Hi all - im considering a 383 budget build as I have my heads off for porting and decided might as well go ahead.. Looking at an scat 9000 series 1pc crank (3.75), a damper is 50 bucks, speedpro pistons for 383 builds just under 200 - arp rod bolts under 100.. all in maybe 500.. Im considering this route vs a kit on ebay purely as a matter of doing it on the cheap - and not sure the ibeam rods are worth it for my build.. I reckon im going to be making around in the 450 or more range and this is just a street toy / cruiser- I think the stock rods should hold up ok - Do the stroker kit parts offer any reasonable advantages over stock/diy ito clearancing etc? weight savings? I think the ibeams are lighter than stock? Current build: 350 Vortec roller block GM Hotcam 218 int./228 exh. 279 int./287 exh. .525/.525 (on 1.6 rockers) Currently stock bottom end 3k stall Ported vortec iron heads / 3 angle valve job 373 rear / 77 camaro / 2004r tranny (rebuilding this at same time) Pistons im considering: (still fishing around for piston weight to compare) https://speedmaster79.com/Chevy-SBC-350-383-ci-5.7-4.030-1.425-0.927-Flat-Top-Hyper-Pistons-Coated
Since its your first build, you are probably better off buying a prebalanced kit. When you replace the rod bolts with ARP bolts you need to recondition the rod bores by having a machine shop hone them. By the time you are done you have as much in them as buying new aftermarket rods. Then you have to have it all balanced. A kit will save you problems and be a better first time choice. First thing you need to do is decide what cam you will use and how much lift its going to provide. That will tell you which pistons are needed to clear the valves. If you buy a kit, they should be able to recommend a cam that works with their kit. Cheap isn't really cheap if you have any problems later on. Don't try to skimp too much...........
thanks - im probably not going to balance it unless i can find a balanced kit.. ill do the individual pieces but not the whole RA.. this is just a street toy. i called one company and they said the pistons and rods are lighter so thats worth it imo- question is how much hp will i see using $250 rods vs stock - etc. im not trying to build every ft lb of torque out of the motor - just a nice healthy 383. cam will be .525 max- ill check with them ito clearance on the cam tho thanks. I do bore my own blocks so not too worried about the work involved.. but honestly many times ive seen stock stuff outperform/closely match higher dollar parts.. its just a mindset thing
I’m wonder where a “cheep kit” off E-Bay is coming from. No matter what parts you are using I cannot understand not balencing the rotating elements. Lighter is better as it’s easier to remove metal from the crank than add. I’m assuming the SCAT 9000 is an internally balance crank which helps. Good luck..
Eagle and scat both sell complete balanced rotating assemblies for right around $800. It is not cheap to have everything balanced. It cost me several hundred dollars to have my 327 crank turned and then everything balanced. You would probably be ahead on just buying a kit.
If you're thinking of building a 383, go with the kit route. There are numerous companies that have varying levels of product. The rods can be OEM, but they will install ARP or other quality bolts, resize the bores, grind necessary clearance on them. The cranks can be cast or forged, piston types vary as well. But a shop can put kit together, and balance for you. I would go that way, if I was doing one.
When I built my 383 race engine, I ran into clearance problems with stock rods and stock style rod bolts with the camshaft. The next 383 I build will have aftermarket rods with cap screw style rod bolts. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Okay, I understand now Now if you were to buy new rods and put in ARP bolts, would the rods need to be resized as well? I recall reading somewhere that the ARP rod bolts were pretty tight going into the holes and can distort the big end?
I bought a set of rods, from a machine shop, that were ready to go. They were weight matched, ARP rod bolts fitted and big ends re-sized. Got them for the price of the rod bolts, as customer never came to pick them up.
You better do your homework budget36 Scat 4340 Forged Sport Compact H-Beam Connecting Rods Machined from high-tensile 4340 forged material, these connecting rods for sport compacts are the strongest Scat Rod available! They're profiled for stroker clearance, which makes them ideal for high-compression, nitrous, and supercharged applications. For added durability, ARP 2000 Series Cap Screw Fasteners are used to secure the heavy-duty 2-rib doweled rod caps. Features 4340 Forged Material Profiled for Stroker Engines Bushed for Floating Piston Pins Sized and Balanced to +/- 1 gram ARP 2000 Series 12-Point Cap Screw Bolts Special Doweled Rod Caps for Precise Alignment Pat
SCAT, Eagle, and most other quality aftermarket rods all come with ARP or better rod bolts. Speedmaster/ProComp and a lot of the 'white box" rods you have to watch out, they often come with "ARP look-a-like" bolts that don't actially say ARP and aren't made by ARP. I'd be a little leary of Speedmaster pistons too, likely china made and who knows what heat treat level they got. I don't know of anyone who has used them to say one way ot the other. Most times any stock rods are going to have rob bolt head to cam clearance problems unless you clearance grind the rods/bolt heads or use a reduced base circle cam. If you use the I-beam or H-beam cap screw rods a standard base circle cam typically clears or the rods just need a very minor clearance grind that doesn't effect the capscrew bolt. I've used a couple sets of the "white box" rods in a couple of engines, back when you could buy the rods for less than $120 a set....then I would buy a set of NASCAR takeout 3/8" capscrews that were typically Pankl or Carillo and 220,000+ psi material for $25-40 and put those in, throw the 'white box" bolts in the general bolt bin, and have the rod bore checked and touched up on the rod home if needed. Most ended up needing a stroke or two on the hone. Those two sets of rods have been run pretty hard with no problems, one set to 7400+ rpm in a 383 street/strip deal for several years now. Got a third set ready to use for my 406 right now.
Cool - well as luck would have it scat is a few miles from my shop.. I did do some reading on the speedmaster stuff.. not sld on it, but i do like the pistons - I dont think pistons can be too hard to make.. as for crank ill be going scat. The eagle kits have had some good reviews, and come balanced- my buddy is already blown by my 350 being fast, so i wanna surprise him and his spendy crate 500hp motor if i burn him he will literally be crying for days as he puts it. I have a high rise marine intake ready to go with my trusty quadrajet.. ported vortec heads, 1.6 roller rockers. Im gonna go off on a limb here and aim for 11:1 static/8.6-9 dcr for pump gas and see how that all goes
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