383 Road Runner engine

TBONE · Dec 17, 2011

I have a 68 Sport Satellite with a 383. I read somewhere that the Road Runner 383 came with 440 heads, intake, exhaust and different cam. Does anyone know if this is true or have any input on this subject?

okiemopar · Dec 17, 2011

Both the 383's and 440's use the same heads, there was different ones on the 440's but most of the was the 906's. The exzaust manifolds were the same but the intakes are different because a 383 is a b block and a 440 is a rb block. Ronnie

383man · Dec 17, 2011

The story is up to 1967 the 383 used the small exh valve heads with the 1.60 exh valve. The 440 used the heads with the 1.74 exh valve. So in 68 the 383 in the Roadrunners and Super Bees got the larger 1.74 exh valve heads the 440 used and the cam was stepped up the the cam with a little more that the 440 used. I believe the 383 had like a .437 lift up to 67 and then the 383 got the 440 cam about .455 lift. I dont remember if all 383's in 68 got the larger valve heads but I think they did. And after 68 all 383's and 440's had the same heads as thats what confuses many when they say the 383 got the 440 heads most think they always shared the same head but they did not up to 68. Ron

69Coronetrt · Dec 17, 2011

TBONE said:
I have a 68 Sport Satellite with a 383. I read somewhere that the Road Runner 383 came with 440 heads, intake, exhaust and different cam. Does anyone know if this is true or have any input on this subject?

There are two versions of the 68-70 383-4bbls. The HP and non HP versions.
All recieved the same BB heads, the same heads usedon , but not exclusive to, the 440. What was different about the 383 HP version was the springs were the same as the 440 HP head. 383 LP and 440 LP used different springs.

As stated above, the exhaust manifolds were the same on all B bodies. There were no HP and non HP exhaust manifolds. There are 2bbl and 4bbl versions. the intake is different due to the width of the engines.

The 383 HP cam was the same as the 440 HP cam. A 383 HP will also have a windage tray.

Meep-Meep · Dec 19, 2011

You are correct, and as mentioned all the big blocks from 68-70 used the 906 heads with the 1.74" EX valves - even the 440 six pack. The HP engines had a different dist advance curve too. It's really a matter of bolt on parts and an HP stamp on the block.

Force Fed Mopar · Dec 19, 2011

Meep-Meep said:
You are correct, and as mentioned all the big blocks from 68-70 used the 906 heads with the 1.74" EX valves - even the 440 six pack. The HP engines had a different dist advance curve too. It's really a matter of bolt on parts and an HP stamp on the block.

Do you have the specs on the advance curve on the HP engines?

bigmanjbmopar · Dec 19, 2011

Oooh my 383 is dated 12 / 68 mmm means good power from it yeah..

Meep-Meep · Dec 19, 2011

Force Fed Mopar said:
Do you have the specs on the advance curve on the HP engines?

Sure do, but keep in mind this was all figured out when gas and women were real. From the 68 service manual specs are as follows:

Dist degrees @ dist RPM / Dist degrees @ in-HG

383 4 BBL manual:
0@375-525; 0-6.2@525; 11.6-13.6@800; 17-19@2500. Vacuum: [email protected]"; [email protected]"; [email protected]"

383 4 BBL auto:
0@375-525; 0-6.5@525; 10.1-12.1@760; 14.5-16.5@2500. Vacuum [email protected]"; [email protected]"; [email protected]"

440 4 BBL manual A134 high perf:
0@350-500; 0-7.2@500; 10.3-12.3@710; 14-16@2300. Vacuum [email protected]"; [email protected]"; 8.25-10.75@15"

440 4 BBL auto:
0@350-500; 0-5.8@500; 7.8-9.8@700; 11-13@2100. Vacuum [email protected]"; [email protected]"; 8.25-10.75@15"

TBONE · Dec 21, 2011

Checked engine numbers. It turns out its a 1966. Would that make any difference as far as putting 906 heads on with larger cam?

Cranky · Dec 21, 2011

TBONE said:
Checked engine numbers. It turns out its a 1966. Would that make any difference as far as putting 906 heads on with larger cam?

The 906 heads have open chambers which generally check out at 90cc. The 66 383 should have 516 heads which are closed chamber which usually check out at 80cc so the 906's will lower compression ratio but the 906's will have the larger exhaust valve and larger ports.

Meep-Meep · Dec 21, 2011

If it runs as is and you're pretty happy with it I'd keep the compression in tact and live with the 1.6" exh valve - unless you plan to go through the whole engine, then use the 906's with hard exh seats and bump the compression as required. I'm just saying it's a lot of work to go backwards to loose .4 points of compression (i.e. power) for a .140" larger exhaust valve.

Meep-Meep · Dec 21, 2011

You can upgrade the cam for a performance enhancement even with the 516 heads. Perhaps a little more exh duration will help so look for a split pattern cam.

