383 Cost?
I built my 383 for under 5000 grand!
Golen competition forged 383 shortblock. 3200.00
Comp custom grind cam. 300.00
Comp valve train w/pro mag 1.6 400.00
Heads ported by LPE, new valves, ported intake. 900.00
Fluid dampner balancer. 350.00
44lb injectors 380.00
BBk 58mm TB 300.00 Total = 5830.00
Sold my original block with bad ring on #8 -1100.00
= 4730.00
Golen competition forged 383 shortblock. 3200.00
Comp custom grind cam. 300.00
Comp valve train w/pro mag 1.6 400.00
Heads ported by LPE, new valves, ported intake. 900.00
Fluid dampner balancer. 350.00
44lb injectors 380.00
BBk 58mm TB 300.00 Total = 5830.00
Sold my original block with bad ring on #8 -1100.00
= 4730.00
I wouldnt do this to your DD just from my personal experience and since I know you I just thought I might say something to help you out from a guy back in the day that used to drive his stroked motor DD. If your wanting a high compression 11:1 or 12:1 motor with nitrous for a DD you are taking a risk of walking alot, but if you are going to be using it as weekend warrior ....
DO IT
I kept my compression at 10.1, but I was looking at longevity over power. I just wanted a fun street car with **** loads of torque. If you keep the compression down you can daily drive a 383 just like a 350! Not that I would want to though...
just reading up on this thread and agree with alot of peoples points....The fact that you are building a 383 if you do go with high compression I'd try to keep it an occasional driver or weekend warrior for sure b/c like someone else said about you walking alot....I agree. High torque and High horsepower cars seem to break things far faster than stock or slightly built cars do. When you start playing with a powerful motor, your cars weak points will start to show fairly early....Just keep that in mind. And BTW your doing the right thing by researching it first and by doing what I suggested before (Buying another block to build and not doing the engine work 2 times.) Good Luck! PM with any questions. Just my .02 but its your build. Seems like you'll get it together.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 27
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From: Cleburne, Texas
just reading up on this thread and agree with alot of peoples points....The fact that you are building a 383 if you do go with high compression I'd try to keep it an occasional driver or weekend warrior for sure b/c like someone else said about you walking alot....I agree. High torque and High horsepower cars seem to break things far faster than stock or slightly built cars do. When you start playing with a powerful motor, your cars weak points will start to show fairly early....Just keep that in mind. And BTW your doing the right thing by researching it first and by doing what I suggested before (Buying another block to build and not doing the engine work 2 times.) Good Luck! PM with any questions. Just my .02 but its your build. Seems like you'll get it together.
Just not to sure on what I am gonna do yet. I dont understand why you guys are saying you cant DD a built motor. My dad has build hundreds of high performance motors, and even worked for gmhp, anyway, we put my cousins 94, 6 speed, trans am together in 2000, when it had around 55k miles on it. We put a full suspension on the car, ls1 brakes, 4.10 gears, mccloud, lt1 edit, 255lph, aeromotive adjfpr,complete 96 ws6 ramair setup, Brand new vented opti, hd timing chain 38lb injectors, afr 220s, and lt4 intake heavily ported and polished at gtp with matching billet roller around 600 lift if i remember correctly, asm 58mm tb,meziere, flp full length headers, borla catback with e cutout, no cats. the car made 410rwhp with my cousins tune, and then 2 years later made 430rwhp with a pro tune, and again 428rwhp last year with its new owner. The car has over 100k miles on it now, and all the new owner and my cousin did was oil,plugs, and 1 set of header gaskets. I have no question that the car would have made near 500rwhp and have been even more reliable then the stock short block,its all apart how its put together
I agree with that remark, but you just said it was a 6 speed, that helps out alot with DD cars. But however I also agree you can make any built car a DD with the right setup.....Such as a cam with good vacuum at idle, and a decent converter. But regardless it all depends on your setup....
And Hektyk I'd definentelty go with the 383 or 396 setup if your already doing the bottom end. I'm kicking myself in the *** for not doing a 396 setup after talking with a few other guys but like the old saying says, "Theres no replacement for displacement" just remember that man. If you need any advice on something LMK I have alot of resources that may be able to help you out. Good Luck
And Hektyk I'd definentelty go with the 383 or 396 setup if your already doing the bottom end. I'm kicking myself in the *** for not doing a 396 setup after talking with a few other guys but like the old saying says, "Theres no replacement for displacement" just remember that man. If you need any advice on something LMK I have alot of resources that may be able to help you out. Good Luck
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Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, Texas
I agree with that remark, but you just said it was a 6 speed, that helps out alot with DD cars. But however I also agree you can make any built car a DD with the right setup.....Such as a cam with good vacuum at idle, and a decent converter. But regardless it all depends on your setup....
