I am currently doing a rebuild of my bottom end, and was considering the Texas Speed 383 stroker kit. I have a limited budget and I want to keep my block. The car is 90% street driven and the goes to the track occasionally. My main question is, is it worth the money, I will be using the same stuff I already had on the car before (check sig). My other plan was to clean up the stock pistons and replace all the hardware with arp rod and main bolts. I would also be putting in new bearings, rings etc but still retaining the factory rotating assembly. Will my current 228r cam and ported 241s be enough to get all the potential out of the stroker kit?

 

All the potential out of a stroker with cam and heads you already have, no way. But is the extra strength, reliability, along with the extra HP and torque that comes with a forged 383 stroker worth it, yes indeed IMO.

 

Well if your doing a rebuild.Might as well go 383 and in the future you can always change things.The 241 heads a pretty good heads with work done to them,port them out nice,do a valve job.

 

a 383 stroker actually wont gain you a whole lot........id say with your combo you would pick up bear max 45 rwtq.......youd probly see anywhere from 30-40.......
TSP advertises their stroker price at 1695, but when you click on it and add bearings and get it balanced, price goes up to 2300......dont believe me, i just did it. so ask yourself, is it worth it? hell no.....unless you're not on a budget and trying to squeeze all you can out of it........look at it this way.......I'm guessing you are probably looking for around 500rwhp if you are interested in getting a stroker kit.......that being said, i would go with this instead

compstar i beam rods with ARP 2000 bolts: $589 TSP
clevite main bearings: $109 TSP
clevite rod bearings- $79 TSP
rings- like 100-200 deoending on what what you want

so now you are at just shy of 1000, and have a darn good bottum end. but only if your pistons all check out. if they dont, then new wiseco pistons and rings runs 600-800 ish, depending on your style.so that puts you at a grand total of $1500 bucks, then add 300 for balancing and your strong bottum end total comes to about $1800. so honestly, you then could pay 600 bucks more for the stroker.

With all that being said, if your pistons are good, get some rods and have it all balanced for a grand total of $1300, then with your left over $1100, use your imagination. but if a few of your pistons dont check out, id say get the stroker, but if you do decide to stroke it, those 241s will choke that motor a good bit.

sorry for the long post, i was bored

o and after looking at your post from before, sell the cam for 150 bucks, as well as you you ported 241s....not sure what you would get for the heads id guess $400-500. take your $650 and the $1100 you saved from not getting a stroker, get a torquer v3 or tsunami from tsp for $375, then call kevin at vengeance and get some trick flow as casts and rods for $1750 plus shipping, and i would say you would be very close to if not above 500rwhp.

so add everything up and your whole motor would cost roughly $2700 bucks.....hey guess what, your only 300 bucks above what the cost of your stroker rotating assembly was, and making 50-80 more rwhp.

 

It would be worth it especially in the future when you upgrade your heads and intake. Your current cam wouldn't be the best choice though.

 

I was looking at the 383 stroker kit as well. I have a ms3 cam and stock 241 heads tho....and I would be hitting it with a 200+ shot.

 

From my research Id say no, for the price of a bare block you could build an LS2 or Lq4/lq9 stroker. You're going to be doing a full rotating assembly anyway. Put it in a 6.0 block. Then you have your current shortblock to sell or keep for spare parts.

 

i still think if you are on a budget to go with new rods/cam/heads

 

500 rwhp with as cast heads on a $2700 rebuild sounds a little optimistic. If it were this easy, everyone would have a 500 hp car.

 

Agreed, you're going to need every bit of a 402/408 build for 500 rwhp NA.

 

+1 for the LQ4/LQ9 build.

 

r u kidding me???? look at his mods

lifters/rockers arent goona do anything
ls6 intake and tb
pace setters lts
full exhaust
slp induction

now if you add a cam like the vindicator (known to make great power) and as casts (also known to flow great) isnt goona make 500rwhp? ok can we agree on 480? i emailed vengeance a while back, dont have the dyno anymore, but the vindicator and as casts made 460 rwhp with just cam, heads, and a fast 90......i think the car had a lid also.......through an M6. depending on what "other supporting mods" he has, if he went with the vindicator and as casts he will see 480rwhp, if not a little more.

 

There are some good thoughts in this thread, but the question is what are your goals? If 90% of the time is street driving, then I'd say go with a 383. The reason: more torque. While you can build a nice forged 346, the added cubes and torque of a 383 will be more useful on the street. You can get a SCAT forged 4" crank for around $800-900. Pistons about $500 (Mahle forged are fine unless you are using nitrous). SCAT also makes a decent I-beam rod for about $250 a set. So, really not a bad price all together (my machine shop got me the parts at the best prices). Get a good machine shop to balance the assembly, prep the block, and set clearances.

Going to a 402/408 you will have the added cost of getting a decent block. 402 equals LS2 which is about $1,100 new. 408 is iron block, which is cheaper, but heavier.

Ultimately, you'll still have good gains, provided you match the heads, compression and cam to suit your needs. Remember, 90% street driven should not be about peak horsepower, but a consistent and flat torque curve.

 

i agree with you about wanting a more flattorque curve for dd,but i still think that your missing some prices. bearings are still gonna run another 300, and not to mention balancing. another thing to consider, those heads are not goona do jack for a stroker, so hes goona need new heads if he wants to get the benefits of the stroker......i mean why spend2500 bucks on something if youare only getting 80% of what you can be making.....243s would be beetter, but still not goona be "unleashing" all the power he could out of the stroker

 

ok, and what is your budget, an actual number is goona help us help you......like $2500?

 

the bearing prices dont matter. he is already changing them one way or another. the machining prices are going to be almost identical. i just had two ls1's rebuilt with all new wear parts, arp bolts, and stock rotating assembly for 850. add the price of a 4" crank, scat rods, and mahle pistons and there you have it. is it worth it...IMO yes. check my sig.

 

The only reason I bought the rockers was because the factory units have had problems with the needle bearings coming apart and getting into the engine, there is a tsb for it. IMO it is just cheap insurance, I just bought Comps rocker overhaul kit, it was only $130, I didn't buy new rockers. And for the lifters, I got those for under $100 dollars from a friend brand new, I didn't buy them for power.

 

The 383 worth it if you have future plans to upgrade the heads.However, I'd start with a custom cam and a good set of heads like AFR 215 , TrickFlow 215 , or PRC 215 before touching my engine's bottom end and if you are driving the car on daily basis, I prefer if you keep the LS1 aluminum block instead of having an LQ9/LQ4 iron block

 

For a 383 I'd go for the TFS 225 heads

 

346 with great heads > 383 with stock/cheap heads