Want to discuss engines as a whole.. PLEASE! I've had about enough vague answers as I could have. I may not understand too in depth yet, but I have a general grasp on a lot of what's entailed to build an engine... I'd like to get more in depth as to the proper way of going about matching parts. I've researched quite a bit yet I always fall short of an answer.Hopefully someone can clear up a few things and point me in the right direction... That being said, lets start with this. Once I have a general operating range I'd like to work with where do you go from there... Let's go with what I'm eventually gonna build... 383 stroker for my Daily Driver 92 Camaro. Peak HP around 5500-6000 RPM. I have some parts for my 383, but I'd like to start with a general guideline of how to go about building this thing and eventually I'll ask the questions that I seem lost on... SO with the displacement I've chose and my RPM/ intended use, whats the next step in part selection? Also, if you answer with say something like this, " GO WITH AFR 195/200 cc's", then back up your answer as to why and how you come to this conclusion. I 'd like to have a discussion thread, not a GO BUY THIS thread. THANKS

 

best advice i could give is look on amazon for some books on chevy small blocks, you can get them for $10 or less and are well worth reading.
The way i would look at it is define your power requirements or goals and the vehicle it is going to go in to and how it will be driven. You would not build a 350 or 383 the same way necessarily if it's going in a truck, or boat, versus a daily driver or a weekend/strip only car, that will define the parts you would want to buy in regards to camshaft, intake, and induction/exhaust.

you've decided on a 383 build vs a 350, so that will mean a 3.75" crank. I'm looking at it as a bottom up approach, if the bottom end is **** it's not going to last. First thing is you need to have a block. Now if you know you have a good block (cast iron or aluminum) that may be a deciding factor whether you choose an expensive forged crank to build high(er) rpm power or go with a more economical cast crank, or even a used crank, with consideration as to how it's going to be used. With the block depending where you get it, you going to have it cleaned by the shop or are you going to do it,and you going to have it tested for cracks and pay up front for prep work that will give you a pretty good indication the block is good and worth putting [expensive] parts in to? This is where you need to define if you want to do a budget build, a medium type semi reliable build, or a good money-not-an-object kind of a build. Other block work off the top of my head that is good to do is align-hone the crank main bore, especially if it's a used block with some hours on it. A used (seasoned) cast-iron block can be very good, as long as you have it checked out, align-hone the mains and even the cam bore. Bearing choice is eh, make sure they fit and all clearances are correct for the intended use of the motor which can be a whole other discussion.

You said you have some parts already for a 383, what are they? What you have that you want to use will determine the discussion, especially if you already have pistons and rods.

 

Went to a shop. They had a short block minus cam that was already built. I guess the guy who was gonna get it opted out or didn't have money or whatever... So they said they'd sell it to me. So I'm like, "What the hey, sure". I was gonna give em a 350 oe roller one piece rea seal and 2 bolt mains... The one they had was a 2 piece 4 bolt. I think I'll go 4 bolt. So I told them my goals and they went to work. I told them I wanted an RPM Air gap and RHS 180cc heads. They chose the rest.

Here's the list.

383 4 bolt mains 2 piece seal (not sure of casting)
Forged Crank and Rods (3.75 stroke/ 5.7 rods)
Hypereutectic Speed Pro ZH859CP Pistons (12cc dish w/ 2 reliefs)
- Pistons down .010 in the hole
Felpro 1044 Head Gaskets (shop gave me the gaskets)
RHS Pro Action Heads (12301-02) (Springs good to .600 lift apparently)
- 180cc Intake
- 74cc Exhaust
- 72cc Chambers
- 2.02/1.6 Valves
Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap 7501 Intake
1.6 Ratio Crane gold Full roller Rockers
No Carb yet
No Headers yet
_________________________________

Shop order this cam
Custom Ground Hydraulic Roller Cam
- 230/238 @.050
- 110 LSA/ 106 ICL
- Lobe Lift .3533/.3533
- .565/.565 Valve lift (with the 1.6 rockers)

 

You have your bottom end/ cubic inches decided. Considering you're building this motor for the street (low-end torque and mid-range power in mind) choosing a head (this decides how much power you can support) with a small efficient port and higher velocity (for throttle response) is a wise idea. Your intake decides the operating range/powerband of the engine, with a dual plane having longer runners this focuses on low-end torque and mid-range power, another wise choice.

Now the cam becomes a critical part of the equation, at 110 lsa and a 106 icl, I'd bet the operating range on that cam is around 2400-6200 (which you'll have to make sure you have the valvetrain to support 6200), you'll have to match the converter and the rear gears to the package, so a 2500 converter and a set of 3.42-3.55 gears would be best for day-to-day driving, as you'll have a higher stall, but not so high that it sounds like you're mugging a clutch when you back out of a parking spot or constantly in your stall range while cruising down the interstate (assuming you're using the 700R4 and lock-up). If you want to keep your redline at 5500-6000 you'll now have 2500-5500 or 2500-6000 for an effective operating range.