And Hektyk I'd definentelty go with the 383 or 396 setup if your already doing the bottom end. I'm kicking myself in the *** for not doing a 396 setup after talking with a few other guys but like the old saying says, "Theres no replacement for displacement" just remember that man. If you need any advice on something LMK I have alot of resources that may be able to help you out. Good Luck
And Hektyk I'd definentelty go with the 383 or 396 setup if your already doing the bottom end. I'm kicking myself in the *** for not doing a 396 setup after talking with a few other guys but like the old saying says, "Theres no replacement for displacement" just remember that man. If you need any advice on something LMK I have alot of resources that may be able to help you out. Good Luck
Last edited by hektyk; Nov 8, 2007 at 05:33 PM.
The only differences to a 396 as opposed to a 383 is the fact that you have a crank that has a stroke of 3.875" as opposed to a 383 stroker that has a 3.75" stroke, and a 396 has a 5.85" rod(only rod you can use), as opposed to a 383's 5.7" or 6.0" rod, and a piston that matches to the combo. As far as the machining goes, you only have to notch it a little more for the rod bolts to clear the block. Both setups(383 and 396) use a 4.030" Bore. Thats it....No other machining is required. This is where people get things mixed up, you don't bore it to a 396....you just change the stroke on the crank(therefore stroking it) to change the cubic inches. So as far as extra costs go...Well theres a little more $ involved, but thats due to the fact that there are limited places that sell the 396 rotating assembly kits. Callies, and Lunati I know do, but I don't know who else would sell a kit. Either way they're pretty pricey. But yeah the 383 is definentely a good way to go, in fact just as good. I personally would go with the 383 for your setup. And TPIS has a good cam to use for a DD. It'sa ZZ-X cam with 239/239 degrees at .050-inch of lift and a gross lift of .558/.558-inch (with 1.5:1 rocker arms)(could always use 1.6:1 or even 1.7:1 rocker arms to raise the lift up a little bit)with a 112-degree lobe separation angle. I mean this is not a wild cam, but it has excellent vacuum at idle and is said not to surge at low rpm. But it does have great low end performance, which is what you want for the street....This is just one selection for a DD. But there is alot of different cams out there. As well as different combos you can choose from. Well gtg but hope I can help...
Last edited by LT1Formula007; Nov 8, 2007 at 06:43 PM.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 27
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From: Cleburne, Texas
The only differences to a 396 as opposed to a 383 is the fact that you have a crank that has a stroke of 3.875" as opposed to a 383 stroker that has a 3.75" stroke, and a 396 has a 5.85" rod(only rod you can use), as opposed to a 383's 5.7" or 6.0" rod, and a piston that matches to the combo. As far as the machining goes, you only have to notch it a little more for the rod bolts to clear the block. Both setups(383 and 396) use a 4.030" Bore. Thats it....No other machining is required. This is where people get things mixed up, you don't bore it to a 396....you just change the stroke on the crank(therefore stroking it) to change the cubic inches. So as far as extra costs go...Well theres a little more $ involved, but thats due to the fact that there are limited places that sell the 396 rotating assembly kits. Callies, and Lunati I know do, but I don't know who else would sell a kit. Either way they're pretty pricey. But yeah the 383 is definentely a good way to go, in fact just as good. I personally would go with the 383 for your setup. And TPIS has a good cam to use for a DD. It'sa ZZ-X cam with 239/239 degrees at .050-inch of lift and a gross lift of .558/.558-inch (with 1.5:1 rocker arms)(could always use 1.6:1 or even 1.7:1 rocker arms to raise the lift up a little bit)with a 112-degree lobe separation angle. I mean this is not a wild cam, but it has excellent vacuum at idle and is said not to surge at low rpm. But it does have great low end performance, which is what you want for the street....This is just one selection for a DD. But there is alot of different cams out there. As well as different combos you can choose from. Well gtg but hope I can help...
