My 383 build project that started 8 years ago is finally complete, except for tuning and some finishing touches. Took it for the first test drive today and it ran pretty well, considering the tuning is way off. It bogs pretty badly when idling in gear at a stop, but some tuning should take care of that. Here are the details of my build:

Forged 383 built for boost
- 4-bolt main splayed block with Eagle caps
- Lunati Sledgehammer crank
- Eagle forged 5.7" H-beam rods
- SRP -16cc dish pistons
- ARP bolts/studs for mains/rods
- AFR 210cc Eliminator competition heads
- AI custom cam
- BTR dual springs
- Comp Ultra Pro Mag 1.6 rockers, NSA
- Ported LT4 intake manifold, required several mods
- 58mm throttle body (not installed yet)
- Stock water pump
- OEM Opti
- FLT level 5 4L65E trans
- 3200 stall Vig converter

This project kicked into gear just over 2 years ago, and there were countless bumps along the way. It's just satisfying to see something I built from the ground up finally running and on the road. This was my first engine removal and engine build also. Just thought I'd share my satisfaction.

 

Great job! It is very satisfying to see a build like this come to fruition. If you haven't been through it, you don't know just how much work it is.

Congrats

 

Congrats!

 

I'm sure it feels great to be back in the drivers seat. Nice job.

 

Get the tuning sorted before driving it, hate to hear you hurt the motor with a poor tune.

 

Congratulations! And here's hopin' for an easy tune to precisely the number's you want.

 

Agreed.

Also.....you say it's "built for boost". What kind of boost.....and is that power adder installed yet? What's your compression ratio?

KW

 

It has the original rear mount turbo, which is undersized for the new engine. I plan to eventually run 12-15 psi once I upgrade the turbo, injectors, and fuel pump. The compression ratio is 9.6:1. Until I upgrade everything, I plan to only run 7-8 psi, and keep a close eye on the wideband to make sure I don't run out of fuel.

I drove it to work this morning to log data to get my normal driving tune figured out. It runs well everywhere except idle, where it bogs and surges pretty badly when stuck in traffic. I suspect the stock throttle body is part of the problem, but I don't have a way to log IAC counts. I have a 58mm throttle body waiting to go in, but I want to figure it out with the stock one before adding another variable to the mix.

I'm not beating on it until I get the VE tables tuned in. Like I said, I have a wideband so I can keep a close eye on the A/F.

 

How much did all of this cost?

 

IAC issues would be more of a idle quality problem and a cold start problem and I would expect the stock TB to work better than an unmodified 58mm

 

The idle isn't very good at hot or cold. The bogging and surging is mostly when in gear at a stop. It threw a code for egr, P0400, so I've got to figure that out. This could be related to less vacuum than expected at idle also, which could be causing idle problems.

Surprisingly, my catalogs so far show the ve tables weren't as far off as I thought they'd be, but still more than 10% off either direction for some cells. The trims are keeping the mixture where it should be. The 58 mm won't go in until I figure the issues out.

As far as cost, I bought some of the big ticket parts used: machined block, heads, intake, transmission, and throttle body. I don't have an exact breakdown, but I think the engine and tranny cost somewhere around $7500 total since I did almost everything myself and got some good deals on the used stuff.