1966 383 street build

[Sewalsn20]

i've seen similar posts to this but none were very straight forward with what i am looking for so i'm going to ask here. if anyone's been following my other posts i got a 66 coronet 383 4 speed # matching. i finished all the suspension, steering, most interior is redone, and i've gotten to the motor finally and i've decided to rebuild it after finding ring ridge and pitting in cylinder walls. i'm wondering what people would recommend parts wise for an upgraded street build. it's a non hp 66 383 with just headers and aluminum single plane eddy intake the rest is stock stuff. it'll probably get bored .030 over from standard, i have yet to see what crank looks like as i'll get the bottom end apart tomorrow. it has 516 heads that will most definitely need a complete rework. what would you guys recommend i go towards for pistons? and is it worth working the 516s or do i go towards a different set of cast heads or even aluminum heads. also is it stupid to reuse the stock cam and lifters with 90k on the motor even if everything checks out? i'm shooting for around 10:1 compression and a very streetable car as i plan to daily it, but would be happy with a bump in power. maybe around 350-400hp. i would like to be around 3k all in to the motor when done, maybe a bit more. any input or criticism is welcome ha. thanks

 

[Rusty knuckles]

$3k isn't going to go very far for you. Id ask a few questions. Does it actually need bored and new pistons? 2nd I'm assuming you're not stuck on stock appearance? If not some 440ez or edelbrock heads aren't going to set you back much more than getting your heads rebuilt. But will eat up most of your budget. The remainder I'd sink in a mild HP cam, and a good ignition rebuild. Then reuse some of your existing parts. You'll easily attain your hp number.

 

[Jerry Hall]

What you want is fairly easy, but I think your budget is close to 2K short. Machine work on the block and new pistons, polishing the crank or turning it, plus all your rebuild parts will eat most of your 3K. Then your heads will eat up another big chunk. 516 heads are usable if you have bigger exhaust valves and hardened seats installed. If the heads are still in decent shape, you will still spend 1500 there for good quality work. All this assumes you do the assembly yourself. And don't reuse the cam at 90K miles.

 

[copper67sat]

I am going through my 67 HP 383 - 67 Satellite 383 refresh - questions/advice. It was rebuilt previously and bored 30 over. Teardown after 35 yrs and 30k miles revealed that the previous machine shop did some questionable work, particularly on the heads and crank. The build also had low compression pistons that I am swapping for Speed-Pro Forged Pistons L2315NF30 to get closer to the factory 10:1 CR. My 516 heads were done before but needed work again so I opted for a new pair of 440 Source Stealth heads rather than spend a bunch of $ on iron heads. This combo should deliver a CR around 9.5:1 which should be just fine on pump gas with the aluminum heads. Still deciding on whether to reuse the previous cam (Comp Cams 268H), lifters and pushrods. If I replace the cam, I will likely stay with similar specs as the cam worked well on a mild performance build and delivered sufficient vacuum for power brakes.

Honing the cylinders for new pistons, swapping pistons, balancing and polishing the crank and giving the heads a good valve job came to about $2500 at a reputable machine shop. Add in the cost of all the parts and doing the assembly myself, I estimate that it'll be around $6-7k finished.

 

[Sewalsn20]

$3k isn't going to go very far for you. Id ask a few questions. Does it actually need bored and new pistons? 2nd I'm assuming you're not stuck on stock appearance? If not some 440ez or edelbrock heads aren't going to set you back much more than getting your heads rebuilt. But will eat up most of your budget. The remainder I'd sink in a mild HP cam, and a good ignition rebuild. Then reuse some of your existing parts. You'll easily attain your hp number.

with the pitting in the 5th and 2nd cylinder i think it would be better to bore it to clean it up and give me a good peace of mind. plus it's got a pretty good ring ridge. i'm not too stuck on stock appearance as someone's already put some aftermarket parts on the motor. is there any cast heads that would be worth putting on or it is better to just go aluminum then in your opinion? the guy i got the car from has got a ton of parts and would have say some 906 heads for a decent price rtr.

 

[Sewalsn20]

What you want is fairly easy, but I think your budget is close to 2K short. Machine work on the block and new pistons, polishing the crank or turning it, plus all your rebuild parts will eat most of your 3K. Then your heads will eat up another big chunk. 516 heads are usable if you have bigger exhaust valves and hardened seats installed. If the heads are still in decent shape, you will still spend 1500 there for good quality work. All this assumes you do the assembly yourself. And don't reuse the cam at 90K miles.

okay i'll have to do some research for a good cam that is what i'm looking for. the heads are gonna need some new guides as well from the looks of it, one of the valves is seized in the guide. maybe it'll clean up. would you have any recommendations for pistons if i went with a closed chamber head? and any recommendations of cam manufacturers? i went with isky in my 440 and i dont have any complaints, but that motor is a lot different than i want this one to be.

