Crate engine for a 50 Chevy 3100 350 or 383 Stroker?

[MIKEs50Chevy]

I'm building a 1950 Chevy 3100 truck and I'm in the market for a V-8. I was planning on a crate engine and had been eyeing a ZZ4 350 from Chevy Performance in 355hp but I just found a 383 Stroker that's actually a little cheaper and it comes with a little more chrome. Thoughts?

[_Ogre]

do you want to spin the tires or drive it?
a 350 will get better mpg
chrome is over rated

[Rude Dude]

Agreed you can always had chrome, what matters is reliabilty the more horses the more gas!

Originally Posted by _Ogre

do you want to spin the tires or drive it?
a 350 will get better mpg
chrome is over rated

[NEWFISHER]

They are right, but the 383 I had once was just a blast to drive....back when super was $2.00 a gallon!

[Dan in Pasadena]

383 and you'll be the fastest to the next gas station! Lol
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[Indian113]

You could have the best of both worlds if you drink the LS Koolaid ! I put a 5.3 in my S10 for less money than I could buy a crate or overhaul a existing motor. 300+ hp. and 20 miles to the gallon of unleaded regular. I can also SPIN the tires at will.

[NEWFISHER]

Originally Posted by Indian113

You could have the best of both worlds if you drink the LS Koolaid ! I put a 5.3 in my S10 for less money than I could buy a crate or overhaul a existing motor. 300+ hp. and 20 miles to the gallon of unleaded regular. I can also SPIN the tires at will.

Best answer especially if disguised as an early motor
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[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by Indian113

You could have the best of both worlds if you drink the LS Koolaid ! I put a 5.3 in my S10 for less money than I could buy a crate or overhaul a existing motor. 300+ hp. and 20 miles to the gallon of unleaded regular. I can also SPIN the tires at will.

I have been the ZZ route twice, but for the money today do yourself a favor and go with the LS/4L60E better and less money.

Study the site for more info, my next project is a LS/4l60E!!

[Dan in Pasadena]

CAN an LS be disguised as a carbureted, non-HEI distributor motor?

I'd love to see how close you could make it!

[Denee007]

If I had it to do over again, I'd really shop and do what you're doing before you spend your hard earned money! I Think there's nothing worse than getting poor gas mileage! A modern day engine with a tranny with OD or the tranny that matches the engine in the link below would be nice. I'll never drive very far, but again~ If I had it to do over again! I was just fearful of computers and not having an understanding of them.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2012/08...o-use-afm.html

[klutz51]

5.3 with a 4l60 is the ultimate set up power and milage and the most reliable motor gm ever built, i work at a gm dealer and the 5.3 it it.

[mr48chev]

Overall practical with good mileage and power The 5.3 4l60 combo probably wins out. Geared out right you can run with the big dogs out on the boulevard and still get decent mileage which in the end results in making more longer distance runs more interesting. I passed on going to Bonneville for Speedweek a couple of years ago because at 10mph I could actually fly down to Salt Lake, rent a car and drive to Wendover and back for less money than I could drive my truck . When I went in the 48 and pulled 20 mpg with the 250 it wasn't much of an issue.

Now back to the crate motors. Factory warranty vs the ?warranty of a rebuilder is one issue. Another is can you actually put the extra power to work? Meaning the main difference between a 350 crate motor and a 383 crate motor for most guys is the bragging rights for having the stroker motor over a more stock motor. The chrome trinkets are good but are you actually going to use most of them or are you going to swap to other shiny trinkets on the engine? Personally if I had the stroker I would probably end up with a string of tickets in short order as my right foot seems to have more lead in it than my left foot does.

[Indian113]

What I think is funny, when people ask to see my motor they go crazy over the 5.3. V8 S10's are a dime a dozen around here but most people can't believe my set up. He is at the right stage now to take advice. I would never go back to old school now, in fact I have really gave it some thought to remove my 350 in my Model A and put in a 4.8.