Anytime man, just trying to give you some advice....Some that will actually help and not what someone has heard somewhere and just pass it on and seem to mix things up in the process. For anymore help just PM me, I'll keep watching this post and keep you informed if other questions come about. Either way, I feel you'll choose a good setup. Just make sure you research, before you build it. It's not that you'll mess anything up by just slapping it together, but it won't perform unless you match your parts so they work with each other instead of against each other. ....... James
Sorry but for a street cam I would not go over 230-236 duration and you want more exhaust lif than intake(540-550lift for example). My Z is as drivable as it was stock! Only has 40,000mi, 5000 of them on the 383, but there are days when I put 150mi on it crusin!
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Cleburne, Texas
I'm not positive it is gonna be a DD. I do however want it to be a bad *** street machine that can take lets say a bolt on cobra or a souped up LS1 or whatever I wanna run ya know? I wanna be able to drive it, lets say 100 miles round trip here and there without having to worry about it breaking down etc..
Hektyk, I ran accross an article and with a 396 stroker, with AFR heads, zz-x cam and 1.7 rockers and all supporting mods they dyno'd 552 HP and 484 Ft. Lbs. Tq. and didn't have to worry about it being a DD b/c of the setup that they chose. They said with the ZZ-X cam from TPIS, it was like driving a stock LT1 powered car with alot more ummph under the hood. The motor has 11.1 :1 compression and runs with 92 octane. Thats why I was kicking myself in the a$$, b/c I'm the kinda person that feels like- the more cubes the better. Just thought I'd mention that to you and see how that made you feel on the dyno numbers....If your wanting more power than THAT, I'd look into a bigger cam and a Higher compression ratio and make sure you have all of the supporting mods and a good Dyno tune. ........... JAMES
The only differences to a 396 as opposed to a 383 is the fact that you have a crank that has a stroke of 3.875" as opposed to a 383 stroker that has a 3.75" stroke, and a 396 has a 5.85" rod(only rod you can use), as opposed to a 383's 5.7" or 6.0" rod, and a piston that matches to the combo. As far as the machining goes, you only have to notch it a little more for the rod bolts to clear the block. Both setups(383 and 396) use a 4.030" Bore. Thats it....No other machining is required. This is where people get things mixed up, you don't bore it to a 396....you just change the stroke on the crank(therefore stroking it) to change the cubic inches. So as far as extra costs go...Well theres a little more $ involved, but thats due to the fact that there are limited places that sell the 396 rotating assembly kits. Callies, and Lunati I know do, but I don't know who else would sell a kit. Either way they're pretty pricey. But yeah the 383 is definentely a good way to go, in fact just as good. I personally would go with the 383 for your setup. And TPIS has a good cam to use for a DD. It'sa ZZ-X cam with 239/239 degrees at .050-inch of lift and a gross lift of .558/.558-inch (with 1.5:1 rocker arms)(could always use 1.6:1 or even 1.7:1 rocker arms to raise the lift up a little bit)with a 112-degree lobe separation angle. I mean this is not a wild cam, but it has excellent vacuum at idle and is said not to surge at low rpm. But it does have great low end performance, which is what you want for the street....This is just one selection for a DD. But there is alot of different cams out there. As well as different combos you can choose from. Well gtg but hope I can help...
This is good info its about the same cam we are running now. If you are deciding between 383 and 396. Go with 383 big time because 396 is not worth the extra money and the cylinder walls to thin
Hell my motor outruns some cammed LS1's and its not stroked
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: Cleburne, Texas
Hektyk, I ran accross an article and with a 396 stroker, with AFR heads, zz-x cam and 1.7 rockers and all supporting mods they dyno'd 552 HP and 484 Ft. Lbs. Tq. and didn't have to worry about it being a DD b/c of the setup that they chose. They said with the ZZ-X cam from TPIS, it was like driving a stock LT1 powered car with alot more ummph under the hood. The motor has 11.1 :1 compression and runs with 92 octane. Thats why I was kicking myself in the a$$, b/c I'm the kinda person that feels like- the more cubes the better. Just thought I'd mention that to you and see how that made you feel on the dyno numbers....If your wanting more power than THAT, I'd look into a bigger cam and a Higher compression ratio and make sure you have all of the supporting mods and a good Dyno tune. ........... JAMES
I was thinking of running around 11.1.:1 Compression but I wasn't sure if that would be a good Idea In case I wanna use Nitrous later on.I'm sure I could hit the same with a 383, 550 Horses I wouldn't prob ever run over a hundred shot or maybe 150. I would like to get that setup though. I plan on taking about a year to build this thing, a little at a time ya know. 