The other thing is if you are running unleaded gas and the 516's don't have the hard seats then your days are numbered. Still, loosing compression is never a good thing in my book so you might consider cutting the 516's to 1.74" valves since hard seats will go in anyway and it won't cost much more to do that.

TBONE · Dec 23, 2011

Thanks for the info Meep-Meep. The engine has been rebuilt. I'm thinking of going with the edelbrock performer rpm cam and intake for now. I will be getting a 440 from a friend when he starts to redo his ride. I figure I might as well wait and put the big money into that.

Force Fed Mopar · Dec 24, 2011

Meep-Meep said:
Sure do, but keep in mind this was all figured out when gas and women were real. From the 68 service manual specs are as follows:

Dist degrees @ dist RPM / Dist degrees @ in-HG

383 4 BBL manual:
0@375-525; 0-6.2@525; 11.6-13.6@800; 17-19@2500. Vacuum: [email protected]"; [email protected]"; [email protected]"

383 4 BBL auto:
0@375-525; 0-6.5@525; 10.1-12.1@760; 14.5-16.5@2500. Vacuum [email protected]"; [email protected]"; [email protected]"

440 4 BBL manual A134 high perf:
0@350-500; 0-7.2@500; 10.3-12.3@710; 14-16@2300. Vacuum [email protected]"; [email protected]"; 8.25-10.75@15"

440 4 BBL auto:
0@350-500; 0-5.8@500; 7.8-9.8@700; 11-13@2100. Vacuum [email protected]"; [email protected]"; 8.25-10.75@15"

Awesome, thanks. One question, you say those specs are at distributor rpm, so they'd have to be doubled for actual timing, right? Like, 14.5@2500 is actually 29@5000 at the crank?

YY1 · Dec 24, 2011

Another thing is that 2 bbl motors were generally 9.2:1 comp and 4 bbl motors were 10:1.
I think they did this with different pistons. At least in 68-69.

There is some confusion as to 66 383 2 bbl availability.
I've even seen errors in factory service manuals.

mymopar.com lists a 383 2bbl for 66 but not for 67.
This is obviously incorrect.

My opinion, based on my research, is that all Dodge and Plymouth 1966 383 pass car motors were 4 bbl motors.
1966 2 bbl big blocks were 361s.

In 1967 the 383 2 bbl replaced the 361 in Dodge/Plymouth pass car applications. This is a fact.

I did not go any farther in my research, but it is possible that there were 383 2bbl truck and or Chrysler motors. there also may have been pre- 1966 383 2 bbl Dodge/Plymouth pass car motors.

Bottom line, if you have a 1966 4 bbl Dodge/Plymouth pass car 383 motor, it should be 10:1.
if it's from a Chrysler or a truck, it could be 9.2:1

I'm sure this will stir up some other replies, and I welcome any additional info.

TBONE · Dec 27, 2011

Thanks for the info YY1. The engine came out of a 66 Dodge Polara. I checked the numbers on the block again. They are 2468130-4 under this is LL, and under that is 3 9 65. On the passenger side top front its stamped B 383 then 9 13 then R. I'm thinking the block was cast 3/9/65 and the motor was assembled 9/13. Does this sound right? The head numbers are 07015 and 2406516 5.

69Coronetrt · Dec 27, 2011

YY1 said:
Another thing is that 2 bbl motors were generally 9.2:1 comp and 4 bbl motors were 10:1.
I think they did this with different pistons. At least in 68-69.

There is some confusion as to 66 383 2 bbl availability.
I've even seen errors in factory service manuals.

mymopar.com lists a 383 2bbl for 66 but not for 67.
This is obviously incorrect.

My opinion, based on my research, is that all Dodge and Plymouth 1966 383 pass car motors were 4 bbl motors.
1966 2 bbl big blocks were 361s.

You are kind of right...B bodies got the 361-2bbl or the 383-4bbl. The 383-2bbl was available in C bodies. Hamtramck Historical is a great place to do research. http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/library.shtml

Red63440 · Dec 27, 2011

The casting number you gave for the block was used from 1956 to 1971 and used in ALL SERIES CARS. There are numbers given for both the 2 barrel and 4 barrel engines. The 2 barrel's compression was 9.2:1 and put out 270 hp @4400 rpms. The 4 barrel's compression was 10.0:1 and put out 325hp @4800 rpms. The 516 heads were used from 1964 to 1967 and had the 2.08/1.60 valves. The 915 heads were used on all BB mopars in 1967 but the only ones with the big valves were the 67 R/T and 67 GTX. Other BB cars used 915's with the smaller 1.60 exhaust valves.

Meep-Meep · Dec 27, 2011

Force Fed Mopar said:
Awesome, thanks. One question, you say those specs are at distributor rpm, so they'd have to be doubled for actual timing, right? Like, 14.5@2500 is actually 29@5000 at the crank?

That is correct.

383 Road Runner engine

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