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Engine build suggestions please!

7t500

Well-Known Member
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Location
Madison, WI
Alright, long story short I have the original numbers 383 in my '70 Charger. It is starting to develop a low end knock and I'm kicking myself for not having the crank turned... the machinist said I would probably be fine... probably. Fast forward a few years and it's not fine.

Now I am trying to decide what to do. I need to tear the whole thing down, spend good money on a rotating assembly, hopefully reuse some parts I already have because my money tree hasn't reached full maturity yet...

My current build is a 383, stock crank, stock rods, .040 over bore. The heads are 906, multi angle valve job, hardened seats, new springs, stock rockers, stock pushrod. The cam and lifters are comp cams xe274h. The trans is a well built 727 and it has a Hughes 24-25 converter. Rear end is intended to be a 3.55.

What I want is an insanely fun street engine. I want to maintain the 727 for ease and finances. Otherwise... do I get a 400 and do a stroker build? Do I stroke my 383? Do I maintain a stock bottom end and have it turned, putting my money into heada instead?

Help me spend my money! I cant decide what way to go. I absolutely need to rework/replace the rotating assembly so that is what had me thinking stroker build...
 
You're already .40 over on the numbers block, I think I'd pull it and build a 440. Reuse your heads and buy some 10.5:1 pistons. Get a lumpy cam (I like the 509 but it's an old grind - sounds awesome) and go have fun. If it is TRULY a street car, 3.91s are the way to go. Torque Monster.
 
Nothing wrong with a 438. With what you have it seems the least expensive way to go for a good stroker engine.
 
Stroke that 383 to 496!
 
I think I would get another block at standard bore first then ? It doesn't make much sense to me to build a new .060 engine but again that's me. good luck
 
You're already .40 over on the numbers block, I think I'd pull it and build a 440. Reuse your heads and buy some 10.5:1 pistons. Get a lumpy cam (I like the 509 but it's an old grind - sounds awesome) and go have fun. If it is TRULY a street car, 3.91s are the way to go. Torque Monster.

I don't want to do a 440. Then I'd need a new intake. I'd really like to do a 400 or 383 stroker build.
 
I thought about stroking the 383 I have now. Problem there is that I would then need to go .060 to get one of the stroker kits. At that point it made me think that I may as well get a 400 block and start from scratch. I've always heard a 400 block is the way to go for mopar strokers.

Problem there is I am having trouble finding a 400 block within a reasonable distance. I am also starting to second guess the street ability of a 383/496 or 400/512 build due to shorter piston skirts. I'm hoping for wine real-world feedback on what guys with 383s and or 400s have done for long-lasting pavemount-pounding street builds.

Please, keep the comments coming!
 
Nothing wrong with a 438. With what you have it seems the least expensive way to go for a good stroker engine.

I have thought about this but then I start to wonder if I'm doing it and spending the money, is bigger better? Would it be better to go for a 400 block?
 
I think I would get another block at standard bore first then ? It doesn't make much sense to me to build a new .060 engine but again that's me. good luck

That was my thought process at first. Now a month later and I an still looking for a good 400 block as a base...
 
Have you torn down the 383 to see what you have left to work with yet?

Not yet... a bathroom remodel and a '77 Jeep Cherokee I got are taking too much time. that's yet another reason I want to start with another block.
 
That was my thought process at first. Now a month later and I an still looking for a good 400 block as a base...
I see your from Madison, WI. I grew up not far from there. Do they still have the Jefferson car show/swap meet? That was always a good place to find parts.
 
I see your from Madison, WI. I grew up not far from there. Do they still have the Jefferson car show/swap meet? That was always a good place to find parts.

Yes! It is in 2 weeks and I intend to go. I generally find very little mopar stuff and when I do they are asking 2x fair market value... I still go every year and if I haven't found a block I will be on the hunt.
 
I have to admit the best engine I've ever had is a 400 stroked to 451.Built in 2003.Pump gas and street driven for over 30,000 miles.With a od manual transmission it got 20+ mpg and later with a 727 and 4.10's ran 11.90's in full street trim 65 Belvedere. It's still going strong in my friend's sons 73 'Cuda.
 
I have to admit the best engine I've ever had is a 400 stroked to 451.Built in 2003.Pump gas and street driven for over 30,000 miles.With a od manual transmission it got 20+ mpg and later with a 727 and 4.10's ran 11.90's in full street trim 65 Belvedere. It's still going strong in my friend's sons 73 'Cuda.

I have heard similar stories and really appreciate the feedback. Of course a 451 makes sense, but then the old adage of go big... is a 470 better? Worse? Then is a 500 or 512 really that unreliable?
 
I have heard similar stories and really appreciate the feedback. Of course a 451 makes sense, but then the old adage of go big... is a 470 better? Worse? Then is a 500 or 512 really that unreliable?

I'm going to be building a 470 for my 67 belvedere after talking to Dwayne Porter he suggested keep the cam mild and it should live for a while
 
I'm going to be building a 470 for my 67 belvedere after talking to Dwayne Porter he suggested keep the cam mild and it should live for a while

I was thinking along those lines. Honestly I really like the idea of doing a 400/500 stroker since my Charger a a 500... and I have the 500 tailstripe...
 
If you have the matching #s 383, set the short block aside. At .040 you have one more bite at the apple. 383 blocks are easier to come by. I have 2 complete ones I need to sell (but that is another story). A stroker build using a B block is a good value. Anything from 431 to 512 is going to be fun. Sounds like the 906 heads you have are worth using, but the 88cc chamber and the CFM they flow are going to define the rest of the build.
 
If you have the matching #s 383, set the short block aside. At .040 you have one more bite at the apple. 383 blocks are easier to come by. I have 2 complete ones I need to sell (but that is another story). A stroker build using a B block is a good value. Anything from 431 to 512 is going to be fun. Sounds like the 906 heads you have are worth using, but the 88cc chamber and the CFM they flow are going to define the rest of the build.

A lot of good points there. A little more insight into my thought process...

I want to get a solid short block, stroker preferred, built up and for now use my heads, cam, intake, etc. Phase 2 in a year or 2 would be new aluminum heads, new cam, maybe a new intake.

I already have headers (headman) and a weiand aluminum dual plane intake.
 
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