Bout ready to put this 383 in a corner.

[Confederate1969]

I'm very close to giving up for now on disassembling my 383. I've spent nearly six months messing around with this thing and I'm ready to stop wasting time with this block and get back to actually restoring the RR and getting it on the road. The pistons are not coming out since they are so badly rusted into the cylinder walls. The crank won't turn because of this, so I can't get to most of the rod caps. :brickwall: I've blown enough time on this thing pounding a way at it and cutting my hands up. I'm ready to just drop a 440 into it and mess with the 383 another day after the RR is running again and I'm not stressed over the fact it's holding up the rest of the project. I'm keeping my eyes open on ebay and craigslist for any 440s that come up. If any of y'all have one in your garage that's in good shape, or know of any in my general 150mi radius area (Memphis) that you've heard about that I could look into, let me know.

As John and others have said, it's probably better for me to drive the daylights out of a non-orig engine rather than tear up my dad's original 383.

Let me know what y'all think.......

 

[Basketcase]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

well it does sound like you need to forget about the engine for a while. but don't feel like the Lone Ranger. We all have been where you are. We still get there. I thing that helpd me is wintertime. By the time fall comes around, I'm ready for a break from the Car. When it's time to park the car for winter, I head to the basement, and mess with my Lionel Trains. And come Spring, I'm ready for a break from them. I've never had heat in my garage, so that helps me stay away from the car. My yellow car is the best one I've had. It needs the new 1/4s and paint, but it's a decent 20 footer, has new interior, and runs great, so most of the crap i've had to do with my cars over the years is already done. When I brought home my '69 that burned up,it was basically a beare shell with new 1/4s. Anything else that was either junk, or missing. It took me almost 5 years to get it where I could drive it down the street.
My thoughts on your 383 are to PB Blaster the crap out of it, then forget it while you work on another part of the car. I've fought with something for days, and it's really bad when you know it shouldn't be that hard. I'll get away from it for a while, then go back to it, and it goes alot better. If you're going to drive your car hard, then a different engine might be the way to go. My yellow car is the first muscle mopar I've owned that has the original engine in it. I drive it, but I don't have the need to fry the tires at each stop sign,even if it would. I've done enough of that, so I mainly just enjoy driving it, and banging thru the gears.
I'm more than 150 miles away, but my Uncle has a stash of 440s.
Hang in there, it's all worth it the first time you going down the road, and Dad's road runner is back alive because of your two hands.

 

[ACME A12]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

Time for the BFH and a chisel. Bust the pistons apart (they're unusasable anyway) so you can get the rods and crank out. STAY AWAY FROM THE CYLINDER WALLS so you can salvage the block. I would have done this months ago if it were mine, but then I'm not known for my patience when it comes to disassembling anything. I am quite patient when it comes to reassembly and detail work, but if something is "stuck", I am just gonna "un-stuck" it real quick...that's what torches and hammers are for after all...

:banana:
Ray

 

[dobie]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

Good luck with things. Over the last 3 years I've wanted to give up on mine almost daily. I didn't have the engine problems like you, I just had all other types of failures. I don't know about you, but my RR is my first "muscle car." I also didn't grow up when these cars were new, or even just 10-15 year old used cars. Therefore, I still have a VERY STRONG itch to dump the clutch at every light and sign. Given that, I really wouldn't want the original engine stuffed in, especially if it has sentimental value. Honestly, I think you're smarter by getting another motor for now to get you up and running, and even to play with for awhile down the road.

When I brought my RR home, I was told it had a good motor. Well, of course it was shot. Long story short, I called up a few local junk yards and ended up finding a complete running 383 for $700. It came out of a '68 Newport, so it's not a HiPo motor by any means. Still, she'll run pretty good. I'd suggest calling a few places like I did. You may come up lucky!

:cheers:

 

[John69RR]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

Confederate, we've all been there at one time or another. Taking a break is the best thing to do. You'll only get more discouraged or upset and then who knows what will happen when you take out some frustation on the project.

 

[Confederate1969]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

I appreciate the advice, guys. I'm gonna leave the car sit for a while. It's been too nasty and cold in Memphis lately to want to be in the garage anyway, so that's a good deterrent for me I guess.

And I won't be taking anything out on the car even as frustrating as it's been lately. I've beat up my share of vehicles since I started driving when I was 16 for various problems they had. But the Road Runner always has and always will get absolutely nothing but care and a gentle hand from me. :worship:

Right now I'm just poking around on craigslist and ebay for a good 400 or 440 engine to drop in the RR in case the 383 doesn't cut it for me.

 

[69hemibeep]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

I wish you were closer, my brother has a 440 with a 727 for sale and he just sold a 6bbl intake carbs and air cleaner for an A12 :yesnod:

 

[Big John]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

I used to buy cheap Chryslers along with big Plymouths and Dodges to get the engines and transmissions. That isn't the best way anymore, but I would take a look around for 70's Dodge RV's. I've seen those sold real cheap.. sometimes for the cost of towing them away.

The roofs on the RV's get bad and leak, ruining the roofs and walls. They're kinda worthless as a RV after a while. Most of those had 440 engines and 727 transmissions. Just be sure its a regular 440 and not one of those industrial 413 or 440 engines. You can tell by the funky water pump.

 

[Basketcase]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

well if you're up for a trip to my area, I'm sure I can get my Uncle to make a good deal on one of his 440s.
now is the time to leave the 383 alone, and work on other areas of the car.

 

[toms69rr]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

Try Aero Kroil.
They say that stuff is amazing

 

[Confederate1969]

Re: Bout ready to throw this 383 in a corner.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely be looking into this.

 

[george68hemirr]

check out...http://www.racingjunk.com/search?search ... yId1=1274..
there is 7 listings on racing runk or look on ebay for a block and start from there

theres got to be junkyards around by you ,right....gotta be something there....all it has to do is turnover and rebuild it

 

[hotrod98]

We took a large hole saw to the tops of the pistons in a block that we had trouble disassembling. Then just carefully chiseled them out. Good luck with the project. I'm all of the way across Arkansas from you, about 250 miles or so. I can usually find decent 440's around here when needed. I just found a great deal on a complete 383 out of a runner that I plan to use later on.

 

[Roadcuda]

Hey Hotrod 98, welcome to the nest. That looks like quite a fleet you got there.

 

[hotrod98]

Thanks, It's going to take me a while to figure out who everyone is. I was really glad to see a good roadrunner site to join. At this time, I only have one 69 runner and one 70 satellite that I'm converting into a superbird clone. I sold my 70 GTX, 69 4 speed post car and my 72 400 Roadrunner. I'm also building a 4 speed 69 runner for my brother-in-law. It's on a rotisserie at this time ready for prime. I'll post some pics next week.