As for the carb, I'd suggest a Street Avenger 670 with vacuum secondaries to support the cubes at 6000 and still be smaller to keep th throttle response up. For headers, I'd look into a set of 1 3/4in primary long tubes (for torque) with a 3in collector.

I'd say overall you have a very nice street setup coming together that will do some pretty good damage at the track.

 

Very nice combo however that 1044 gasket is certainly less than ideal.....
It's 4.20 bore (you're @ 4.030) and it's 0.051" thick which when added to
your -0.010 below deck puts the quench @ 0.061". The Felpro 1003 is 0.039"
and @ 4.160 will raise the compression at least 1/4 point. Tighter quench
clearance helps manifold vaccum and throttle response. If funds allow I'd use
the 0.027" Cometic gaskets to get you close to 10.0:1 compression. This 383
should relentlessly fry the hides

 

Why not go with bigger heads and forged pistons? You have a forged crank and a roller cam conversion already, don't skimp on the pistons. And I'd spend a little more to get a good aluminum head maybe 200 intake runner or so you'll make more power while saving 40 pounds. edit: hahaha Thats the exact answer you didn't want but its true.

 

I get the general idea of a smaller runner and the correlation to a higher velocity, like a garden hose compared to a fire hose... Obviously the smaller hose has a higher velocity were as the fire hose can flow more water aka CFM when talking heads. Is it that simple though? How do you figure whether the application calls for a 180 or 195 or even a 220 depending on the specific application? RPM i couldn't tell ya... I know the springs are good to .600 lift at least thats what the shop said they were good to. Yeah, I know. That'll come once I'm 100% on the cam that I'll be running, still not liking their cam choice though. I agree, but I still can't seem to understand why the shop seems to think it's FINE. I spoke to them a few times about it and they assure me that it's fine. I disagree with them. But hey, I guess I'm not a professional engine builder. I'd was thinking about running a 1043 which is a 4.08 bore and a .039 thickness, it may not get me a .039-.041 quench like everyone seems to say is the magic number, but still better than what they gave me... The builder also told me to stop worrying about QUENCH and said that too many people put too much emphasis on it. Maybe he knows something we don't know. With the 1044 the compression is @ 9.025:1. With the 1043 I'd be at 9.3:1... THe cometic .027 even if it has a 4.03 bore only bumps it to 9.54:1... So not close to 10:1. Why? Cause I purchased the short block from them. So that's what was already in it. As far as heads, well just because. I'm not one of those bigger is better type of guys. It's more about working with what I got. Now if I was starting from scratch and had a specific HP goal in mind or was building a race motor then I'd think bigger. Everyone thinks i should go with 195's... Oh, well I have 180's and that's what I'm using. Maybe one day I might throw a set of aluminum 195's on it, but not now. I'm interested in matching what I have so far and seeing what it does. I'm simply looking for an understanding of what effect certain parts will have...

Basically here's what I'm curious about. When building an engine where do you start? CID, intended use and RPM range is a good place to start. I have that. 383 and an RPM peak of 5500. So where do you go from there? The biggest thing that I don't understand right now is what's considered when doing a build? Do you look at DCR? Do you look at running compression? Someone enlighten me please. 5 builders. 5 different ways to build a motor... HOw the hell is someone that's not a builder go about it then if it can be done so many different ways?

 

I'm gonna add more cause maybe I'm not asking it right, I'll try to simplify my questions.

1) For a given application/ CID, mine being a 383 with a 5500 PRM range... HOw do you go about choosing an intake runner size?

2) With a given head, in my case a 180cc runner... What do you need to do to match the heads capabilities with selecting a cam?

3) Once that's established I'd think you could go about getting a bottom end. Picking pistons/rods/stroke, etc? What is it you shoot for when building the motor? a certain DCR? or what?

 

Head selection would be based on what flow characteristics the head has for the given application (not just the peak numbers). The 195cc range is about the smallest most will suggest to feed a 383, those applications are going a little higher than 5500 though. Usually more cfm (more cfm to feed more power/rpm/cubes) happens with more port size and at higher lift, which requires more duration, in turn requiring more gear/converter. This is why strokers are so popular, they do need larger heads to feed a given rpm/power output, but cubes sort-of negate the radicalness of the larger cam required and make it more docile in a street car (also keep in mind that a larger bore unshrouds the valves and can pull more air through the valve), as well as the longer stroke pushing the powerband a little lower and creating more average power. In short, the 180cc heads you have will limit your top-end power (MPH), but will make plenty of low end torque and have quick throttle response, thus not requiring alot of gear/converter to get it moving and making it more friendly to drive in a street car/daily driver application.

 

Kool. Thanks