383 or 5.3?????????

[Irishpilot]

I agree with above statements: daily-driver = 5.3 economy

weekend-warrior = 383 high HP

I love the old-school power and feel of my 406, but I wouldn't like the gas bill as a daily driver...

[Camper Power]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

found a 6.0 for $775 shipped, good deal???

thats a realy good deal, some 5.3s are priced higher than that, does it include the tranny and computer?

[boostat4500]

If you swap from DBW to a cable TB the harness and PCM will need to be modified for the additional sensors, IAC and TP. Just something to keep in mind. I vote for the 5.3 or 6.0. Put a cam and springs in it and call it good.

[highperf4x4]

You're talking a whole lot more work to put that 5.3 in your truck. It will end up costing you alot more than you think in the long run unless you try to cut some corners (not a good idea). And from what I read it looks like you're shopping for someone's used motor.

If your other option is to build a brand new 383 then my decision would be made. I mean, how many times do you want to start over?

I'd build the new 383, stick it in the truck. When money shows up down the road, add the fuel injection to it.

Think of it like this............

383 = Brand new engine with WAY more pull in the low range.
5.3 = Used engine ALOT more work.

Like I said, my decision would be made

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by Camper Power

thats a realy good deal, some 5.3s are priced higher than that, does it include the tranny and computer?

no tranny, computer, harness or accesories

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by highperf4x4

You're talking a whole lot more work to put that 5.3 in your truck. It will end up costing you alot more than you think in the long run unless you try to cut some corners (not a good idea). And from what I read it looks like you're shopping for someone's used motor.

If your other option is to build a brand new 383 then my decision would be made. I mean, how many times do you want to start over?

I'd build the new 383, stick it in the truck. When money shows up down the road, add the fuel injection to it.

Think of it like this............

383 = Brand new engine with WAY more pull in the low range.
5.3 = Used engine ALOT more work.

Like I said, my decision would be made

I know, but I'm worried about loosing my motor again to another cam failure, that would cost more than doing a 6.0 or 5.3 swap

[highperf4x4]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

I know, but I'm worried about loosing my motor again to another cam failure, that would cost more than doing a 6.0 or 5.3 swap

So you're nervous about putting another flat tappet cam in your engine and having it fail during break in like the last one?

I'm assuming you've considered putting a roller cam in your 383 then to cure that problem and you're thinking that the cost of that would be about the same as going to the 5.3?

Trust me, an "all roller" 383 built from the engine you're pulling out right now is not going to cost you more than the swap to the 5.3.

So, this formula still holds true............
383 = Brand new engine with WAY more pull in the low range.
5.3 = Used engine ALOT more work

[Custom 68]

my 5.3 swap was not bad but yes it can get spendy. Mine stock ran great I did a cam swap nothing too wild and a good tune I ran consistant 13.8 at 94 in the 1/4
now with a conservative 50 shot of NOS I dropped to 13.3 at just over 100 mph with street tires and 4l60e tranny. It seems to have plenty of power.

[ap2002]

you can make a 5.3 as powerful as a 383, a 6.0 will make even more power aswell, it all depends on what you want to do, from what ive seen nobody as ever regreted going to the new LS swap... they are very dependable, economic fuel mileage, and make alot of power....

[ap2002]

Originally Posted by Custom 68

my 5.3 swap was not bad but yes it can get spendy. Mine stock ran great I did a cam swap nothing too wild and a good tune I ran consistant 13.8 at 94 in the 1/4
now with a conservative 50 shot of NOS I dropped to 13.3 at just over 100 mph with street tires and 4l60e tranny. It seems to have plenty of power.

do you mind me asking what size cam you put in the 5.3?

[Dave Reed]

I looked at a budget build to drop a 5.3 into a truck and the guy came back at $1500 done deal. I have an 06' swb reg cab with a 5.3 and it gets 17mpg with me beating on it and it has 325hp with headers at the crank. These are 200,000 mile engines all day long. You don't even change the spark plugs for the first 100k. Keep it under 65mph and see 20-21 mpg. I can't see the 383 comparing for a daily driver. Down the road add a magna charger and put down almost 450hp at the tires for about $4k. All day long reliability.

