Supercharged 383 short block... need advice.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: Sterling, Virginia
Supercharged 383 short block... need advice. Hey guys, what's up? I need some advice on my project that I'm getting ready to get involved with. I want to build a Supercharged 383 LT1 Short block for my T/A. My questions are as follows.
1) Which Rotating assembly should I get? (Lunati, Callies, Eagle???)
2) I want to run some big boost, so what compression ratio should be used?
3) What heads should I get? (AFR, Ported LT1 or LT4?)
4) Which cam should I get? This thing still has to pass emissions.....stupid Virginia...lol.
Any other useful information that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Nick Hodge (Sterling, VA)
1) Which Rotating assembly should I get? (Lunati, Callies, Eagle???)
2) I want to run some big boost, so what compression ratio should be used?
3) What heads should I get? (AFR, Ported LT1 or LT4?)
4) Which cam should I get? This thing still has to pass emissions.....stupid Virginia...lol.
Any other useful information that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Nick Hodge (Sterling, VA)
1) Go Eagle, cheap and seems to have a good track record in the LT1 dept. The 4340 cranks are supposed to be good for 1000 hp. Just make sure you get H-beam rods. SRP pistons are not too expensive and nice and thick. Lunati and Callies are more expensive but you can't go wrong with those.
2) Compression ratio is not a definite thing. Depending on your piston choice (dish, dome, flat top) and combustion chamber size, you'll get different ratios. How much boost you are running, intercooler or no, and octane will make a difference on how high/low you wanna go. Cam choice can also make a difference (overlap). The best thing I think you can do is talking to an engine builder and let him do all the calculations. Don't get too many hands in the pot or you'll mess it all up. I think 8.5:1 is an area you might wanna shoot for.
3) On your heads, just have your stock heads ported. Since you'll be under boost, they'll flow well enough for the s/c. If you insist on buying some more, get some LT4 heads and have them ported.
4) The cam will be a big decision since it could make or break your setup. Like I said, talk to the engine builder. It's almost a given that a 114 lsa will be used but your duration and its split as well as lift is dependent on the amt. of boost and your goals as far as street/strip and peak power or avg. power and of course emissions.
2) Compression ratio is not a definite thing. Depending on your piston choice (dish, dome, flat top) and combustion chamber size, you'll get different ratios. How much boost you are running, intercooler or no, and octane will make a difference on how high/low you wanna go. Cam choice can also make a difference (overlap). The best thing I think you can do is talking to an engine builder and let him do all the calculations. Don't get too many hands in the pot or you'll mess it all up. I think 8.5:1 is an area you might wanna shoot for.
3) On your heads, just have your stock heads ported. Since you'll be under boost, they'll flow well enough for the s/c. If you insist on buying some more, get some LT4 heads and have them ported.
4) The cam will be a big decision since it could make or break your setup. Like I said, talk to the engine builder. It's almost a given that a 114 lsa will be used but your duration and its split as well as lift is dependent on the amt. of boost and your goals as far as street/strip and peak power or avg. power and of course emissions.
Staging Lane
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
From: Illinois
You also might want to think about trick flow heads because they feature a 64cc combustion chamber so, it will give more choices in pistons to get 8.5 to 1 and they flow pretty well. I would check out flowtech induction for a cam, they know there stuff.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 633
Likes: 1
From: Detroit,MI
Originally Posted by nhodge93
Hey guys, what's up? I need some advice on my project that I'm getting ready to get involved with. I want to build a Supercharged 383 LT1 Short block for my T/A. My questions are as follows.
1) Which Rotating assembly should I get? (Lunati, Callies, Eagle???)
2) I want to run some big boost, so what compression ratio should be used?
3) What heads should I get? (AFR, Ported LT1 or LT4?)
4) Which cam should I get? This thing still has to pass emissions.....stupid Virginia...lol.
Any other useful information that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Nick Hodge (Sterling, VA)
1) Which Rotating assembly should I get? (Lunati, Callies, Eagle???)
2) I want to run some big boost, so what compression ratio should be used?
3) What heads should I get? (AFR, Ported LT1 or LT4?)
4) Which cam should I get? This thing still has to pass emissions.....stupid Virginia...lol.
Any other useful information that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Nick Hodge (Sterling, VA)
Give us a call at the shop. We are running a special right now on a few combos that would be right up your alley.
We use Callies , Eagle, and Diamond Pistons as our three main engine parts suppliers.
i just built my 383, i used a LT4 block with Eagle crank, Eagle rods, and JE dished pistons. I topped that off with a set of AFR 210s and a port matched LT4 intake. Im running 8:1 for high boost. Its getting tuned this week, ill let you know what the #s are. And as far as the cam goes, ask one of the sponsers what would be best for your set up. 
i would keep you compression up higher than 8.5. itll help you pass emissions better. or it should anyway. also if your going to be driving this car on the street a lot, i highly recommend higher compression and lower boost. this will allow you to have good performance while not in boost.
