OK Guys, the 383 Rebuild has begun...check out the parts.

[JJRJR]

Well, I paid for the parts for the 69 383 rebuild yesterday. Take a look, let me know what you think and PLEASE pass on any advice or let me know if you have had an issue with any of these parts working together:

Turn the crank;
Bore & Hone .030 over;
Pistons, I think he said TRW, but will check on this;
Cam bearings;
Comp Cams XE275 high lift cam and lifter kit;
Roller set; (not sure what this is);
Rod bearings;
Main bearings;
Full Fel-Pro Gasket Set;
Rings;
Edelbrock Performer RPM Aluminum Heads;
PRW Roller Rocker Arms with 1.6 Ratio;
Push Rods;
Head Bolts;
Edelbrock Performer RPM Aluminum Intake Manifold;
Freeze Plugs;
Balance job;
Holley 750 cfm 4 Barrel Carb with mechanical secondaries;
Edelbrock high volume water pump;
Edelbrock high volume fuel pump;
MSD Electronic Ingnition Kit (wires, box, distributor and coil)

Parts and labor about $6,000 at a local racing shop (K&K Racing, Boynton Beach, Florida)

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

John

 

[JJRJR]

A couple other things: engine builder says it's ok to stick with the stock oil pan? I'm going to use the springs recommended by Comp Cams (double spring).

Will be using the TTI full exhaust system that goes with their 3" header system for that car. 4 speed is out for complete rebuild and she's going to the body shop in a week or so. Body guy said he'll give me list of parts (sheetmetal) to order. Should I use AMD or is there a better place? Need both quarters, roof skin, hood, trunk pans/extensions/supports, gas tank and straps, also need trunk lid but can't find it anywhere new; guess I need a used one.

More to come....

John

 

[69hemibeep]

You jumped into it with both feet :yesnod: Looks pretty good to me the roller set is your timing gears and chain BTW Have them check the CCs of the heads the depth into the deck the pistons will be and the pistons for compression. Are they doing anything special to the heads?

 

[JJRJR]

As of right now they are bolting on the heads, no other work. Is there something I should have done to them? I know more porting work would be nice, but I'm already $6K into the engine alone and the rest of the car will be another $30K; but I'd prefer doing the right thing for maximum power while it's being built.

I did tell them to be SURE we are getting a REAL 10.1 CR and he said no problem. Is the "balancing" job worth it? He said that the Edelbrock Performer heads really wake up the 383, but not so much on other non-Mopar blocks, not sure why that is, but he seems to know what he's doing; but how would I know? LOL.

I'm open to suggestions. I'm pretty much basing my rebuild on a Mopar Muscle article called "383 Resto to Rad." They used the XE295, where I'm using the XE275. They got Dyno result of 455 HP with stock heads and carb. Am I going to get any power out of the Edlebrock Performer Heads? I've heard anywhere from 0 to 60 more HP depending on who you talk to. Anyone out there with real life examples? The Mopar Muscle rebuild also used Hooker Headers, I'm going to use TTI which I believe to be better flow.

Thanks for all your thoughts.

John

 

[69hemibeep]

Your setting this thing up to run, as far as I'm concerned balancing is a must. You may have one of those factory motors that are pretty close but some make you wonder how they stayed together in the first place.

 

[A31PKG]

Yes, by all means balance! I would reconsider the mechanical secondaries unless you are going to spend more time on the track than street. A mechanical secondary carb on an engine with your mods is crying for a dyno tune. This will involve a bunch of trial and error and $$. A vacuum secondary carb will allow the secondaries to open as the engine can actually use the mixture. It is more user friendly, and will actually allow you to fine tune more effectively than a mechanical set up. They can be adjusted with different secondary diaphram springs so you can dial them in at the appropriate time/RPM. In fact, with the weakest spring, you can almost get them to react as though they are mechanical. The engine will accelerate smoother and have better street manners. Also a set of 3:55's or 3:91's would be a good idea with this combo.... Just my 2 cents!

 

[nicanor]

When I finished my engine I put the six quart oil pan on because I didn't like the idea of a four quart pan on a high performance engine. Pan, oil pump and pick-up wasn't that expensive and it looks just like the pan I took off.

 

[chapdog105]

A couple other things: engine builder says it's ok to stick with the stock oil pan? I'm going to use the springs recommended by Comp Cams (double spring).

Will be using the TTI full exhaust system that goes with their 3" header system for that car. 4 speed is out for complete rebuild and she's going to the body shop in a week or so. Body guy said he'll give me list of parts (sheetmetal) to order. Should I use AMD or is there a better place? Need both quarters, roof skin, hood, trunk pans/extensions/supports, gas tank and straps, also need trunk lid but can't find it anywhere new; guess I need a used one.

More to come....

John

I used "A Deals" on Ebay for most of my stuff. They have the best prices on AMD metal, and they ship fast and cheap.

Good luck on the deck lid, they're few and far between. There is supposed to be a AMD 69 deck lid coming out soon. I'll believe it when I see it. I ended up finding one in decent shape locally for $100. The problem with the deck lids is that they changed year to year, unlike so many other parts that can be used from 68-70.

