ok i have the money to build my 383 now. im trying to figure out which company to get the lower end from. ive looked at the enginekits. com setup and i like the price. and i have read the threads about them and seems to be only one person has bad experience with them. ive also read that they use stock rods just with arp bolts. and sometimes you might have to machine the rods to fit with the cam shaft.
the other kit that i saw was on rpmmachines.com. and there around 600. and they use the scat 9000 crank with i beam rods.

im still on a budget, i dont know if i should stay with the enginekits.com or spend a lil more and go with the rpmmachines kit.

and then im curious about the rods. any info about the rods would be great. im still searching on the forum for more info about building a 383.

 

Do you already have a 350 block and heads that aren't off of a 305?

 

yes i have the 350 block, already took it to the machine shop and had them look over it, clean it, installed new cam bearing, bore/ honed it. i have stock l98 heads, but im not using them. and i also have 305 heads that have been molested, but im not gonna use those either. im gonna sell those when i need to get rid of those. im gonna run afr heads. i have the money to buy those heads and all i have heard are good things about those heads.

 

i used an eagle rotating assembly

 

i decided to go with the enginekit. com assembly because of price. from what i have read it doesnt sound like a bad kit. and only one person i saw had a problem with versus the several others that had success. eagle was just lil rich for my blood right now. and i have only so much to spend on other components.

 

If a set of AFR's are $1200-$1400, I wouldn't cheap-out on the rotating assembly. Forged internals would be a good investment if you're shooting for over 450 HP.
If it's going to be street-only, I'd save money on the AFR's and use the L98 heads and cast internals.

 

im not gonna use any spray or boost. and from what the people told me that i have talked to, since im not gonna run boost or spray, i dont need forged components.

 

One other thing to keep in mind. That t-5 transmission and 10-bolt rear aren't going to last long behind a healthy 383.

 

Well, if it's this KIT don't forget that balancing is an extra $200-$270 and a flywheel for the T5 is another $110-145 depending on whether it's a 1 piece RMS.
So this $499 kit is $810 - $915 before shipping...
EDIT: oh yeah, down at the bottom is this little phrase:
***This Kit Must Be Balanced***
And this little gem:
NO RETURNS ON STROKER KITS.
Down here in Alabama we call that "chicken excrement"...