[t&tkennels]

383 imo.

[boostat4500]

Personally I'd trust a 100k mile LSx more than a brand new gen 1, but that's just me. IMO, a 5.3 or 6.0 swap, even with a cam, would be cheaper than a good 383 rebuild, and get you the same or better power.
OP: Would you be building the motor yourself, or buying a complete short/long block?

[capev86]

yeah....i agree with the 383 w/ fuel injection

old school torque but with sophistication

[highperf4x4]

This is my own personal 4x4. That's the engine I built myself. I did away with the fuel injection, I did away with the computer controlled timing, no O2 sensor, no electric fuel pump. Pretty much the same as the '76 model truck I pulled the engine out of and I can tune it in the blink of an eye for whatever I'm getting ready to do with it. It's a 4-bolt gen1 350 bored .030 over, forged pistons, a good sized hydraulic flat tappet edelbrock cam, 3 angle valve job, milled heads, dual plane intake. It has an HEI distribtuor, an edelbrock 4bbl carb and 2.5" exhaust with headers. It's not only a daily driver but I punish this truck on a regular basis. I go mudding whenever I can (you can see the mud baked onto my headers) I drag my 21' ski boat to the lake with it all summer, I haul trailer loads of material and equipment all the time at work and I just drug my '72 chevy from Rogers Arkansas to Oklahoma City on a trailer at 70mph with the A/C on and absolutely no problems. The only change I'd need to make this engine a 383 is a crank and rods. And if I find a reason to pull it out again that's exactly what I'll do with it.

The problem with asking the question of which engine to use is that you get everyone's personal opinions stated like they were facts.

I'll give you some facts. A 383 is a 6.3L engine with the stroke of a 400 small block. Power comes from displacement and torque comes from the stroke of the crankshaft. The longer the stroke, the more torque you can make. Anyone that tells you a 5.3L will make as much torque as a 6.3L built the same has no clue what they are talking about. Those aren't opinions, they're facts. But don't take my word for it, go talk to your local performance machine shop and see what they tell you.

Bottom line is if you build the engine and break it in right, you'll have a motor that will last as long as you want it to with proper fluid/filter changes. It can be a daily driver or a hot rod either one depending on how you want to drive on any given day. My truck is a hotrod, a mud runner, or a workhose all at the same time and I have all the factory accessories including the A/C. What more could you ask for?

So, I ask you, why would you spend more money to change your truck over to a used stock LS based engine when you could build a brand new roller cam torque monster from the block/heads/pistons that you already have, drop it right back into the truck as is and drive it however you choose for as long as you want?

This is just my own opinion based on my own experience after 20 years of building performance engines. You can take it or leave it. The decision is ultimately up to you. Either way you go, have fun with it and best of luck to you!

[Sicmaro]

I have a dyno sheet from my 5.3 swap ill post it tomorrow.

[brad_man_72]

Originally Posted by Custom 68

my 5.3 swap was not bad but yes it can get spendy. Mine stock ran great I did a cam swap nothing too wild and a good tune I ran consistant 13.8 at 94 in the 1/4
now with a conservative 50 shot of NOS I dropped to 13.3 at just over 100 mph with street tires and 4l60e tranny. It seems to have plenty of power.

i'll second that. rode in it yesterday i still have perma-grin!

[68 short step]

Originally Posted by highperf4x4

This is my own personal 4x4. That's the engine I built myself. I did away with the fuel injection, I did away with the computer controlled timing, no O2 sensor, no electric fuel pump. Pretty much the same as the '76 model truck I pulled the engine out of and I can tune it in the blink of an eye for whatever I'm getting ready to do with it. It's a 4-bolt gen1 350 bored .030 over, forged pistons, a good sized hydraulic flat tappet edelbrock cam, 3 angle valve job, milled heads, dual plane intake. It has an HEI distribtuor, an edelbrock 4bbl carb and 2.5" exhaust with headers. It's not only a daily driver but I punish this truck on a regular basis. I go mudding whenever I can (you can see the mud baked onto my headers) I drag my 21' ski boat to the lake with it all summer, I haul trailer loads of material and equipment all the time at work and I just drug my '72 chevy from Rogers Arkansas to Oklahoma City on a trailer at 70mph with the A/C on and absolutely no problems. The only change I'd need to make this engine a 383 is a crank and rods. And if I find a reason to pull it out again that's exactly what I'll do with it.

