Advice wanted

[Steve]

I've a few ££s saved up and I'd like more power for my car.The engine is not Nos matching being a 1966 383.It has excellent oil pressure and uses no oil.Don't know what internals are but performance wise I'm guessing totally stock.
My question is would you rebuild this 383 with performance goodies or get a 440.Obviously the 383 would be cheaper as I already have it,but if I did this would I regret not getting the 440.Never having driven a 440 car would I notice much of a difference to a breathed on 383.
I use the car primarily on the street but want to have the occasional blast down the strip.
Thanks in advance.

 

[69hemibeep]

Steve, as the saying goes there is no replacement for displacement. That being said I use to race with a stock stroke 383 and it was a 7000rpm screamer. If you have a true 66 383 including heads you most likely have a small combustion chamber for compression but lacking in the port and valve size if memory serves. I found early 426 wedge heads which were larger in valve and ports without a larger chamber and worked with a good intake carb, cam and headers, I'm sure somebody can expound on the head situation. Now granted I was running a huge hydr cam and 13 to 1 pistons, which isn't to cool for driving around town. The other option is to stroke it and I'll bet Chris or others will have some input about that. Allot of folks think the 383 is the ugly red headed step child of big mopars but I like them and the 400s. It comes down to what you want to spend.

 

[SomeCarGuy]

A 400 or 440 is a much better option.

A 383 is fine for driving around, but spending much on them is a waste. You could do a cheap freshening of the bottom end, get some aluminum heads and have some fun. Everything will transfer later to a 400 or 440.

Problem with a 383 is the lack of cheap pistons. That hurts and you may as well put that money into getting a block that will work out better. Being across the pond will make it harder to find good cores I'm sure, so I would do what I suggested above.

 

[ACME A12]

It comes down to what you want to spend.

And with that, Bob nailed it on the head. What would the budget allow for?

One thing that certainly must be factored in that might end up being the driver for your decision (that isn't so much of a concern over here) would be the availability of the 440...you can find them fairly easily around here...but what is the availability across the pond and at what cost?

 

[sixgunrunner68]

If you can find a 440 for a fair coin, go with it. I did and never looked back. Once again there is no substitute for cubic inches.

 

[69hemibeep]

Steve, I don't know how far you want to get into it but at Summit KB pistons are the same price for all big blocks cost wise about $340-$355 plus shipping. I have no clue what it would take to ship a 440 across the pond. By the way do you have a good machine shop that doesn't go cross eyed when he see's an American V8

 

[Big John]

Well... I gotta say the 440 is the better engine for the car and would be my first choice. Torque is always king of the street.

That said, you could go with a 440 source stroker kit and end up with 438 cid or go a little crazier and 496 cid. Just food for thought.

 

[george68hemirr]

BUY A HEMI

 

[69hemibeep]

BUY A HEMI

 

[Steve]

That's given me a bit to think about.My car is currently with my engine builder over here having a couple of other jobs done so I need to make up my mind(hence asking on here).He's rebuilt just about every US V8 made and has 440s in stock.Not cheap but in stock and although I'd love one I'm not sure my budget will stretch......but having read the replies looks the way to go.
Decisions,decisions :huh: I'll post some pics of the way I went when I get the car back in a few weeks.Thanks for your input guys

 

[Basketcase]

what's your rear end ratio? 3.91s would make a difference. my last runner had a 440 in it, 4 speed with 3.55s. had all I needed. blast to drive, and decent on milage. this car has a 383, and I'm guessing 3.23s. good enough for me. but I wouldn't turn down a 440.

 

[6R9Runner]

I like this question. The 383 in my 69 is also well-running and non-matching so we're in the same boat. If you have some time, look up the engine specs for stock B and RB engines. Considering the cost of swapping a 383 for a 440, you are gaining 40 hp and ~60 ft-lbs which translates to seat-of-the pants, but is that enough for the effort/ cost? There are good car magazine write-ups on how to gain more torque and hp from 383's, its very tempting, but you need to consider if the bottom-end can handle the power. And how hard will you push it? Then you are into tearing the whole thing apart for peace-of-mind.

An internal combustion engine can be looked at as an air pump, everything has to work together. Carb, intake, heads, cam, etc. Educate yourself a bit on these subjects, and talk to your engine-builder about what your goals are. With stroker kits you should read about oversquare engines. Personally, I like the 400 stroker variations, having picked up a 2bbl block years ago for cheap so its an option for me. Even if a 440 was my starting point, ~500 cubes would be my target. :cents:

 

[Hoosier Bird]

RPM "is" the replacement for displacement......... :yesnod: Buzz them if you got them...... Shorter deck = shorter rod = RPM....... :devil:

 

[joewhite440]

If your budget allows, go for the 440! You will never regret it. Night and Day difference if they are stock. Only 383 that held a candle stock was the 69 383HP that was stock in your Road Runner! If you had it you would be able to compare. They were respectable screamers but were hard on Rod Bearings (LIKE ALL BIG BLOCKS)!

