jmcmillanjr.

I am new to the thirdgen scene, but what I can gather so far is the 350 is better than a 305 and 383 is better than the 350, but here is my idea, I want a 383 but I want an ls series, so can I stroke an ls1 to a 383 and I would also like to go with a carb so I can do away with f.i.., is it possible to stroke an ls to a 383 and could I put a carb on it? Sorry if these questions have already been asked, and if they have would some one send me a link, I'm new to 3rd gens (just got mine a week ago or so) and really don't wanna do things twice. Thanks in advance.

Apeiron

The LSx is a different engine family, but there are stroker parts available.

jmcmillanjr.

can I carb?

Apeiron

You can if you jump through a few hoops for the ignition.

jmcmillanjr.

would my best be to go with the 383 or jump straight to the ls and which would be the most painless swap for me, either way the car will be a beast, also plan on supercharging it, also are the blocks that much different, would it be a matter of swapping heads and crank?

Apeiron

LSx is a completely different engine family, nothing is interchangeable with an SBC.

Most painless is the SBC. Most potential is the LSx.

jmcmillanjr.

I know you said I could stroke the ls can I bore it over also

Apeiron

You can, but boring is a repair operation, not a performance enhancement.

jmcmillanjr.

I know you can bore a 350 over and stroke it and come out with a 383 do the same rules not apply to a ls engine.

Apeiron

The overbore isn't to increase displacement, it's to clean up the cylinder wall wear on a used block.

jmcmillanjr.

But it does increase displacement which equates to more power, or is it so miniscule that it's irrelevent.

Apeiron

Irrelevant, the increase in displacement is tiny.

zraffz

Take the best of both worlds and go with a 400 small block lol. Large displacement doesn't need modern technology to reach the same power levels and can be achieved cheaper than a LSx swap.

Vega

Check out the 5.3L LS motors. Theyre way way cheap right now and with a supercharger or turbo you can make any power you want up too and over 1000 horsepower on completely stock internals. However if stroker is the name of the game for you there are stroker kits, but there is no 383 LS motor that im aware of. You can get an LS2, LQ4, or LQ9 though, those are 6.0s and can stroke those out to 402s (at that point its the stock 4" bore with a 4" stroker crank), its a pretty popular option right now and quite a few companies are producing stroker cranks or entire rotating assemblies for that build. Thatd be the way to go if you had the money, however for a budget build its hard to beat the boosted 5.3s right now

Andrew James

iTrader: (3)

If you have the money, build an LS motor. Easy affordable would be a 350.

Vega

True story. Also dont get caught up in internet talk about drag times and whats fast and whats not. Most people would be scared to drive even a 12 second car all out on the streets. You dont have to be the king of power to have fun

Z28 MeTaL HeAd

You can infact make a 383ci LS1 based motor, even with a carb on top. Lots of people have done it with decent results.

I don't personally recommend building an over-square engine, but to each their own.

Apeiron

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

no matter what you do to an SBC, you can do it to an LS with better results. Stroke a 6.0 for 400+ cubic inches and build more power than a similar 400 SBC, with better drivability.

Or, if you have a more modest budget, slap a cam in a 6.0 ls and smoke most built SBC 400s.

Boudin

For me, LS is the way to go! I swapped in a LS1 in my 68 Corvette a few years ago. I won't touch a Gen I again. Pull it out and sell it on ebay.
I have a mild cam (216/220 W/ .560 lift 2800 stall) It puts down 350HP at the wheels. It runs 12.5 1/4 and gets over 20 mpg. You can't beat that. If you use the 6.0, with some reserch, you can make over 500HP easy. my next build will be the 6.0.

Z28 MeTaL HeAd

Sorry, i totally meant UNDERsquare, lol...

I would never personally build an undersquare engine like a 383 LS1 would be.


Undersquare means the size of the cylinder bores are smaller then the stroke of the crankshaft.

Apeiron

Bore-to-stroke ratio is something to be worried about when designing an engine, not when you're building it.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

If you're stroking an engine it's because going to a bigger bore isn't practical or applicable. In the case of an LS1 the max overbore is something like .007" or so. All you can do is stroke it.

As apeiron says, if you're designing an engine on a drawing board/cad program, you concern yourself with bore/stroke ratios for maximum efficiency in various areas and other concerns. But when it come sto hot rodders. If you got an LS1 and you want more cubes, you can't just make the bore bigger, so you stroke it...

Basically, a bigger bore is better than more stroke. But the only thing we can significantly change is stroke. And when it comes to power, more cubic inches are still better.

Apeiron

And for what it's worth a 383 LS1 is square, not undersquare.