Alright guys so I pretty much came to the conclusion I want to do the 383 stroker leap instead of the LSX. Mainly for cost of swap. I got a few questions tho. Before I start buying parts and all that good stuff I want to only buy once and be happy not buy twice and be kicking my self in butt lol

To start off my goals are 350-400hp N/A and I want to be in the area of 12.0-12.7 sec quarter mile times. I live up here in denver area and I will be racing at 2 different tracks. One being 4980 elevation and the other being 5900. I do plan on turbo charging the engine later on down the road after I have my engine in and all tuned. Reason im waiting is that I wanna learn how to tune the computer my self then once I figure that out ill throw the turbo on to minimize blowing anything up lol or a shot of nos not quite sure which way im leaning but I love the idea of a turbo.

So my questions are how high of compression can a 383 be at to run the turbo safely. Out of the kits I've found for the stroker I can get the whole short block for about $1900 shipped and that'll come with everything balanced forged pistons, h beam rods, and all the bearings so a complete rotating assembly. They give the options of pistons it comes with, flat top pistons that put you close to 11:1 compression, dished pistons that put you at 9.7:1 and deep dish that out you at 8.5:1. I currently have a good top end already. Or the same kit minus the block for less than $900 shipped. I have afr 195cc heads and a holley stealth ram intake so I know the top end is there just need the bottom end. Also what kinda cam could I go with that will put me with good driveability with the N/A start but also will compliment the turbo or nos later on? I want to try and go to about 6-6500k rpm max. A lot of people are happy with comp custom grind cams and mike jones custom cams

For the tuning part I been doing some searching and not sure where I wanna go for it. I've seen Orr89 do just about anything with the stock ecu, not sure what program he uses tho? and ive seen project89 tune pretty damn good with megasquirt. So those are the 2 ways im leaning i would be totally new to tuning tho so ill be asking a ton of questions when I get to that point.

I know long post but I wanted to try and put everything I could lol I have done research and still doing it so I may have left some things out but as far as I can tell I think I covered most of it

 

96 to 2000 roller block??. crankshaft??.

 

I think that is what it said its a 4 bolt main 1pc rms block and yes ots a roller block. The crank is a scat crank

 

Id run mid high 9's to 1 comp. Higher altitude can tolerate more compression and really you wont need much boost to get your goals. 9-10 to 1 is fine. Mild dish like a 16cc with aft 65cc chambers should be 9.7 to 1 i believe for a 3.75" stroke. 9.1 or so with a 3.48 stroke.

Theres a guy here on the forum with a tiny procharger on a 383 and he got into the 11's at bandimere. I think it was camaronut396.

If you wanted all motor i would go 11-11.5 to 1 and spin it hard with afr 210's with a 383. Easily a 12 sec car up there

 

I had a 383 for several years. Dart Pro 1 200cc heads, 1-3/4" headers, true duals, 4.11 gears, T56, Comp XR286HR cam, Performer RPM Air Gap, MSD ignition. Great motor, I thought it was impressive.

I now have a stock internal LS1 with "full bolt ons" and am running .18 slower in the 1/8th and 1.10mph slower. With 24mpg, fuel injection, and way better torque and throttle response than the 383 when just street driving.

Friend, re-think your decision and go LS, even if its stock internal. These things make stupid power with minimal effort compared to the SBC, and tuning with HpTuners and a flash memory is a skillset that will benefit you more years down the road. Good luck with your build either way!

 

I was kinda waiting for your reply lol I've seen your 383 on YouTube and everything and thats one reason that got me to be into the 383 instead of the LSX. But ya for the dish offered with this set up its a 12cc dish that claims to bring the compression 9.7:1 and the stroke is 3.75. My horsepower goal really doesnt matter as much as how it does at the track. So I want want to probly run 12.7 on motor then once I put the turbo on my goal would probly jump up to about what he was in the 11's. So im trying to keep a realistic goal lol

Since your here what program do you use for the tuning you did on the 89 ecm? I have the 88 ecm and I think if I remember right when I went to tuner pro it said I would need the 6?

 

The only reason I didnt want to go LS is cuz they always bag on the sbc and for the obvious reasons but I believe its the same thing besides the gas mileage I already have fuel injection its old style not SFI like the ls but still works I think I can get 22mpg roght now. Dont get me wrong I want an LS preferably I was wanting a 5.3 lol I was even contimplating on a stroked 4.8 lol its just cost for what has to be done is a lot more to switch it to LS and even stock 5.3 isnt bad power. And a 383 is just the ls3 pretty much just a lot more technology into those. Same power goals I would say. And behind a 6 speed and I think I can retaim 20mpg at least. Correct me if im wrong on anything. Im learning a lot on both sbc side and the LS side but im not pro yet lol

Oh but I do agree LSX will provide better results once modifications are put into it. How much was your whole entire swap? I already have afr heads for my engine and the intake manifold

 

Do you think you could come up with something better than a Scat crank??.Gezzz.

6 speed and all your not going to come anywhere close to 20 mpg with a 383.

This is a "open book build",right??.

 

Is there anything wrong with scat that I didnt read about?

And what do you mean by open book build?

 

First,the "open book build" is one that has no budget or limits in time to complete.You over a course of time acquire the best parts you can find and once completed add up what it cost.After all,that surely in in your own best interests.

Scat,Eagle,etc are all in the same class of parts and I suggest you use a crank that your very sure will handle you power expansion expectations.You do not buy based on price,you buy based on what part you are getting and need.