 

[moparchris]

Yes, by all means balance! I would reconsider the mechanical secondaries unless you are going to spend more time on the track than street. A mechanical secondary carb on an engine with your mods is crying for a dyno tune. This will involve a bunch of trial and error and $$. A vacuum secondary carb will allow the secondaries to open as the engine can actually use the mixture. It is more user friendly, and will actually allow you to fine tune more effectively than a mechanical set up. They can be adjusted with different secondary diaphram springs so you can dial them in at the appropriate time/RPM. In fact, with the weakest spring, you can almost get them to react as though they are mechanical. The engine will accelerate smoother and have better street manners. Also a set of 3:55's or 3:91's would be a good idea with this combo.... Just my 2 cents!

I respectully disagree. Holley carbs come very close to the right tune unless your engine pulls more cfm than the carb is rated for. In my limited dyno experience most of the Holley carbs are with a couple of jet sizes and only add a few hp. A double pumper carb will out perform a vacuum secondary every time due to its secondary accelerator pump. Vacuum carbs are perfect for cars with a compromised converter and gear combo. So a vacuum carb definitely has its place. I do agree whole heartedlty with balancing though.

 

[SomeCarGuy]

Overall you seem to have a good setup. If you do a lot of street miles though, I think that cam will end up being a bit big. Low gears might make up for that some, but then you have to deal with their issues.

At 6K, I think a couple hundred more to hav the heads checked over real good would be worth it. A blueprinting/problem check for insurance. There is nothing wrong with just running them OOTB though.

 

[JJRJR]

Thanks guys, well on the mechanical seconodaries, I was told that with a 4 speed it's the way to go. With automatic the vacuum are best, at least that's what I've been told.

With regard to the larger oil pan, I'm all for it but the engine guy said it really takes away from bottom clearance. Can I get one that isn't as deep so I don't have clearance issues?

Thanks,

John

 

[JJRJR]

Will the springs that come with the Eddy Performer heads ok to use with that Comp Cam XE275? If not, I'll have them use the double springs recommended by Comp Cams.

 

[SomeCarGuy]

If you wanna drop 450 or so, then a Milodon 31580 pan and paickup is a no compromises pan. Well other than the 450 buy in.

The Eddys have a spec that could be looked at to see if they will work, or call Comp. I'd say you will be told to run their matching springs, but that is just a guess.

 

[mcmopar]

Overall you seem to have a good setup. If you do a lot of street miles though, I think that cam will end up being a bit big. Low gears might make up for that some, but then you have to deal with their issues.

At 6K, I think a couple hundred more to have the heads checked over real good would be worth it. A blueprinting/problem check for insurance. There is nothing wrong with just running them OOTB though.

That cam is ok with 3.55 gears on the street. I can lug around at 30 mph in 4th gear and don't need to downshift to accelerate. It's actually pretty docile at low speeds. And at highway speeds it is a monster - smooth and very powerful. For me personally, I'm going to detune and put in a different engine altogether but if you want a good all-around cam the XE275HL-10 is the one to use IMO.

Go with the Comp springs and have your engine guy follow Comp's recommendations for break-in.

Double pumper with a 4-speed is ok but will affect mileage more than a vacuum secondary carb. You may get around 7 mpg around town verses 8 with a vac. sec. carb. I run a 750 vac. secondary with the quick change secondary spring pod and modded for 4 corner idle. It is the best carb I've ever used. I get around 8 mpg in town (4 speed, 3.55 gears, tti 1-7/8" headers, 3" exhaust system) and 11-13 on the open road.

John, since you are going tti on the headers make sure to get the 1-7/8" dia. tubes and not the 1-3/4". When I spoke with the tti tech back when I put my car together he recommended the 1-7/8" dia. tubes because of the cam and head porting. My worked 452 heads flow about as much as your stock Edelbrocks and you are using the same cam I am so that's why I recommend the 1-7/8" dia. tubes for your setup. The 3" exhaust system sounds incredible as well.

 

[A31PKG]

JJRJR,
My Holley carb type recomendation is based on my personal experience with hopping these things up over the years. Since you asked for opinions, I thought I'd offer mine. Regardless of trans type, stall speed, gears, etc, etc...IMO, the vacuum secondary carb is a better street carb and will offer you the most flexibility as far as tuning is concerned (also, as mentioned, better MPG). If, however, you are going to race it more than street drive, then by all means go with a mechanical secondary unit. Your build sounds like a screamer, hope it all works out!

 

[JJRJR]

Thanks guys for all the great input. Will do on the 1 7/8th TTI's. I'll talk to my engine guy once more on the carb, but sounds like either one will make this baby pound the pavement.

This is pretty spot on with the Mopar Muscle Magazine 383 rebuild and they got dyno of 455 HP and they were using the stock heads. I'm hoping the Eddy Performer heads will add a few ponies as well. When it's all said and done, I'm gonna have it dyno tested to see how she pulls.

All I know is I can't wait to get it done.

Thanks,

John

 

[mcmopar]

I'll be interested to see how many ponies it makes since mine is almost identical to yours.

 

[JJRJR]

John, don't you run 11 to 1 CR? I'm sure that give you more juice. I will have it dyno tested if I can finid one down here.

Thanks

John

 

[mcmopar]

More like 10.5:1 or so. Not really sure but Jim opened the chambers a little bit to try and get it down some. The Pure Stock engine I'm planning should be in the 9:1 to 9.5:1 range.