 

[Sewalsn20]

I am going through my 67 HP 383 - 67 Satellite 383 refresh - questions/advice. It was rebuilt previously and bored 30 over. Teardown after 35 yrs and 30k miles revealed that the previous machine shop did some questionable work, particularly on the heads and crank. The build also had low compression pistons that I am swapping for Speed-Pro Forged Pistons L2315NF30 to get closer to the factory 10:1 CR. My 516 heads were done before but needed work again so I opted for a new pair of 440 Source Stealth heads rather than spend a bunch of $ on iron heads. This combo should deliver a CR around 9.5:1 which should be just fine on pump gas with the aluminum heads. Still deciding on whether to reuse the previous cam (Comp Cams 268H), lifters and pushrods. If I replace the cam, I will likely stay with similar specs as the cam worked well on a mild performance build and delivered sufficient vacuum for power brakes.

Honing the cylinders for new pistons, swapping pistons, balancing and polishing the crank and giving the heads a good valve job came to about $2500 at a reputable machine shop. Add in the cost of all the parts and doing the assembly myself, I estimate that it'll be around $6-7k finished.

good information thanks. not a big fan of comp stuff, had one fail break in and a buddy of mine had one run grooves in his lifters after a year. sounds like yours is a bit older though so i bet qc was better back then. i've got manual brakes/ and it's a stick so im not super limited on cam choice. i'll have to look into those pistons. i used speed pro 2355fs in my 440. they've been good to me but my machinist said that they've got better options that are lighter.

 

[68-500]

Speed Pro 2315 or Summit BBM383030 pistons, steel shim head gasket and freshened 516’s should put CR near 10:1. And yield near .040 quench. With them specs you can run camshaft with 235-40* @.050 duration keep the LSA in the wider side like 114*. A dual plane such as Performer RPM. I would expect to be 400hp easily. build. Oh stay away from them 906s no chance if getting any quench, if the 516’s aren’t usable the the stealth heads are a good option. Just need to go to a .027 MLS HG to maintain quench distance or Zero deck block and use standard.040 composite HG. Thats what I would build.

 

[496 polara]

If you can get a ready to run set of later heads,906/346/452, that don't need redoing then you can save money there. Maybe a set of valve springs and go.Otherwise 440 source or sidewinder heads will be far ahead in HP and have a smaller combustion chamber for easier compression AND less prone to detonation.You can paint them to look stock as well.

Pistons to get anywhere near 10-1 will want the aluminum heads. Anything above 9.0-1 will make for a nice street motor.

Get a dual plane intake for the street. 4 speed or not it will have much better manners down low and through the middle.

Cam somewhere in the mid to high 220's on the intake side @ .050 for a daily driver. Maybe a little more in you have deeper gears.

Of find someone selling a running motor reasonable that you can drive and check out.

 

[Jerry Hall]

with the pitting in the 5th and 2nd cylinder i think it would be better to bore it to clean it up and give me a good peace of mind. plus it's got a pretty good ring ridge. i'm not too stuck on stock appearance as someone's already put some aftermarket parts on the motor. is there any cast heads that would be worth putting on or it is better to just go aluminum then in your opinion? the guy i got the car from has got a ton of parts and would have say some 906 heads for a decent price rtr.

@copper67sat made a good choice on pistons. I went with a Lunati cam, right under 500 lift. My pistons are stock HP as my motor didn't need bored. They are. 016 in the hole. My heads are 516's and didn't need guides, but I had 1.74 exhaust valves installed with hardened seats and mild port work. This engine should run good on pump premium, but I don't use any ethanol fuel in my cars. 93 non ethanol is nonexistent in my neck of the woods, so I will be using 90 octane non ethanol mixed 50/50 with 100 octane AV gas. I'm building this car as OE appearing so the stock OE manifolds will be the weakest point of the build. Price wise, I'm a little over 5K. You have additional block work and pistons to add to your cost.

 

[copper67sat]

I didn't find very many off-the-shelf piston choices for a .030 over 383. It was basically either low compression Silv-O-Lites like what was in it or the Speed Pros.