I'm gearing up for my first engine build. I've been planning this for a few months and am going to give myself another couple of months to finish the planning. The reason for my post is to get some general guidance from people with more expertise in engine building. My goal is a 400HP 383 small block chevy stroker engine. Street only use. I'm thinking a 700r4 automatic transmission and 3.55 rear end gears. It will be going in a 1949 Ford passenger car. I would really like to build the engine myself. I've gotten a bit of feedback from people saying I shouldn't bother. It'd be cheaper in the long run to get a pro to build it for me. Or that I should just buy a crate 383. Alternatively, I've heard that crate engine are just junk. So my first request is for advice on that. I've spoken to a drag racer and he's given me the name of a reliable machine shop so the hurdle of finding a good, local machinist is covered. I've also got a virgin 350 from a 1975 truck. 2 piece rear main. The plan: A cast Scat crank. Flat-top pistons having a 1.125" compression height Scat I beam 6" stroker clearanced rods ARP connecting rod bolts Vortec heads machined to handle .525 lift with 3 angle valve job and some bowl blending. (I'm really not sure about this. I'm really open to ideas about heads) Narrow-body, self-aligning rockers with a 1.5:1 ratio (if I get the vortec heads.) flat-tappet, hydraulic-lifter cam around 220/230 @ .050" I'm aiming for aminimum of 0.050" clearance between the parts of the reciprocating assembly and anything else. Any and all advice is welcome. Should I zero deck the block for squish clearance between piston and head?
I have built a 396, 327, 235, 229, all Chevrolet There is nothing like the feeling of building an engine yourself, firing it for the first time, getting it all dialed in, and then driving down the road. Even if you never do it again, do it at least once.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mll-bp38313ct1/overview/ if your dead set on doing it yourself go ahead It will probably cost you more than this one check your local chevy dealer but dammit ITS A FORD USE A FORD ENGINE!!!!! http://fordracingparts123.com/crate...m-6007-x302/?gclid=CK-M3Oem7bsCFYZi7AodOhEAWA are you building a race car or a driver? sounds like you want a good sounding driver going with a over drive trans my advice is to keep it simple and drive the wheels off it
Find an "old guy" who knows his way around an engine and listen to his advice. Everybody had a "first time".
I built my 1st performance SBC 383 for my ‘69 Camaro. The original engine was assembled by a buddy thinking he got the correct long rod/ piston kit. I rebuilt the engine using the Ohio Crank 383 kit consisting of the 6” forged rods, piston and crank, with file to fit rings, etc. I had to clearance the block using a die grinder. Never did that before! I read up on it and mocked up the engine to determine the req’d clearance. Had to remove and install the crank/ piston/rod assembly a few times to verify clearance. Each time I cleaned the block several times using soap & water. I called Lunati for the correct flat tappet cam. They recommended a small base circle Voodoo cam with .489/.504 lift with 227/233 duration. Yes, verify piston / head clearance. I checked piston to valve clearance using the clay method. Using a solid lifter. The heads are 1st Gen.Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads with 1.5:1 roller rockers. Any good small chamber high performance head will do. Go with Aluminum. The intake is a Edelbrock Performer RPM with a 650 Speed Demon vacuum secondary carb. A 750 is used when I go to test & tune. The engine is very strong, reliable and idles with a lump. Car uses manual disc brakes. Sounds like you have it well thought out. Get with a good machine shop. Explain to them you want to assemble the engine. If they are willing to help ,you found the right shop. Do it yourself. Take is slow. You’ll be glad you did.
With 'low-ish' rear gears and the low-ass first gear of a 700r4, I don't really see that you will need the extra grunt of a stroker. I would advise you to save the headaches, money, extra parts, extra machine-work and build a 350. It will be plenty of fun and live a lot longer than a stroker with less/slower piston travel and less lateral force pushing the pistons into the cylinder walls. Especially on your first build.
just had the 383 delivered to my garage today dyno sheet says almost 480 ft lbs of torque and over 450hp
Without doing the math I can tell you that if you do that - with those heads and flat top pistons that you are going to end up something pretty far north of 10:1 compression...which will eliminate the possibility of it running on pump gas. You need to take the time to learn about calculating compression ratio and then do your math. Your 383 will probably run ok on good pump gas with about 10.5:1 compression...which is what you're going to need in order to make 400hp without forced induction. But I am pretty certain with a 0 deck and all the parts you spec'd that you'd more than likely end up way up in the 11's on your compression ratio. It'd be too high. Here's what you need to know: Cyl head combustion chamber volume Head gasket thickness when compressed The volume of the valve reliefs in the tops of the pistons And then you need to calculate the volume of the space around piston from the top of the top ring to the top of the piston. And then of course the volume of the cylinder. It's a tedious task, but if you really want to blueprint your engine to a certain spec it'll be worth your time.
