I was wondering what everyone thinks of this setup. I have a 2 bolt pre 86 350 and am trying to decide what to do with it. I have heard that they are a good choice but dont last long due to the larger parts and all. I was looking for any opinions on 383's and any good setups or kits for them. Thanks for the help.

 

If you're going to build a lot of power like most 383s will be, then a 4 bolt main would be a better choice to go with I would think. Though I'm not sure how much power a 2 bolt can hold up to.

 

The 2 bolt will live up just fine at 450 hp or less (sometimes even more). 383's will last just fine, as long as they are put together properly for the intended purpose (ie don't build a race motor for street driving, and don't take a motor you just built for mild performance street driving and run 300 hp worth of nitrous through it). Just make sure all the clearances are right and don't use bargain basement bearings and bolts.
If you're gonna be building for insane amounts of power at high rpms like my firebird, then you'll want to upgrade, and even then I'd keep your 2 bolt block and do the splayed 4 bolt conversion, it's a lot stronger, and works better on 2 bolt blocks than 4 bolt blocks, but it is pretty pricey.

 

keep the 2 bolt block and stud the caps. the 2 bolt blocks have beefier main webbings and keeps the block itself from twisting under stress. i have a studded 2bolt block and the desktop dyno came up with 475hp on my stroker. (i plugged every last little number right down the degrees in which the valves open and close and the compressed thickness of a head gasket.) with the right combo you can get a monster motor that is pump gas friendly. mine is only 9.6:1 compression.