To have heads and a ram as the justification to build a 383(which the heads and ram are very salable)and ignore all the advantages of LSx engines is a really bad tactical decision.Time has moved on and the learning curve for the new(well really the tech is 14 yrs old)tech should be acquired to accommodate it moving forward.Look at long term.Two yrs from now and from $5,000 to $7,000 dollars spent on a 383 to one day realize you have been left behind....................

 

Ya it could be a "open book build" but I just want build the motor to handle a little bit of boost and have it fresh, where i was getting at on the heads and the intake is i spent 1200 on heads and 700 on intake system that both will support a 383 no problem so all i need is the block work. I was comparing the costs of the 2 tho. . My current motor is blowing smoke out the exhaust when ever I punch the throttle from a roll or stop. Its never done that before so idk if its a tuning issue or if the motor is on its way out.

But im not ignoring the LSX advantages over the 383. I know the LS engines are the dominant engine in just about everything LS1s are expensive and imo to much for what they put out. Which is why I was looking into the 5.3/4.8 engines idk what they put out with bolt ons but I know a 5.3 with heads cam intake can run with good numbers and look like a sleeper doing so. I love the LS engine and have considered it for a long time but you got to spend at least 3-4k even with high mileage stuff from what ive been reading.

 

I used a stock 89 maf system on the 383 then repinned to a 91-92 730 ecm and used code $59 for boost. Tuned by tunerpro rt

 

We did a cost analysis to find s good 383 costs as much as a 496 BBC which costs as much as a LSx.I don't think,but Orr might chime in,you can touch what Orr has for less than 10,000 grand.

 

I must've sat for months trying to crunch those numbers before I pulled the trigger on my 350. At one point, I had a good option for all three. I'm still thinking about it on my next build.

 

I think my 383 could be done for under 8 grand complete. My current 400 shp shortblock was 4600. Heads and cam 3g. Lol so thats almost same cost as 383 but doesnt include anything else to complete motor. Its more than 10g to do what i now have and i kinda regret not going bbc...but atleast weight wise its lighter so car feels good.

But you dont need what i have to do your goals. My 383 ran mid 11's all motor. At altitude it would be lower 12's. Mid higher 12's with turbo compression and ring gap. I had basic eagle forged crank and h beam rods, srp pistons, afr 195 heads, big hyd roller. Got near 18-20 mpg too. Very fun motor

 

1Gary what all did that lsx setup you talked about include?

DeltaElite what made you decide to stay with the 350 build?

Orr89 so the 9.7:1 rotating assembly I mentioned and the my heads and intake combo with what cam should do the trick for the mid to high 12's lol and with your 18-20mpg what tranny and gears were you running?

 

If you turbo it i like single pattern cams but depends on setup. My current cam is regular 6 deg split. Anything around 230 deg on intake is what i'd run. That will get you peak hp around 6k-6.2k rpm.

I had 700r4 and 3.42's. Car ran good. Very streetable

 

So from what I've read a single pattern is best with a free flowing exhaust? So even if it isnt turbo'd I should still benefit from it if the exhaust flow is good enough? And if I go dual pattern I read its best to go with a higher exhaust right?

So I guess mpg mainly comes down to tune then right? Lol better tune will improve everything lol

 

I did it because it was easier to swap in and I could spend more towards making power than the actual swap itself. I didn't do a BBC because it's very expensive to build them right, and you get horrid gas mileage.. not something I find appealing when I desire to drive it to school every week (40 miles up/back per day). Cool? Absolutely. Cost effective? Ehh.. Not to say budget was really the primary motive, but I'd rather build a LSx motor before doing a BBC build since they'll cost around the same once everything is said in done (with how I would've built it anyways).

My goal was 11's flat. I can do that with a well built SBC like I have now. Whenever I decide I want more, I'll probably just buy a iron LSx block and make a 408 stroker out of it. That and I don't like the typical LSx nutswinger. I've had a 98 Formula before, so I know what it's all about.. but some of these guys think the LS1 is God's gift and that's certainly not the case.

 

See thats where im coming from its not that I dont want an lsx motor is just cost effectivness that comes into it and how to attain my goal. Lol

 

I don't have the file in front of me.It's at the shop.We put it together for a customer.A summary of what I remember was the price for all three was in the range of $8,000 to 10,000.It was for a 383,496,408.

 

But was that including the whole cost of swapping over the lsx or just the build for the motor?

 

Well the guy had a donor engine/trans,so as I recall it was a quote for a turn key swap.Like all other forums,everyone has their opinion and mine is the LSx swaps in the long run is a better investment.

 

So what happened with this build?

I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a sbc 383. Just wondering how this turned out...

 

Well while I was getting everything sorted out as far as parts, some body hit my car while it was parked so my driver side door and quarter panel. So that has been first recently lol but I pretty much got the motor part figured out just waiting on funds to buy them all lol. And also I might be moving to Houston here in a month or two so gotta make sure funds are their to move with lol

As far as pulling the trigger for a 383 build where are you at with your motor right now? Like these guys said an LS is the best way to go if your starting with a stock sbc IMO too. Only reason I decided to stick with my sbc is because I got the $1300 heads and $600 intake that well suit a 383. If it wasnt for that I would of done an LS build. And I still might if I find one cheap enough. But as of right now sticking to the 383 turbo build lol