 

[moparchris]

I absolutely love the 383. It responds very well to mods since the stock heads you will probably run are easier for a 383 to breathe through. I have seen a street 383 in a stock 68 Road Runner dip into the elevens. It was pretty radical with ported 906 heads a MP .557 lift solid cam and 11 to 1 compression. The downside is that it needed a loose converter (3500+ stall) and 4.30 gears.

The other end of this spectrum is a 431 I built for a customer. It had a 440 crank turned down to fit the 383 and H beam rods. It had SRP of the shelf pistons and a .525 solid from MP. This motor had a set of 906s I ported and 2.14 intakes and 1.81 exhaust valves, 9.9 to 1 compression, a Performer RPM intake, a 750 DP carb, and 1 7/8 headers. It made 496hp and 511 tq and ran out of steam at 5500 rpm. So we put it in a stock 383 Charger and it ran low 12s at over 113mph with 3.91 gear and 3700 pound weight on redline radials. We went back and changed the cam to the Mopar .590 and a single plane intake with an 850 Holley. It made 574hp and 499tq on the dyno. Soooo we put it back in and it ran low 12s this time almost 120mph! It was a freight train! This car had a 2.5 inch exhaust on it and appeared stock. The second set up for the motor was really too radical for his tastes and liked it more with less cam. We eventually put less cam in it and it never went back to the track. This motor was built for under $6000. Here are some pics of it so that the pic madam doesnt get me.

 

[mcmopar]

The 383 is a great engine and responds very well to bolt on mods. Mopar Muscle coaxed an extra 117 hp out of an essentially stock 383 with bolt on mods (headers, intake, carb and cam). Not too shabby and not overly expensive, either.
See it here: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/tech ... index.html
My 383 runs really well and is very powerful. It's a bit different from their build though.
10.5:1 +/- CR domed TRW pistons in mine vs. their 9:1 flat tops
tti 1-7/8" headers in mine vs. their Hookers
Performer RPM dual plane intake in mine vs. their MP M1 single plane
Modded Holley 750 carb in mine vs. their 850 Demon carb
XE275HL-10 cam in mine (231/237 duration @ .050, 110 c/l, .525" lift - w/1.6 roller rockers lift is .560") in mine vs. their XE285HL-10 (241/247 duration @ .050, 110 c/l, .545" lift)
1.6 aluminum roller rockers in mine vs. their stock rockers (1.5 rated ratio but effective ratio is actually in the 1.4+ range)
Fully ported 452 heads (280 cfm intake flow/220 cfm exhaust flow) and 2.14" intake/1.81" exhaust valves in mine vs. their stock 906 heads
I can tell you that my car is a blast to drive out on the open road but it is a pig on gas, unfortunately. I'm planning a cam swap - taking it down a notch with an Elgin cam (E-1222-P) featuring 224/234 duration @ .050, 114 c/l, .466" intake lift/.488" exhaust lift w/1.5 ratio rockers. My 1.6 rockers will give me an effective lift of .498" intake /.520" exhaust. This cam should tone it down just a bit, give me a slightly smoother idle and clean up the idle. The cam I have in there now seems to run rich at idle and is enough to fumigate anyone caught behind me at a red light. Bill (BillyC) has the XE285HL-10 cam in his and from what he told me its a moose of a cam and also runs stinky at idle. Bill - any fix for that rich idle situation?
I've had both 383 and 440 engines and I like them both. The 440 is a torque engine and is very strong. The 383 is an rpm engine and needs to be twisted tighter than a 440 to produce the same amounts of power, but not excessively so. In stock trim in 1969 the 383 road runner was only .15 sec. slower in the 1/4 mile than a 440 GTX if both cars were similarly equipped so there wasn't a lot of difference in stock trim and both engines respond well to bolt on mods. I stuck with the 383 this time around and am glad I did, but I also liked the 440 I swapped into my '71 Charger SE. Really, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[ACME A12]

Really, you can't go wrong either way.

Well put, John. At the end of the day this is about the most accurate statement that one will find on this forum... :yesnod:

It always goes back to budget and intended usage...

:jester:

 

[Steve]

Got a call from my engine builder and he said he would be able to build me a 440 and keep it in my budget if I part ex the 383 to offset the cost.I said yes straight away,no brainer,didn't have to think about it.He listed what was going in the engine in the build but my mind went scrambled I was that pumped up about getting a 440.All I can remember is him saying it should be making around 490 horses.I'm well pleased,after a shitty week at work this has cheered me up big style.
I'm getting the hood stripes put on it as well.Does anybody have a couple of 440 engine call outs or know where I can get them,can't put the 383s back on now.I'll see if I can get them over here first but might be struggling.

 

[sixgunrunner68]

Good decision Steve. :cheers:

 

[69hemibeep]

Leave the 383 on there, I had them on my first hemi runner and use to leave them shaking there head when a 383 goes around them.