist that is doing my work gave me a general price of about 3000. It was for eagle H-beams, Eagle 4340 non twist forged crank, and srp forged slugs.

all the machining was included too. line hone, square deck, bore with tq. plates, ect.

from what ive heard its a pretty good price.

Ive seen fully forged rotating assemblies go for about 1400 on ebay. send that to your machinist for balancing and assembly and you should be in the 3000 dollar range for a fully forged bottom end.

i would suggest on main studs or even a 4 bolt conversion if you plan on big hp.

good luck.

blue

Thanks, that sounds about right. I also just did some more digging through previous threads (which I know I should have done to start with) and it looks like the way to go might be to just get a crate 383 from a reputable shop. Maybe $4000. Especially if you're someone who doesn't exactly know what you're doing, such as myself.

Severous01

blockwork ~ 400
GOOD forged kit ~ 2200 (balanced kit ~ 2500)
heavy metal (if needed to balance crank kit) ~ 100/lb
labor to remove engine from car ~ 800 (8 hours labor)
PCM tune ~ 2-300
larger t.b. ~ 2-300


||upgrades in the near future||
longtubes ~ 800
tranny rebuild/ high stall torque converter ~ 800-1200
rear end replacement ~ 2200
driveshaft upgrade ~ 2-400
roll cage (if you get below 12.00) ~ 400 plus install

rskrause

It's one of those questions that comes up frequently but really has no definite answer. There is a huge variation in parts cost depending on what is selected. And while everyone pays about the same price for parts, there is also a large variation in hourly labor costs as well as the difference in total hours which will reflect hwta type of operations are performed. Another related variable is that the "small" stuff can quickly add up and change the price.

For example, you can re-use the stock oil pan, or spend up to $500 (or more) on a nice fabbed aluminum pan. You can re-use the stock timing set, or buy a $600 belt drive. Choose just these two "minor" items and you have changed the cost of your build by over $1,000. Also, what do you mean by a "383 upgrade"? Are you wanting to include the head and valvetrain parts and labor in your estimate? Same as with the rest of it, there is literally an order of magnitude in cost variability for these parts. Stock heads - free. Set of worked over SB2 heads with intake to match maybe $7,500-10,000 and everything in between.

I think you can make your own estimate by deciding what parts you want, looking up prices, and adding ~$1,000 for disassembly of your existing motor and basic machine work and re-assembly of the stroker. Your total cost is going to have to include R+R of the motor unless you plan to do this yourself. This will still be an underestimate because you will need tuning/computer mods and it does not include any needed upgrades to supporting components such as the fuel system, drivetrain, etc.. IOW, my second point is that if you just look at the cost of the motor you should multiply by ~1.5-2.5 to get the total project cost. This last point is very important. Don't be mislead when you look at an add for a $5,000 motor and think "oh, I could afford that". You are really looking at a minimum of $7,500, and often a lot more.

Rich

Severous01

that short block you were looking at is a 2-bolt main, cast everything. for 2500 you would do no better than using the stock pistons/rods/rings and just replacing the crank. i wouldnt suggest buying that block unless you had no alternative...like you needed "anything" to get you moving again. if you plan on NOS-ing heavy or boosting any time soon, dont buy the regular pistons, put in the dished now...you'll only lose 30-50 hp until the power adder is installed by doing this, and it will already be broken in for when you do add it. this will allow you to bolt in the parts wanted without having to rebuild the block...again.

SS MPSTR

These are two very important points. I took my estimate and multiplied by 1.75...and I already had the supporting parts (12-bolt, Dynaspark, fuel pump, afpr, headers, LT4 intake/heads, ewp, etc.) and it still ran over my budget.

This holds true for any automotive project - my Chevelle ran over budget BIG time.

rskrause

Yeah, I have seen a lot of people who are shocked/disappointed as the costs mount up. Those "little" things can really add up. A few hundred here and there and pretty soon you are talking thousands. Simple stuff like gaskets, rings, bearings, plug wires, etc. Each item isn't huge by itself, but they add up quickly to an imposing total. I bet that if you didn't have all the supporting parts you would have needed that 2.5:1 multiplier, at least!

Rich

blown383

Im in the same boat right now.... however Im still trying to do my homework...its mainly a street car with occassional track use. I would like to go with a 383. I currently have a CC XE 236/242 110lsa along with Lloyd's heads.... just need a bottome end. I know that Combination is having a forged rotating assembly group purchase so thats good news.

Anyone have input on what parts I would need in terms of pistons, rods, crank?

blown383

ttt

blue

I have a better idea now than when I posted this; I'm planning on getting a rotating assembly from CNC http://www.cnc-motorsports.com/category.asp?CtgID=1020

for about $1500, balanced. And that's for a quality assembly. From what I've seen they have the best prices..although, I think I've only checked about 3 places. I posted another thread asking about prices of machine work and rkrause and some others replied. From the advice received I concluded that one should not pay more than $1300 for machining of your block and assembly of the shortblock (4 bolts I think would increase that limit by about $200.) Getting the block out of the car into the pickup truck though is going to require buying a lift for ~$300 or rigging something up like a chain over a tree limb or something..which I suppose would work fine with some stout rope and a couple pulleys and a suitable branch and a friend to help push the car over to it.. I think the shortblock weighs about 400 lbs.

I don't see any other major costs involved in the job assuming that nothing breaks in the process. (gaskets $100, tune $100, fluids and filter $50)

So, the total job (to get the car on the road running well, not to get it making 11 sec. passes) assuming you deliver the bare block and rotating assembly to the shop and put everything back in yourself, should easily be able to be done for a little under $3000.

rskrause

You should be able to rent a "cherry picker" to get the motor in and out.

Rich

blue

I'll have to remember that. My Dad is a mechanic and he's planning on getting one of those cross pieces that sits on the fenders to hold the engine up when he does some transmission work this summer. "Tool Warehouse" I think is the name, has a cheap one for $80 and an expensive one for $200. Where could one rent a cherry picker?

rskrause

Just check the Yellow Pages under "Tool Rental". They may know it as an "engine hoist".

Rich

1racerdude

Hope you can make it for that-- I never have. You will be lucky to do a full short block,ready for heads,setting on the pan, timing cover on for under $5000.00.This is including R&R and build.Now that's NOT stock pan,oil pump,oil pump drive, timing chain. I don't use stock stuff like that an a stroker or any engine I build unless it was a bone stock rebuild with no go fast parts.