At a crossroad
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
At a crossroad About 6 1/2 years ago, when i was an lt1 uneducated, noob i bought a 383 longblock from ebay. It has a cast eagle crank, speedpro pistons and 5.7 rods,with a cc503 cam,which we all know is anything but an ideal setup lol. Yesterday i pulled my oil drain plug and about 2 quarts of antifreeze came out before the oil started coming out. Some questions/advice i am seeking:
1. should i just slap some new headgaskets on and call it a day?
2. while the top end is apart should i throw some afr 210 heads on and custom grind cam?
3. will the cast crank hold up if i get a cam spec'd to rev to 7050rpms?
4. will the afr 210 heads work on lt1 intake? (i know this has been debated,but i dont remember the outcome)
I'd rather not dig into the rotating assembly if i can get away with it. If i were to do that it would be another 2k for parts plus machine work. Basically what i'm asking is if this was your predicament, how would you handle it?
Thanks for any help/advice
1. should i just slap some new headgaskets on and call it a day?
2. while the top end is apart should i throw some afr 210 heads on and custom grind cam?
3. will the cast crank hold up if i get a cam spec'd to rev to 7050rpms?
4. will the afr 210 heads work on lt1 intake? (i know this has been debated,but i dont remember the outcome)
I'd rather not dig into the rotating assembly if i can get away with it. If i were to do that it would be another 2k for parts plus machine work. Basically what i'm asking is if this was your predicament, how would you handle it?
Thanks for any help/advice
Probably the only reason the crank hasn't broken is the low HP....if you put AFR 210s and a big cam it won't end well.....that crank is rated to 500 hp which you would easily exceed. I'd do it right this time and put a forged crank in it....save some of the money you would have spent on AFR 210's and just get AI 200cc ported heads/cam package. Or do heads cam and revert back to a stock junkyard LT1 and sell your short block to some unsuspecting noob! 
lol
lol
Well if you were running coolant diluted oil your crank could be shot anyways. Eagle cast cranks break at 400hp at 5500rpm, I would never put a $2500 set of heads on top of a $5000 setup that has a shot at taking the whole thing out because I cheaped out on an $800 crank. Just get a forged crank.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
I agree with you both, just didnt want to come to terms with reality lol. I guess i can say i got real lucky running that thing to 6400rpms and not having a catastrophic failure like some of the cast crank carnage pics ive seen. It's funny how fast a build can snowball changing a few items though. If im putting a forged crank in then why not upgrade to 3.875" same price just a little more clearancing. Then why not get 6" rods for a little extra. Then better pistons for more compression...lol see what im saying. These things will take as much money as your willing to throw at them.
IF bores are good, measure mains, source a stock crank, and toss the 3.48 crank in, make a nice like 355. Good ported stock heads and a nice healthy cam.
I think thats your cheapest and safest use of what you have now.
I think thats your cheapest and safest use of what you have now.
