I'de like to hear about this to. 
396 Or 383??
396 Or 383?? alright guy's im not a genius when it comes to cars. So help me out. From what I understand going with a 383 on my lt4 seems to be the safer thing I suppose. I talked with Loyd Elliot and he said It could be a little bit more HP and maybe not. Also it could cause some probs down the road. SO what do you guy's think would be the better choice. And of you guy's have truoble with your 396's.
Also i've heard some say that a 383 would = more power.
I dunno guy's yall help me out.
thanks
Also i've heard some say that a 383 would = more power.
I dunno guy's yall help me out.
thanks
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 147
Likes: 0
machine work the 396, if i remember correctly, requires more machine work. the bottom of the block needs to be ground away to make room for the counter weights on the crand of the 396. the 383 should clear the inside of the block fine.
getting rid of part of the block could cause the block to stess more in a 396 than a 383. if you have a 2 bolt block adding 4 bolt caps will help make the bottom end stronger. i have heard that splayed caps are better when you convert to a 4 bolt main. if you got the money for the machine work i would suggest converting to a 4 bolt main no matter what size the engine turns out to be. after all the money put into an engine anything to help make it stronger and last longer is money well spent.
as far as which one would make more power, there are too many variables to tell. if you know all the specs on all other component not involving the bottom end you might be able to find someone to blueprint your engine and tell you which would make more power. i am sure that there a many 383s that would make more power. i am also sure that 396s could make more power too. it depends on many more things than cubic inches.
getting rid of part of the block could cause the block to stess more in a 396 than a 383. if you have a 2 bolt block adding 4 bolt caps will help make the bottom end stronger. i have heard that splayed caps are better when you convert to a 4 bolt main. if you got the money for the machine work i would suggest converting to a 4 bolt main no matter what size the engine turns out to be. after all the money put into an engine anything to help make it stronger and last longer is money well spent.
as far as which one would make more power, there are too many variables to tell. if you know all the specs on all other component not involving the bottom end you might be able to find someone to blueprint your engine and tell you which would make more power. i am sure that there a many 383s that would make more power. i am also sure that 396s could make more power too. it depends on many more things than cubic inches.
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On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2004
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the 383 should clear the inside of the block fine.
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It doesnt matter which motor can make more power, thats your first mistake right there, the thing you have to keep in mind when building any motor is how much power YOU want to make. Theoreticaly a 396 is capable of making more power, but in the average street set up, a 383 will be fine and more than plenty. A 383 is good bang for the buck and will run prety good with an LE2 or LE3 set up, theres a couple cars out there hitting 10s all motor with pump gas 383 on GM casting heads. So its more than capable of making more power than a lot of people need. I would go for the 383, you can also keep the cost down by not using a forged crank.
Ive been talking with golen about both motors also cuz i was too wondering which one to purchase, i personally am going with the 396 but this also isnt my daily driven car. He said if you plan on running boost in the future (i.e. Turbo, supercharger) Go with the 383, but if you plan on running N/A go with the 396. The 396 should create more torque than a 383. i personally want to run a 396 with a 100-125 shot of nitrous.
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 147
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Originally Posted by 93ZM6
You still need to have the block clearanced for a 383, you CANT just drop it in. As far as power a 396 may give you more torque than a 383 but the power is really in the top end. Both can run fine if you get a good tune.
if you still have to clearence the block for 383 the machine work difference in price may not be that much at all. like it has been said before, figure out what you want the car to do. how much power you want. then build it up from their. once you get board with that then you can add the gas or the huffer. or both 
Well Hell then i might go with the 396 then. But mine will be a daily driver. I dont mind the extra money for the machine work. I just dont want the problems if it's gonna cause me any at all. I also will be spraying. Have the NX MAF Kit up to a 300 shot. very nice
Let me know if there is anything else I should know about.
thanks
Let me know if there is anything else I should know about.
thanks
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 147
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by asudecat
Well Hell then i might go with the 396 then. But mine will be a daily driver. I dont mind the extra money for the machine work. I just dont want the problems if it's gonna cause me any at all. I also will be spraying. Have the NX MAF Kit up to a 300 shot. very nice
Let me know if there is anything else I should know about.
thanks
Let me know if there is anything else I should know about.
thanks
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
From: courps christi tx.
i got my 396 from golen, they are awsome, and chad is always willing to work with you, and like said before the car has never got hot, even stuck in traffic, and i didnt plan on using it as my daily driver, but it is hard to resist, i drive this thing almost every day, and besides the awsome loud rumble of the engine, and as long as i'm not driving the car hard it drives like any other z would.
Yea I talked to chad at Golen. He said he could do the short block 396 for $3500. Im trying to save a little money. So im getting the assembly from a guy that I know thats a Eagle dealer for alittle under 1500. And then getting a machine shop to do the milling. THen take it to get balanced from another guy. Save me about $1500.
Originally Posted by asudecat
Yea I talked to chad at Golen. He said he could do the short block 396 for $3500. Im trying to save a little money. So im getting the assembly from a guy that I know thats a Eagle dealer for alittle under 1500. And then getting a machine shop to do the milling. THen take it to get balanced from another guy. Save me about $1500.
Last edited by SmokedOutZ28; Jun 16, 2005 at 02:15 PM.
Originally Posted by SmokedOutZ28
be careful you may end up spending more then what chad wants for the short block. i thought i could do it that way and it seemed to cost more rather then already buying a assembled shortblock. also why are you taking it to someone else to do the balancing? you would want the person that assembled it to balance it just a thought.
Well yes of course i meant balance and assembly. How do you figure it will cost more than what i have figured. I figured about 2K then a dif. oil pan another 2or 3 hundred.