I Chose the 383 Big Block
The Nothing personal against your choice, but I never understood the 383 swap. 23 cubes over a 360, with big block weight?
The big blocks extra weight disappears pretty darn quickly when you add the aluminum part you find and would do on a small block. If memory serves…. The big block becomes lighter. Check out “MoPar Joe” & “318willrun” on YouTube for his video on this.
I have run both series engines n the same car before and the all iron B engine had a noticeable weight gain and handling difference in the ‘79 B body. It wasn’t horrible but just noticeable.
The biggest weight savings in a big block is the water pump housing, heads and intake. The water pump is a minor plus and would naturally be included as a weight total with the housing.
Shorter stroke, bigger bore, better heads?
Better heads in the aftermarket “IF” you go there. Love the big bore short stroke combo.
But the biggest reason.....the distributor is in the front so you don't have to be an acrobat and contortionist to loosen or tighten the hold down. :D
Sorry you’re getting old with a bad back… I feel ya there, because I’m there! But it’s nice big deal. Just a is what it is thing IMO.
:lol:
I a-member when 383 was the choice engine in a Mopar...small block stuff wasn't the rage at all...
From when I was a kid, the 3 engines were the 340, 383 & the 440 to chose from. That’s it! Nothing else was discussed. The 383 was 4 times as popular as the 440 due to numbers produced. The 440 was sought after but normally you would find 383’s blazing down the back alley ways doing battle.
As the ‘70’s turned into the ‘80’s, more and more 440’s came to the front lines. The 383 was becoming shunned.