Zyth01

Like the title says, I've been talked into getting a 383 stroker from my brothers racing buddy's shop for roughly $2,500. Sorry I can't remember alot of the details besides it will be street/strip built with a 9.5:1 compression and it'll have re-worked stock heads, but most of the parts will be modified for better performance or bought from 3rd party. It'll be going into my stock 1984 z28 with a 5 speed manual (t-5?) and a 305 engine. The most horsepower I've ever been behind on a regular basis is an Acura PGM 2.7 v6 that only put out about 160 horse power at best so I'm kind of new to racing.

I've read alot of the threads started by/for people with 383s but not all of them answered the questions I have about them.

What are some good basic reasons to go with the 383 over an easier (and probably cheaper) 350 engine?

What upgrades to the chasis and drivetrain need to be done right away?

What power adders should I look into? And what brands? Nitrous is out of the question for me, just because of personal preference.

I realize not everything I'm asking is on the topic of engine swap, and some of this information is found in other threads. I was hoping to gather everything into one thread for ease of reference so let me know if I went too far out of line.

And of course, thanks for any replies!

jwfirebird

iTrader: (2)

you'll need sub frame connectors right away. then i would worry about getting the engine running properly.

the first thing you are going to break is probably the trans so dont bother upgrading the drive shaft until you commit to an upgraded trans. after the trans you'll probably want a posi/gears/diff cover with supports. after that you can address the susp.

as far as power adders you're a long way away from thinking about that. you're probably going to be 350-400hp N/A so get used to that first. you are going to find alot of parts on the car are going to have to be changed just to handle that. i dont think NOS should be out of the question though because a turbo or super setup is over 3 times as much.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Good advice.

I am going from a 305 to a 385. My motor is a little more crazy. My stock 305 pushed out 230 HP, and my 385 is punching out 510HP. I got SFC RIGHT AWAY. Don't skip on this. SFC are things that these cars should have been made with stock. GET THEM FIRST. OK now your car won't twist in 1/2.

If you are making a good 400 your tranny is gonna die. But you can probably get a few seasons out of it before your right foot gets happy and you floor it and BAM. So don't have to do the tranny right away. Of course hold out on the DS as well.

Just be smart and get some trailing arms, They are cheap and will help with wheel hop. After that look into a TQ arm. How much $ you gonna have? That rear is def gonna have trouble dealing with that kinda power too.



I know it sucks to have to change everything. I KNOW. But if you wanna play with a lot of HP, its the only way. Esspecially if you want it to be reliable.

I am 3.5 years in and about 25K cuz I am making mine bulletproof. T-56, Spec stage 3, Moser 12 bolt, Trailing arms, TQ arm, panhard rod, better shocks, struts, caster plates, K-member, A-arms, 6 point roll bar, SFC, chromolly DS.........its a crazy hobby we have!

Sickcuban

I am also looking into putting the 383 into my 84 Sport Coupe so any info would be great. Tranny wise, i upgraded my 700r4 but what do you guys think would be better for tranny wise? the 700r4 i got already in there or go for a 5 or 6 speed. This could also help with Zyth's problem with the tranny issue. I heard automatic is the way to go when your dealing with a lot of HP, but thats from older mechanics.

I got the subframes in there already, which feels a lot better trust me. and the wonder bar also is nice, but i dont really think you need it but its good to get.

My rear im hoping will handle it. Its a 1997 Z28 rear with a Eaton Super Posi 4.10 rear differential. I got it on Ebay from a racing company in Tennessee for like $350 which was nice (after negotiation).

It really matters what this car is going to be. If your gonna beat on it for racing all the time then your going to need to beef it up a lot.

I can't really tell you too much yet since im saving up money to get the 383, even though its hard to save up money. Im also trying to find someone reliable to get the engine off of. I'm planning on having the engine in Early January in my car so I'll let you know if you still need help.

But like i said, if anyone has any suggestions, ill take em too.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

As for trannys look into how you like to drive. I learned to drive on a stick. I can just not own an auto. Personal prefrence now. I would rather spend twice the $ and go stick than go auto. If you are low in $, and need a beefy tranny, go auto every time. You can build a super auto for next to nothin compared to a stick. To hold my power, I am trusting my T-56. They are not all made equal. You can look up their horspower ratings online. There is a difference between all the different years. Mine is rated at 450 TQ, so I am only 50 above that.. haha. (without my N20). But anyways, It is breaks, I plan to rip into it and beef it up.

Mechanics will say it is easier to go auto, cuz it is. Just bolt it in there. If you go stick you need to worry about getting a nice strog clutch, hydrolics, pedals and all that. It is worth every cent in my eyes, but to others it might not be. My car was a T-5 before, so all I had to do was get a T-56 with bellhousing and T-56 hydrolics. It all bolts right in. I even was able to sell my T-5 for a good $300. I would not trust a T-5 behind a nice 383.

Gas milage will also be better with a stick and you will get more Hp to the pavment.

Zyth01

The transmission will be staying manual, I bought it for ease of swapping in a better manual and I've been trying to find a good T-56 but I don't have a clue where to look. Most of them I find are $2,000 or more and I'd like to spend less than that on a transmission. I've heard good things about the Borg-Warner, but then again I also hear alot of bad things about it. Any thoughts on that?

