Here is something to think about. I have a pretty much bone-stock 383 in my ‘68 Coronet. It’s your basic, old school cast iron “muscle car” engine like you’d get in a Super Bee or Roadrunner. It’s got the factory flat top 10:1 pistons, “335hp” hydraulic cam, factory iron heads, Performer intake (aluminum copy of the factory 4bbl intake) and a set of garden-variety headers. It has good compression and runs fine but it’s a total dog.
Could it be made into a runner? Of course but in essentially stock form with just headers? Meh.
Conversely, the 100% bone-stock 5.7 Hemi in my 8,000lb Ram 1500 accelerates the truck way better than the car. I drive both enough to know and feel the difference. The Gen III is by far the better engine, it’s not even close.
And before anyone starts crying about modern technology blah blah blah, the 383 is running EFI. Makes it a little more of a level playing field.
Unlike the 383, the Ram never overheats even towing a trailer with the a/c on full blast sitting in stop and go traffic. It’s quiet, meaning no lifter noise. It gets decent mileage for a heavy, non-areo vehicle with 33” tires and a 3.92 gear. If you hot rod them they are as capable as anything out there.
Frankly, you’d have to throw a lot of money at a 383 to get it to perform like that.
You can also walk into any parts store and get whatever you need for the Gen III unlike a 383 where the only thing you’d get from a counter lackey is a blank stare.
But that’s fine. I’m sure back in the ‘60’s there were guys lamenting the new-fangled 400hp “Supercars” that that you could drive off the showroom floor because they were still stuck on messing with the older stuff. So it goes.
