I'm looking at building up a 383 stroker. I have 88 T/A 305 tpi 700r4 trans. I'm kind of half way through picking out all of my parts.
What i want to know is how hard the swap is and can i use my stock motor mounts, wut should i do to the suspension. and what problems i should expect to run into.

Any links or tips on where to find motors, parts, or more tips on the swap will be greatly appricated.
Thanx in advanced Steve

 

The difficulty of putting a 383 physically into the engine bay of where a 305 was would be the exact same as putting another 305 back in the engine bay. The blocks are the exact same size. You wont have to worry about that.

Thus, you can, and should use the same motor mounts (well, same ones you buy from a parts store, why not get brand new ones while the engine is out anyways, they're only like 10 - 15 dollars lol).

I just think you're falling into a misconception that a bigger cubed motor is physically bigger. The small block chevy motor is the same dimensions (in the cubes of 283 - 400 IIRC, and bigger cubes are available from aftermarket places, that pack in a small block package).

If I was you, I'd be in talking to a machine shop about what a 383 stroker really is, and what's done in order to do it.

Dont take this the wrong way, but perhaps you may want to start w/ either a 400 block, or a 350. Not in between. The 400 block would be harder to find proper heads for (but not impossible, the parts are everywhere now days lol). The 350 is tried and true, just about everywhere you look there's parts for it.


A great source for parts (if you just need to look them up, or look at the part, or whatever) is www.summitracing.com . I've also seen a lot of 383 stroker rotating assemblies on sell on eBay that claim to be pre-balanced. That may be a good route to go if you're a trusting person. You'll then only need to give the machine shop your rotating assembly, and the 350 block, then tell them "I need to make this 350 a 383" . They should know what to do from there. If not, take your parts and RUN, dont walk, RUN. If they dont know how to clearance the block and such, I would not be trusting them with my parts.

The top-end will be the hardest for you to figure out. But everyone's here to help (just as long as you dont clutter the boards lol).

I hope that this helped you somewhat

 

In addition to the above, do a search. This issue comes up a lot.

 

I have done this very swap myself in my 84 T/A. its a great swap but if you have never built a motor before then the parts you should be buying are external parts like water pump, alt, etc. the flex plat you would need is for a 400 sb, the crank used in this motor is for a 400 sb but aftermarkt 383 cranks are made just for this type of build also.there is more to it than just those couple of things but if you don't know exactly what a 383 really is then you could end up buying parts for a 355 and not know it. most machine shops have setups they are used to putting together to fits peoples needs. I would call up a shop and tell them what you are doing and they should be able to help you out.
IMPORTANT: doing a 383 swap does not meen only you are swapping out the motor. your tranny will need some work to strenthen it for the added power, you will need a diff torq converter, and if you don't have posi now then you really should line one up and if at all possible make it a 9 bolt and not the 10 . one more thing, if you have a T-Top car especally you will need at the very least sub frame connectors and possibly even a roll bar depending on how much power you are looking to get out of your motor. if you do not install sub frame connectors and/or a roll bar then the car will literally twist in no time at all and the entire car will not be driveable making your project a waste of time b/c you will have to pull the motor and put it in another car, basically do it all over again.SUB FRAME CONNECTORS SHOULD BE VERY HIGH ON YOUR LIST OF PARTS TO GET IF NOT THE TOP BEFORE THIS SWAP.

 

thanx for the advice, i've learned alot more about ci's and the swap. how much do sub frame connecters ussually run, and where is a good place to look for them? I picked up a 355 with keth black internals that needs a rebuild. i have the heads and everything, as well as a 650 cfm edlbrock dbl pumper. the motor is out of a 72 camaro.

 

Something's not right there. Edelbrock doesn't make a double pumper.

Click on our sponsor's button, Spohn Performance, above. Great subframe connectors (welded by far the best).