383 power?

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tyler1

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I am currently building a 383 for my 70 duster and was wondering what sort of power i will be making. I plan on going with the aerohead 906 cast heads, .509 lift cam, edelbrock rpm intake, and edelbrock 750 carb. I am only 17 and on a budget and was wondering about piston selection also. I will also be running tti headers. Would it be worth the few extra bucks to go with the stealth alluminum heads over the factory 906 heads?
 
Don't worry about the heads. Run a cam that wasn't designed 30 years ago. The MP grinds are all old technology and junk IMO. I wouldn't run another one if you gave it to me. I recommend one of the LUnati VooDoo grinds. Also, if it's power you're after, ditch the Edelbrock carb and run a Holley 750 vacuum secondary carb. I'd bet that the Holley will make 20 hp more than the Edelbrock.
 
lilcuda said:
Don't worry about the heads. Run a cam that wasn't designed 30 years ago. The MP grinds are all old technology and junk IMO. I wouldn't run another one if you gave it to me. I recommend one of the LUnati VooDoo grinds. Also, if it's power you're after, ditch the Edelbrock carb and run a Holley 750 vacuum secondary carb. I'd bet that the Holley will make 20 hp more than the Edelbrock.
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I have heard the same from several sources about the carb so i will stick with the holley. As far as cam selection, what will yeild the most power without being impractical? This will be a street car and i want it to be drivable.
 
I like Hughes Engine camshafts. Maybe HEH2328BL-3 or the HEH2832BL. These are designed for Mopars on the .904 diameter lifter. I also think a Holley 4779 750 cfm Double pumper carb would be the ticket. On the piston get someone to help you determine a piston with a static comp. ratio in the 9.5 range. My 2 cents
 
As far as cam selection goes, it depends on a few things starting with the cars weight, gear ratio, tire size, intended useage and what your willing to live with. Also, the stall converter will have to match up with the rest of the package.

What is the operating RPM of the engine/car? IE: driving around in the 2000 - 6000 RPM range.

So far we have steel heads, RPM intake and a Holley carb in a Duster? Right?

IMO, I would use a KB zero deck height piston. A flat top. This piston will work really well later on with closed chambered aluminum heads with a .039 gasket. This combo (Steel or aluminum headed) is pump gas freindly.
 
The pistons for 383s are typically short. Or, more precisely, the blocks are tall. So you will want to budget for, and make sure that the shop does it and sets them to zero. I agree on not running the MP stuff, and I personally would keep the Edelbrock carb if its a street car first. All carbs will need some tuning and setup to be right, but against each other, most carbs are very close to each other power wise. Carter/Edelbrocks will idle better and get better milage on the whole. I built a similar combo some years ago. KB flat top hypers, 906 heads, and ran the XE268 Comp. It makes about 400hp, 450 torque, and pulls past 6K, idling at 650 rpm. Nice combo, really.
 
That sounds like a nice street engine there Moper. Ported heads?
 
moper said:
The pistons for 383s are typically short. Or, more precisely, the blocks are tall. So you will want to budget for, and make sure that the shop does it and sets them to zero. I agree on not running the MP stuff, and I personally would keep the Edelbrock carb if its a street car first. All carbs will need some tuning and setup to be right, but against each other, most carbs are very close to each other power wise. Carter/Edelbrocks will idle better and get better milage on the whole. I built a similar combo some years ago. KB flat top hypers, 906 heads, and ran the XE268 Comp. It makes about 400hp, 450 torque, and pulls past 6K, idling at 650 rpm. Nice combo, really.
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I have to disagree about the carb. My car had both a Carter and an Edelbrock carb on it. It ran like crap especially with the Edelbrock. I could not tune out the off idle flat spot. Now it has a Holley 650 DP and it will idle all day if you want it to. I barely have to give it any gas when I let the clutch out. This is with a MP .474 lift cam which has 238 degrees @ .050".

And that's just talking about driveability. It picked up 4 mph in the 1/4 mile just changing from the Edelbrock to the Holley. That's more than just a few HP.

I agree that the pistons should be zero decked or very close to it.
 
The car will be a weekend car only taken out occasionally. I plan on running around a 2800-3000 stall. I am wanting to push 400 to 450 on pump gas. Im not wanting an extremly radical cam but i want it to make good power and have a noticable thump. As far as its use, it will be raced on the street and driven pretty hard with the occasional cruise down the highway.

and i plan on running 373, 391, or 410 gears in the rear
 
tyler1 said:
The car will be a weekend car only taken out occasionally. I plan on running around a 2800-3000 stall. I am wanting to push 400 to 450 on pump gas. Im not wanting an extremly radical cam but i want it to make good power and have a noticable thump. As far as its use, it will be raced on the street and driven pretty hard with the occasional cruise down the highway.
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raced on the street?:poke: lol...id go with a new comp grind if i was you...try downloading the camquest program on their site for free..allows you to punch in engine specs to get a recommended cam(s) and gives a projected hp and tq number for the combo...you should have a problem making 400-450 hp with that 383, especially since they like to rev
 
I have a very nice after-market single plane intake the would work great on your build...
 
373 - 410 is a large spread to go by on cam selection, but not terrible.
I'd go for the XE274H cam from Comp or equal from others. If you set this engine up right, 420+ HP should be easy to grab with this cam and your current part combo. Pocket porting the head should net you another 30+ HP.
 
I'm with SGBARRACUDA all the way. You won't be disappointed. Been there, done that.
 
Rumble, no, just stock port with 5 angle VJ, back cut on the intakes (stainless nailheads) and some milling. It replaced the "TRW/MP.509" setup that was trashed.

On the carbs, Holleys design tends to cover a lot of issues by dumping fuel at the problem. Where Cater decided to use other means to get the air to do the work it needed to do. Properly sized and tuned carburetors will make nearly identical power. However, having a bad one does happen. Something like pasages not drilled, or a loose booster. I've never had a bad one from either. Demon/BG is a whole 'nother deal and I have yet to get one that doesnt need to be taken apart due to production issues prior to mounting... but those two have always been good straight away.

You can get that power level pretty easy, but the work has to be good, and the parts have to work together. It's that simple really.
 
moper said:
The pistons for 383s are typically short. Or, more precisely, the blocks are tall. So you will want to budget for, and make sure that the shop does it and sets them to zero. I agree on not running the MP stuff, and I personally would keep the Edelbrock carb if its a street car first. All carbs will need some tuning and setup to be right, but against each other, most carbs are very close to each other power wise. Carter/Edelbrocks will idle better and get better milage on the whole. I built a similar combo some years ago. KB flat top hypers, 906 heads, and ran the XE268 Comp. It makes about 400hp, 450 torque, and pulls past 6K, idling at 650 rpm. Nice combo, really.
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Dave you were right with your first thought , the aftermarket pistons are SHORT , the blocks are very close to the factory blueprint spec . If I were building this engine I would just have the block decked enough to square it and order a diamond piston with the CH adjusted to fit the block , possibly a small dome to bump the compression, and spring for a better flowing head , anything with a closed chamber .

For the carb , ebrock is fine if that's what YOU WANT just AVOID the performer series 750 , there is just something WRONG with that particular carb .
 
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