Are you buying a rotating assembly? External balance?... Buying the assembly by piece will require all rods, pistons, crank, balancer and flexplate to all be balanced. Buy a rotating assembly kit that is balanced. Check out Ohio Crank Shaft. Great prices on stroker kits.
2nd on the internal balance rotating assembly kit. Scat and Eagle have them for under 1000$ , add in 500$ for machine work and gaskits and you've got a short block for 1500$...That's a deal. I say DIY. Its a great learning experience. Talk to engine builders and get David Vizard's book on the subject this is probably the most important thing anyone can tell you. Other things to consider. Have the machine shop Install the cam bearings. Have the machinist check your 1975 truck block for core shift & cracks. Get the casting numbers off your block. Verify the application, when and where it was made. Use a standard oil pump, skip the high volume / pressure. Get an oil pan with a scraper and screen or at least a windage tray. Strokers tend to rope the oil right out of the sump. The oil pickup has to match the pan properly. This is super important. [email protected] may not be enough cam for a 383. That may be a bit too mild. Consider 224 or 228 on the intake. Invest in a roller cam and retrofit lifters. Flat tappet cams are a bit tricky to break in now-a-dayz because of aggressive ramps and modern zinc-less oil formulations. If you wipe a cam you wide your motor. Save the money and stick with 5.7 rods. When you use a 6 inch rod in a stroker the piston pin interferes with the oil control rings. The pistons skits are smaller too. This all leads un-necessary expense and more piston rock and poor piston ring sealing. If you're keeping it under 6000 RPM you don't need 6 inch rods. Invest the money in a set of trick flow or other performance heads. With a mild cam... stick to 175 or 185cc on the intake ports for good velocity. Buy your pistons and have the machine shop mic them. Have the block bored to the pistons actual size + tight clearance. Get Hypuertechic pistons so you can run them tight so your rings seal better. A better seal equals more power and cleaner oil. Don't fall prey to the gapless rings scam. Don't waste you money on a bunch of measuring devices to blueprint your engine, You can get close enough with a simple set of feeler gauges. Learn how to use plasti-guage on your bearings. You'll need a torque wrench, a recent magazine test show the harbor freight 50$ torque wrench was close in performance to a expensive snap-on. I'd rather have the snap-on but if you're on a budget the HF will suffice. Scorpion roller rockers are high quality and priced right. I wouldn't mess with anything less in alu, however I prefer steel roller rockers. For a street car running a pump gas stick to 9.5:1 compression with a mild cam. Bump up to 10:1 if your cam is over [email protected] and you end up with alu heads. Tune...get a wide band o2 sensor. The difference between a disappointing pig motor and motor that lives up to it potential and feels great is the tune. Most carbs will be wrong out of the box and a proper tune is easily worth 50hp. The improved drivability will be priceless. Read this about heads. http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_1209_eight_budget_sbc_head_shootout/viewall.html Vortec heads will not get you to 400HP...not even close. Don't zero deck your block. You need some deck space...run it tight but not zero. Use a 90's LT1 gear reduction starter and make sure you use the support bracket that braces the rear of the starter to the middle of the block. They clear almost any header too. I like felpro gaskits. Get an old distributor, remove the gear, and use it to prime the motor before you fire it. Consider a voodoo cam. They close the valves with less acceleration that the Comp cams. The voodoo are quieter and will made more power with a set of mild valve springs because the valve wont bounce off the seat. I've had both and I prefer voodoo but I doo hate the school boy skull and cross bones marketing. Work clean. Make sure your engine is perfectly clean before you assembly it.
Double check everthing before you assemble. Take your time. Expect things to go wrong. Do you have any friends that have built a engine that can help. My friends and I built my SBC and I am happy with the outcome. Tuning is a headache but I have learned alot and I can say I did it. I think I have spent just as much building the motor if I would have paid someone to do it.
Go4it!! You wont be satisfied until you do. I have a stroker in my coupe but with a solid lifter cam with 500 horses and 500 foot lbs. of torke. Car weighs 2000lbs. I used a scat crank system from Doug Herbert and I couldn't be happier. I change oil every 2500 miles and drive 5000+miles a year. Street car only. Best thing I ever did for the motor was install MSD al box on the ignition. Motor has been in car 10yrs. VAROOM!!!!!
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