383 Stroker????

[alabamachevy15]

What do yall think about this engine? Never heard of this place but it seems to be a good engine! I was planning on a 434 but I wanna still drive it on the street! Plus I can drive to pick it up!
http://www.wheelerpowerproducts.com/...ailedSpecs.pdf

[xrcr]

Never heard of them either. Price is right. I'd try to see if they willl give you information on who is running these and check that out. Do they warranty anything? GM sells crate motors for pro crate late models for around the same price but the compression might be tough to street.

[piecesparts]

Their price is about right. The aluminum heads should make up for the 10 to 1 compression ratio. Still, do not be surprised if you have to run a higher octane gas for the spark knock issues. A little lower compression ratio would make it more streetable, but you would loose a little HP in the long run. I have never heard of these guys, before.

I went to a local machine shop and built my 383 for the truck that is in my avatar. I have about the same invested in mine.

[alabamachevy15]

I thought that price was good cause the speed shop here where I live wants $3,800 just for shortblock+cam. I dont care about the higher octane gas as I always run 93 even in my new chevy. I just want something with lots of torque and I can take to the track and make decent times.

[baclay9]

Just FYI my motor was 10.2:1 compression and it pre-detonated with 91 octane no matter the temp. You may have to run octane booster as well. I am currently changing pistons to bring compression down to 9.5:1. Buying octane booster for every tank in expensive.

[swb85]

You can run a lot more compression on pump gas than most people think if you use the correct cam timing, quench and chamber design. I run 10.5:1 compression with iron vortec heads on my 383 and run 91 octane with no issues. Compression is your friend if you like snappy torquey engines, I always run as much as I can get away with.

[justinburnett]

Didn't some of the corvettes run an 11:1 stock back in the day? Might just be pulling numbers out of my head, but it seems like it was the late sixties or first couple years of 70s.

[justinburnett]

Okay, this must have been where I got my info. It's off wikipedia (don't know why it stuck in my head). So would you have to use special fuel for this engine back then?

* LT-1

LT-1 from a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Years: 1970–1972

The LT-1 was the ultimate 350 cu in (5.7 L) V8, becoming available in 1970. It used solid lifters, 11:1 compression, a high-performance camshaft, and a 780 CFM Holley four-barrel carburetor on a special aluminum intake with ramhorn exhaust manifolds and a low-restriction exhaust to produce a factory rated 370 hp (276 kW) (the NHRA rated it at 425 hp for classification purposes) and 380 lb·ft (515 N·m). Redline was 6500 rpm but power fell off significantly past 6200 rpm. The LT-1 was available on the Corvette and Camaro Z28. Power was down in 1971 to 330 hp (246 kW) and 360 lb·ft (488 N·m) with 9:1 compression, and again in 1972 (the last year of the LT-1, now rated using net, rather than gross, measurement) to 255 hp (190 kW) and 280 lb·ft (380 N·m).

[foamypirate]

Fuel from the 60's and early 70's had lead, which acted as an octane booster. That's why they were able to get away with higher compression back then. Nowadays, it's due to chamber design, head material, and quench.

[alabamachevy15]

Yea this new gas is crap for high performance engines. I know of only one station around here that sells gas without ethanol and its $3.99. But I do wanna go with the most compression I can im just gonna call this place and tell them what im looking for and give them a budget to build on.

[Long79]

Originally Posted by alabamachevy15

Yea this new gas is crap for high performance engines. I know of only one station around here that sells gas without ethanol and its $3.99. But I do wanna go with the most compression I can im just gonna call this place and tell them what im looking for and give them a budget to build on.

You can't buy gas with out ethanol, gas company's put it in right at the refinery, it is used to get the correct octane, this guy is just trying to scam people

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by foamypirate

Fuel from the 60's and early 70's had lead, which acted as an octane booster. That's why they were able to get away with higher compression back then. Nowadays, it's due to chamber design, head material, and quench.

They also had much higher octane fuel available in the 60's too. It is not all just due to the lead content. Some engines from Chevy in the late 60's like the L88 and ZL1 even ran 12.5 to 1 compression. The L-88 cars came with a sticker saying they needed 103 octane fuel. Not very many of those but there much more out there that ran 11 to 1 like all the 375 hp 396's and the Z/28's 302. Almost everything else ran 10.25 or so until the unleaded gas change over occurred in 71 or 72.

[rfmaster]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

They also had much higher octane fuel available in the 60's too. It is not all just due to the lead content. Some engines from Chevy in the late 60's like the L88 and ZL1 even ran 12.5 to 1 compression. The L-88 cars came with a sticker saying they needed 103 octane fuel. Not very many of those but there much more out there that ran 11 to 1 like all the 375 hp 396's and the Z/28's 302. Almost everything else ran 10.25 or so until the unleaded gas change over occurred in 71 or 72.