The problem with asking the question of which engine to use is that you get everyone's personal opinions stated like they were facts.

I'll give you some facts. A 383 is a 6.3L engine with the stroke of a 400 small block. Power comes from displacement and torque comes from the stroke of the crankshaft. The longer the stroke, the more torque you can make. Anyone that tells you a 5.3L will make as much torque as a 6.3L built the same has no clue what they are talking about. Those aren't opinions, they're facts. But don't take my word for it, go talk to your local performance machine shop and see what they tell you.

Bottom line is if you build the engine and break it in right, you'll have a motor that will last as long as you want it to with proper fluid/filter changes. It can be a daily driver or a hot rod either one depending on how you want to drive on any given day. My truck is a hotrod, a mud runner, or a workhose all at the same time and I have all the factory accessories including the A/C. What more could you ask for?

So, I ask you, why would you spend more money to change your truck over to a used stock LS based engine when you could build a brand new roller cam torque monster from the block/heads/pistons that you already have, drop it right back into the truck as is and drive it however you choose for as long as you want?

This is just my own opinion based on my own experience after 20 years of building performance engines. You can take it or leave it. The decision is ultimately up to you. Either way you go, have fun with it and best of luck to you!

what do you figure it would cost to build a NEW 383 ,with all the power you've been talking about???

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by capev86

yeah....i agree with the 383 w/ fuel injection

old school torque but with sophistication

You guys don' get this:

383 short block--$2000-2500

5.3/6.0 swap(on the cheap)--$2000-2500

Fuel injected 383--$4000-5000

[ap2002]

HP dyno numbers dont mean nothing, my 2001 ext cab silverado runs low 12's in the quarter with full boltons and cam only, stock bottom end.. and it only dynoed 320rwhp? thats on a 4750lb truck! ive seen same trucks as mine with a 5.3 run hi 12's/low13's all day long.... by the way i still get 14mpgcity/18-19mpghighway.... if you want torque (bottom end power) get a stall converter, mine is a 4k flash converter, so when you hit out of the line you are making plenty of power at 4krpm..... my cruising speeds on the highwy with this big converter and 4.10 rearend, is 70mph ~2200rpm.... not bad at all..... a 5.3 will probably not give the same DYNO HP numbers, but it will sure give it a good run for its money, and a 6.0 upgrade is always real easy to do afterwards if desired...plus main key here is realiabilty right?

and when people say 383 vs 5.3, its not a fair comparison, cause they are comparing fully built 383 to a stock 5.3, they are plenty of after market for the 5.3's as well, throw in cam and heads on a 5.3 and see that little motor make the hell up!

[highperf4x4]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

You guys don' get this:

383 short block--$2000-2500

5.3/6.0 swap(on the cheap)--$2000-2500

Fuel injected 383--$4000-5000

I recommended adding the fuel injection later when you can afford it and that's only because you said you wanted it. I took it off my truck bro and went with an easy to tune and diagnose 4bbl with all the performance I need and at 5600lbs in the 4x4 I still get around 14 mpg.

I don't know where you came up with your figures for the 383 though. That would be starting from scratch. You just built your 350 7000 miles ago right? And it was the camshaft that failed, so your valve job on the vortec heads is still fresh. You bored the block .030 and thats still fresh (only need to hone the polish off the cylinder walls yourself). You already have an intake and carb and flat top pistons right? All you're looking for is a 400 crank and rods and you can pick that up somewhere for 200 - 300 dollars. Even if you go with the all roller cam and valvetrain setup and balance the entire bottom end you should still be under 2000.00 with a brand new balanced, high performance all roller 383 to drop right in your truck without any other modifications.

If you go with the 5.3 fuel injected conversion you're probably going to be closer to that 2500.00 mark or higher and still ending up with a used stock smaller engine.

