I got all my parts for my 383 shortblock put together. Cam, crank, rods, pistons, timing set. And amazingly enough, it spins free! Granted I clearenced the block a little for the crank, but that was before I got the pistons/rods in. I got Eagle I beam 5.7s with cap screws and speed pro forged pistons. Im thinkin the cap screws really help with clearence issues, cuz most people Ive talked to said they had to grind on the head towards the small end of the rod.

SO, heres the ?. Whats a good clearence for rod-to-block, piston-to-crank, rod-to-cam? .050 good all around? Nothings binding, but a couple of the rods are very close to the block. Ill see if I can get some pics up later on to show ya. Any suggestions?

 

I don't know about the "expert" part; I only claim to be "somewhat experienced". But FWIW, .050" is usually considered adequate. A piece of about 16 gauge solid copper wire is frequently used as a go/no-go tester.

 

When I upgraded my 400 to 5.7 rods, my machine shop told me .030" rod-to-block clearance would be fine. I used a typical feeler gauge. 3 seasons and lots-o-passes later, everything is still fine.

If you used the right pistons for your rods/crank, there shouldn't be any piston-to-crank issues. Grinding the pistons to clearance them would affect the balance.

I don't know about rod-to-cam, as I had the machine shop do that for me.

-Dave