383 crankshaft help

[peakandscoot]

My 62 fury has a 61 383 with cast iron transmission. I picked up a 65 727 to upgrade the trans however now i have a problem. I knew there would be an issue bolting it up but im rebuilding the engine anyhow and now its time to deal with it. The 61 383 has a weird crankshaft its shorter coming out of the back of the block. Has anyone delt with this before. Is there any kind of modification that can be done or do i need to replace the crank with a newer one and if i do replace it will that give me any new problems i haven't thought of

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Wow.... I wish I could help on this one. I had no idea the old 383's had a different crank flange. OK, so in case it matters, do you have a "B" '61 383 or a "RB" '61 383?

Wikipedia
Not to be confused with the 383 B engine, the 383 RB had a 4 1⁄32-inch (102.4 mm) bore (with the long stroke of 3.75) for a displacement of 382.9 cubic inches (6,275 cc). It was only available in 1959 and 1960 on the US-built Chrysler Windsors and Saratogas; one of Trenton Engine's lines had been converted to the new RB engine (to make the 413), and demand for the 383 B engine was too high for the remaining line. The solution was to create a 383 RB to fill the gap until the plant figured out how to quickly switch from one block to the other.

 

[727]

Are you sure the crank is different and not the flex plate?

 

[Fran Blacker]

Crank is different. It's a RB 383, don't know if later crank fits, my Guess is yes.

 

[peakandscoot]

i will look to see if RB but there is no flex plate on this you have to get the bolts in between the crank and block to thread it into the torque converter/ flywheel. I have not tried it but Joe Suchy told me it was a real bear. if you haven't seen this set up when you do your like what the hell is this. I know this is a rare deal and really considered garbage along with the cast iron transmission that why i'm trying to up dating to the 65 727 still push button but it has the slip yoke and no trunnion . I imagine 50 years ago guys dealt with this problem but its just so uncommon now

 

[PRND21]

Don't know what to tell you about your crankshaft except that B engine cranks are fairly common. Don't use an externally balanced 400 crank if you decide to replace it. But that 65 transmission won't work with a pushbutton shifter unless you change the shift comb in the transmission. I learned this just recently, myself.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Could be mistaken about it being a RB 383. They were in 1958 I think.

 

[khryslerkid]

Do you have any pictures?

I'm taking it that it isn't origanal to the car?

 

[peakandscoot]

When the rain stops today i will take some pictures.
PRND21 The 65 transmission i have is out of a 65 bush button car. That was the last year push button was available. Im not expecting problems but will look at that when i rebuild the trans im sure if nothing else i will be replacing the clutch packs thanks. And i wont be using a externally balanced crank.
Khryslerkid your right the 383 was not original it came with 318 3 on the tree but in 64-65 my father went with the 383. Not the best decision he made. But the good thing was in 67 when he went to trade it in they only offered him 150 trade in so instead he parked in in my grandmothers garage. where it sat for 49 years until i put it back together to ship it to my house where i am making it a resto mod. Its not original and im ok with that. It will stay in the family.

 

[Garys1969RR]

I think you are much better off to start with a standard low deck 383, and go from there. There are alot of them around, and it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

 

[PRND21]

65 transmissions were cable shift, but not pushbutton, 64 was the last year for pushbuttons.

 

[swill73]

A '62 or later 413, 426W or 440 c/shaft will replace your 383RB c/shaft, do not use the 440 cast crank because it is externally balanced. I would strongly recomend that you go to a '62 or later 361, 383, 413, or 440 to get away from the boat anchor you now have that no parts (pistons, rings, etc.) are available for. Rots a ruck!!!!!

 

[peakandscoot]

i forgot i never posted any pictures. Its sad when go to the machine shop with questions and he knows less than you do. He said i cant find a 383 before 1971 then i gave him the casting number and he said thats a 361. When i told him they used the same block for the 383 he said i never herd of that. Then i showed him these pictures and he said i never seen that before. You have to get the nuts in between the block and crank I didnt try but i herd its a bitch. You guys on this site are the only ones with knowledge.

 

[Fran Blacker]

That plug sticking out looks like it would be a problem if you use a regular crank.

 

[Cranky]

Wow! Learn something new every day. Do you know what the engine and trans came out of? I'm trying to learn more about the older stuff since I've never messed with anything older than a 66....

 

[JACK FOSHEE]

Wow! Learn something new every day. Do you know what the engine and trans came out of? I'm trying to learn more about the older stuff since I've never messed with anything older than a 66....

 

[JACK FOSHEE]

All 61 and prior engines used an extended flange crankshaft like you have,first determine what engine you have. All rb's had the raised pad in top front of block b's were same markings from 58 on. rb 383 was a 59 year. 62 and later cranks enterchange rb to rb and b to b; this also includes 318 type engine

 

[peakandscoot]

I am guessing that based on the stamping I thought it was a RB. But based on the casting numbers, 2128854, its a 1964 B. I cant explain how or why it got married up to a 1961 crank and transmission. This happened before I was born but my dad did tell me it had some machine work done. Here is a picture.

 

[swill73]

What you have is a pre '62 low deck ("B" Block) 383, it uses an extended crankshaft, the flange bolt holes (6) are NOT threaded and you can only use the cast iron torqueflite transmission or a standard transmission , flywheel, and flywheel housing for pre '62. The crankshaft is the ONLY thing different from a '62 and later 383.

Get a '62 or later 361 or 383 c/shaft. It will have 6 threaded holes in the flange. The stroke will be 3.38. If your '65 transmission is for a big block, it will bolt up provided you use the proper flexplate/ converter combo. By the way your '65 cable shift transmission WILL work with pushbuttons.