Like I said, it's just up to you to decide what you want to do with your truck. But I'm still voting for the new 383.

Just give it plenty of thought and we'll be around to offer you more advice no matter which way you go with it.

[highperf4x4]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

You guys don' get this:

383 short block--$2000-2500

5.3/6.0 swap(on the cheap)--$2000-2500

Fuel injected 383--$4000-5000

I just read your signature. I didn't realize you were having the machine shop do your build for you. I thought you had built the last motor yourself. If they quoted you that price to build the 383 then I can't argue with it. I could take what you have and build me an all roller 383 for less than 2000.00 though. However, paying someone else to do it will cost you alot more.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by highperf4x4

I just read your signature. I didn't realize you were having the machine shop do your build for you. I thought you had built the last motor yourself. If they quoted you that price to build the 383 then I can't argue with it. I could take what you have and build me an all roller 383 for less than 2000.00 though. However, paying someone else to do it will cost you alot more.

yeah, I took it to the machine shop, the machinist I'm dealing with tells me to take it to him and he'll look at it, last time I took it to him, I took it apart and he machined it and put it back together.

the reason I took it to him again is because he said he'd give me a good deal since I had problems last time, but I think he wants to regrind the crank and stick it back together as a 360 (350 .060 over). I'm kinda fed up with him because I asked him wheather I should use the .060 over block or use a stock 4" bore block (both 4-bolt blocks) that needed an overbore, and he told me to use the .060 over block. I don't know, he acts like he doesn't want me to make it a 383 or a roller cam, he wants to redo it exactly the same.

I don't know, I'm gonna call him monday and see if he's started looking at it, If he hasn't, I'm gonna pick it up, and either sell it or take it somewhere else.
I'm kinda ready for a change, the 6.0 might be a nice change, I'd really like a 383 but I think the future of performance is in the LSx.

[jkade]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

You guys don' get this:

383 short block--$2000-2500

5.3/6.0 swap(on the cheap)--$2000-2500

Fuel injected 383--$4000-5000

I would to hate to think I could not go out and buy a stock 5.3 and use your 700r4 install it and have it running for less than $1500 bucks if you bargin shop. My brother bought a 05 5.3 with harness from LQK for $450 that had less than 60k on it.

Get on LS1tech and performancetruckets.net and find you some accessories and anything else you are missing cheap. I did this same swap in a 67 for less than $1500 bucks and that included trans, harness, guages, fuel pump, etc.
If you bargin shop from ebay, ls1tech, performancetrucks.net, etc you can do this fairly cheap. If you plan on buying everything new then you will spend $2000 plus.

If you have a little skills you can do your own harness with the pinouts from LS1tech.com. You can use your stock tank and use a inline pump mounted on the frame rail. Get a used radiator with fans from a 98-2002 camaro of trans-am. I bought a used autometer tach and speedo off ebay and then bought the rest of the guages new from summit and they all matched.





I did use a fbody harness and a fbody intake plus I also turned that 5.3 into a 5.7 but I did it all for less than $1500. That truck would blow about any 383 off the road too

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by jkade

I would to hate to think I could not go out and buy a stock 5.3 and use your 700r4 install it and have it running for less than $1500 bucks if you bargin shop. My brother bought a 05 5.3 with harness from LQK for $450 that had less than 60k on it.

Get on LS1tech and performancetruckets.net and find you some accessories and anything else you are missing cheap. I did this same swap in a 67 for less than $1500 bucks and that included trans, harness, guages, fuel pump, etc.
If you bargin shop from ebay, ls1tech, performancetrucks.net, etc you can do this fairly cheap. If you plan on buying everything new then you will spend $2000 plus.

If you have a little skills you can do your own harness with the pinouts from LS1tech.com. You can use your stock tank and use a inline pump mounted on the frame rail. Get a used radiator with fans from a 98-2002 camaro of trans-am. I bought a used autometer tach and speedo off ebay and then bought the rest of the guages new from summit and they all matched.





I did use a fbody harness and a fbody intake plus I also turned that 5.3 into a 5.7 but I did it all for less than $1500. That truck would blow about any 383 off the road too

do you have a build thread???