As for rear end, what should I look into for that? Should I stick with a 7.5" and just get a stronger make or would it be more prudent to just go straight for an 8.5" or a 9"?

Also, by no means am I gonna do this quickly, I currently can budget out about $200-$300 every 2 weeks for fun stuff so I'm looking at alot of down time

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Thats great. You are better off alotting a lot of time to a project like this if you plan on finding any good deals. I did the same thing.

For a tranny that is going to feel safe behind a nice 383 you are going to need to spend at least $2K. I found a really sweet deal here on TGO. I got a T-56 from a 94 T/A, with only 50K miles, with new hydros, a bellhousing and a custom flywheel that I needed to mate it to my 2 piece rear main seal mtor. I got it shipped to my door for $2400. And that was a TOTAL STEAL. This crap is expensive. If you go much lower in price, unless you are super lucky, you are just gonna buy something that is going to blow up. As for a rear.... Stick with stock till it blows up, Then, in my opinion, go all the way and jsut get a 9" or a 12 bolt. I am never gonna have anything Ford related in my car, so I went it a Moser 12 bolt. A solid $2200 gets you a nice bulletproof boltin rear with any gears you want and a stong posi that can hold that 383's power to the road. Don't forget you also need a strong clutch. My SPEC stage 3 was a solid $500 from the WS6store.com. It all adds up to be pretty pricey, but you gotta spend if you are gonna play with a lot of power. My car is going to be daily driven and I wanna beat on it whenever I want with no worries, even with the N20.

Obviously tone down any of my recomendations if you don't plan on having a whole lot of power, or if you don't plan on using the car all the time.

hope this helped. If you want a better look into my build go to my cardomain site. Good luck.

Hionspeed

Actually, I'd like to snoop into your cardomain site myself. But, how do I get there? Sorry, running on stupid here.

Zyth01

This is gonna be my first real big car project so I'm reading as much as I can and getting as many opinions as I can. Two of the biggest influences are my Dad and my Brother. My dad has a street legal 1977 Porsche 911s that is by no means a screamer, but its fast and corners like a dream. On the other hand, my brother has a 1976 Nova that takes a 1/4 mile in 10 seconds. So both of them have very different ideas on what my car should do. Ironically, my dad thought I should go with a big block from the start and make it a track car, and my brother thinks I should try my best to get all the power I can and keep it street legal.

That being said, I think I'd perfer to build a car for low 13s or high 12s that I can still drive to work, which is why I'd kind of like to stay away from N2O since it seems like thats getting real close to street illegal.

But by all means, I'm still totally open to suggestions at this point so keep em comin!

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/782913/1

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I've only heard of one or two states that have tried to make N2O illegal, CA being one of them I believe. It's one of the best ways to have a mild street driver and a track screamer. Have it built with forged pistons and tell them you're going to spray it if you go that way.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Thats exactly what I did.

I went all forged with N20 ready rings. Big cam too. My bottom end it good up to around 800HP. Thats a solid 300 shot ontop of the 500 the motor is putting out. In the end I am probably going to change cams in a year, due to this one being plain crazy, and maybe going with a little less HP for the street, and then I can just add more N20 for the strip

Zyth01

Part of the deal is hypereutectic pistons, which I'd perfer over forged since its gonna be a street car. I don't care for alot of piston noise

1985WS6transam

iTrader: (4)

Its funny how alot of us have the same plan, i want to build my 383 but i am doing it in this order: SFCs then motor then tranny then rear... everything else is already done for me luckly i will drive it very easy so i dont blow any thing till i get my new parts. I am going with a bullitproof tranny and rear so i can beef the motor as much as i want and maybe even throw a bottle on there...

5678TA

lets see.. those guys up top pretty much got everything figured out.. SFC's, aluminum diff. support cover, gears, posi.. depending on how much money you want the throw in here, i would either go for a t-56, g-force upgraded t-5, or if your low on cash just stay with the stock trans till it breaks, then get one of the other options.. you should be fine for a while if you dont use DR'd or slicks.. and dont try to break sh.it everytime you drive it.. LCA's, TA, maybe LCA relo brackets.. you definetly DO NOT want wheelhop.. thats what blew my rearend..
on top of this you say you have only experienced 160hp.. a mild 383 will put out anywhere from 350+.. you probably dont need to think about power adders anytime soon.. you have to get the feel for power before you jump to insanity.. a 383 will give you alot more usable power on the low end(torque) compared to a 350 which will scream and give you HP.. your only weak links are your trans and rearend.. invest in those, then you will be free to up the power and not worry about breaking them.. i went with the G-Force T-5 and Currie 9".. expensive pieces but i can get my car into the low 10's (powerwise) before i worry about breaking them..

it all comes down to how fast and reliable are you willing to pay? if you go cheap, you only get one or the other.. hypothetically speaking..

jwfirebird

iTrader: (2)

the other option with the trans is the auto. i love manual transmissions, most of my dd cars and all trucks have been manual. but i couldn't see spending so much money on a stick and then having to be careful with it. for comparison i spent about 1500 on a th400 built at a local perf trans shop. It came with the TQ man valvebody. i could run a BB w/NOS and beat it with this trans.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

If engine noise is the more important to you, then use the hypers and stay away from power adders.