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.