I'd like a little more go fast 69' RR 383

727 said:

Have you checked Hughes cams?

Click to expand...

Depending on what Hughes cam he chooses, he'll need new rockers. I don't know if he wants to go there or not?

3.55 gears are ready to install,so are any others; the install is the hard part. I did mine with a factory service manual & some borrowed measuring tools. AND a lot of reading,re-reading,etc. They were 4.88's and lasted thru 3 yrs of drag racing.(If they made noise,couldn't hear it over the open headers,lol)

Bcamp69 said:

Can I unbolt the 3:23 and bolt the 3:55 in or is the installation the part that requires experience?

Click to expand...

It is absolutely not a plug n play job. This link will give you an idea of what is involved. The final adjustment is the hard part.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/differential-gear-install.html

Here's another
http://www.differentials.com/technical-help/installation-instructions

Bcamp69 said:

I'm leaning towards 3:55 rear end because I do like to take it out on highways, 55-60mph, I try to avoid the interstate.

What's the process for the rear end gears? If I order a new/reconditioned set will they arrive ready to install? Can I unbolt the 3:23 and bolt the 3:55 in or is the installation the part that requires experience?

Cam choice. Comp 268 H has been recommended. Any others? What cam does it likely have in it now?

Click to expand...

I am running the Comp XE268h-10 and it is good for my application, they say it is a step or 2 up from a stock magnum cam. Good street manners and rips pretty good to 5800 rpm. If I were you do your engine mods then address the gears later. 323s are a good all around street gear. In my 68 with a 440 Comp 268 727 323s TM7 Holley 750 Hedders it will get away from you in a hurry. Manual brakes and steering too. OLD Tech **** that still works.

Okay....now we're talking cam change. At this point, I'd yank the engine, freshen the lower-end[add ARP rod bolts], replace or tune-up the heads, have a cam ground to your specific-PLANNED combo, and know what you'll have....and go faster/safely. Without a cam change, the engine isn't gonna notice a bunch of bolt-on "cool guy" parts. Stickers and a chrome air-cleaner would be cheaper.

Cam change, even with changing springs along with intake change us pretty straight forward. BUT, there are simple mistakes than can be made. I'd suggest having someone experienced during reassembly AND start-up. The rear gear needs to be installed by someone who knows how to do it and has the tools necessry. 8 3/4 center section (pig) removal is easy, R&P set-up is an art.
Doug

This is the dilemma. Part of me thinks pull the numbers motor and put it on a stand and build a 440. I think I'll need to save a few more pennies for that but I can still drive the car while the 440 is under construction.

I struggle going back and forth on this. Any cost estimates to build a 440? I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that as soon.

You can drive yourself nuts with what ifs. If you follow the list I laid out for you, it won't disappoint. If you go for a hot cam better still. Be careful
Going with too much cam on a 383 it will loose bottom end then you'll have to go with super low gears and a loose converter. Not fun if you hit the hyway.

If we can get a cam choice hammered out looks like I'm ready to start getting parts.

Bcamp69 said:

If we can get a cam choice hammered out looks like I'm ready to start getting parts.

Click to expand...

I've got the Comp Cams 21-670-4 and I'm pretty happy with it. It works well with the Performer RPM and TCI 2400 converter.

Bcamp69 said:

This is the dilemma. Part of me thinks pull the numbers motor and put it on a stand and build a 440. I think I'll need to save a few more pennies for that but I can still drive the car while the 440 is under construction.

I struggle going back and forth on this. Any cost estimates to build a 440? I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that as soon.

Click to expand...

Let me help you out because I was in the same boat. I have a 69 Road Runner 383 727 car. The car was my Dad's and has gone through a lot of changes over the years. 4.10's were way too much for the freeway in my opinion; the thing would scream at 65 mph. I've changed to 3.73's and it is a lot better. I would suggest 3.55's if you plan on a lot of freeway driving. More than 10-15 miles is almost too much with the 3.73's in my opinion. If you have torque, it really doesn't matter. When I changed to the 3.73's, I dropped in a re-curved distributor (from FBO) around the same time and actually ran .15 quicker in the quarter mile with the 3.73's with nothing other than those two changes.

The Performer RPM will clear the stock hood; that is what I have on my car. You'll have to run a shorter filter with the stock un-silenced air cleaner or you can run the stock height filter with a drop base which can be bought from Mancini Racing for around $20. I still run the un-silenced upper portion. I did not have to modify my kick down linkage or anything else when we put the intake on.

It cost about the same to re-build a 383, 400 or 440 so; if you are starting to think about re-building the current motor or building another one, build the biggest one you can afford. FYI- The Performer RPM would probably not work with a 440 and the stock hood given the taller deck.

My Dad rebuilt the 383 years ago. The thing has had 3 or so different cams in it; the past two were way too big for a 383. The piston options for a 383 suck by the way. The numbers matching engine now sits on a stand in the corner of my garage ( I wanted to play and did not want to hurt it).

I now have a 400 based 470. I bought the balanced rotating assembly from 440 source and everything checked out good and was run right out of the box. I have around 9.65:1 compression, pocket ported big valve 213 motorhome heads and a small Comp XE cam (I actually bought it for the 383 and ran out of money when building the 470 so; it got used). I used to run Hooker Comp headers, 2.5" compression bent exhaust and Flowmaster mufflers and ran 12.25 on a Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro. I recently put the HP exhaust manifolds back on with a TTI mandrel bent exhaust with Dynomax Super Turbo's; this combo went 12.48 this year. I have some more tuning to do but, I think I can get to some 12.30's easily.

My car has also had a TCI sizzler converter in it and currently has a TCI Super Street Fighter; both bought and installed by my Dad. I like my current converter but suggest you call a reputable company and have something built for whatever you choose to do.

My suggestion would be to figure out what you want to do with the car. My motor does not even have 3-4k on it and I already want to dig back into it. I wish I would have saved for a month and got a custom cam ground. For the money I have in my 213's, I could have had a Stealth head that flows more and is lighter. I really like the FAST class and I'm starting to go in that direction so; I'll have to have some 906's worked and would have been money ahead to start with the 906.

If you really start to think about things like rebuilding a 440, it almost makes sense just to build a stroker. If you buy a core engine with a forged crank, you can re-con the rods, have the crank turned or polished if it's good and then buy a set of pistons but, you'll have hundreds in the crank, you probably don't want to trust 40 some year old re-coned rods if you plan on pushing the motor (you'll have hundreds in them too) and then you'll have $600 or so in pistons and then you have to get it balanced and buy bearings and ext. so; now you have $1100-$1600 in some mostly used stuff when you could have a rotating balanced stroker kit for around $2300.

Again, it depends what you are looking for. Maybe play with the 383 a little bit and start with things that can be re-used if you plan to build another mill for example, the gear or the Performer RPM. You can easily get the 383 to run some mid 13's or better with some small changes.