The US EPA first announced regulations to limit the amount of lead in gasoline in November 1973. The new regulations mandated that the lead content for all grades of gasoline be restricted to 1.7 grams per gallon by July 1, 1975. The new gasoline lead regulations were based on ‘total pool averaging’-“a method which allows refiners to average lead usage over all grades of gasoline produced, including the unleaded grade”. Unleaded gasoline was readily available when catalytic converters were installed in new cars beginning 1975 model year.

//RF

[80SPORT]

Your best value is a brand new GM crate engine....24 month/50000 mile warrantee good at any GM dealer.Available from a GM dealer or numerous online vendors.There are 2 versions -the standard vortec HT model with 340 HP and the zz383 with aluminum heads and 425 HP.
See details at gmperformanceparts.com

GMs horsepower ratings are done to SAE standards and are very conservative...especially compared to some aftermarket claims.

These engines are all brand with new 4 bolt main block,forged crank with 1 piece seal,roller camshaft etc.

They also have a slightly longer stroke than aftermarket 383 motors as GM engineering requires them to start with a standard bore block.

Most aftermarket 383 motors have a 030 overbore with a crank speced for the original 400cid.

We have used both of these engines;the HT is perfect for a dually or a crewcab;the zz works best in a short box with a lower gear ratio.

[russgt]

gm's prices are usually high though, could probably have the exact motor that you want built cheaper. Keep in mind that with a crate motor, modify anything and your warranty is gone.


ZZ4 350/350 hp $5299 plus shipping
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-19201330/

HT383 340hp $4800
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12499101/

his motor
383/ 450 hp $4700 pick up

The zz does come ready to run, not real clear on the 383 with what it comes with

[Dru]

You could always learn to build it yourself, assembling a 383 isnt that hard, and you would learn something along the way. Its just a 400 crank in a 350 block.

I prefer the 377's myself for a small block, which is a 350 crank in a 400 block, they'll spin up a lot quicker. But I dont have much use for small blocks anyhow.

[alabamachevy15]

I have looked into the gmpp engines but they are expensive and and for those prices I can have alot more HP! But im not knocking gmpp they do build great engines and they are reliable I know several people who have gmpp engines in their dirt track latemodels and run up front every night. But I will probally end up buying from Wheeler they are close so I wont have to pay shipping and I can actually go and talk with the people who built the engine.

[BigBlocksRule]

No brand name on the heads?
Probably ProComp.
Same quality as you buy at Harbor Freight, which makes sense since they come from the same place.
Roll your own, there's nothing like it.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

No brand name on the heads?
Probably ProComp.
Same quality as you buy at Harbor Freight, which makes sense since they come from the same place.
Roll your own, there's nothing like it.

All the house brand parts on there and like stated above the lack of a brand name for the heads, cam & intake bother me. For the money they are asking you can build your own with known quality name brand parts.

Building your own is the only way to go.

A set of AFR 190's and a Comp hydraulic roller setup will run you less than half their asking price and you can get a good quality Scat 383 forged rotating assembly with H-beam rods for under a $1850. That leaves you plenty of money to come up with a rebuildable 4-bolt block and have it machined.

Getting all the new tin, fasteners and intake will bring the cost a little above their asking price but you will end up with a better quality engine that will last longer in the end.

[BigBlocksRule]

Lead didn't boost octane, it acted as a "cushion" or lubricant for valves and seats. That's why we need hardened seats with unleaded fuels.
Octane is a fuel's resistance to detonation. Modern combustion chamber shapes are part of today's puzzle, the computer and injectors are the other things that let us run a bit more compression than through the 70's and 80's.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

Lead didn't boost octane, it acted as a "cushion" or lubricant for valves and seats. That's why we need hardened seats with unleaded fuels.
Octane is a fuel's resistance to detonation. Modern combustion chamber shapes are part of today's puzzle, the computer and injectors are the other things that let us run a bit more compression than through the 70's and 80's.

I agree on part of lead discussion, but the computer only works to reduce timing when detonation is happening. It will retard the ignition until you are sucking the hind leg of the rat that is eating your dust up fast. That is why the sales of tuners is going through the roof on late model cars. To get more compression and run a computer, you have to build to the standard of head and cam profile design or keep the compression ratio down to a good level.

If you run a carb, then you run the engine to your own desires, not what a computer will do for you.

[piecesparts]

The whole thing abut a stroker engine is that the block is good enough to stand up to the machine work that oyu do to it. You have to remove a lot of metal inside for clearance and then you want to have quality parts to stand up to the hell that you have convinced yourself to give it. You don't need a 4 bolt main setup, but it helps. The older blocks, known as "heavy blocks" is the best. They have more metal available to use. The HP is in the heads and cam profile for the stroker engine.