Remember the Hot Rod Magazine 383 build?

[Challenger340]

We Machined/Built and Dyno'd I think 442 HP and 434 Ft/Lbs out of a .030 over 383 back in 2008 I think ?
and
not 100% positive but I believe we posted the Dyno Sheets both here and over at DC.com Back then ? now since obscured by photobucket picture hosting.

Only differences was we did it with just a plain Comp Cams XE274H Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam, Ported 906 Heads(2.08/1.74), Ported Matched Torker, The cast 'rebuilder" Pistons requiring more Block Milling, and we used Crane Gold Rockers.

Just saying.... Yep, it can be done anyways.... without pushing the limits of the Hydraulic Lifters beyond the limits of smaller area lobe profiles ?

 

[PRHeads]

Here is what the argument for the SFT looks like......

446, 10.4cr, bowl ported Sidewinder heads, rpm, QFT SS850, 1.5 rockers, 5/16” pushrods, “pointy nose” .842 design cam, a set of single springs out of some RPM heads.
Less lift and high lift area than the XE285HL cam after you factor in the lash for the SFT.
Not a hint of valvetrain issues to 6600.

 

[m79ded]

Probably about 8-10 years ago I did some repairs on a set of iron BB heads, and sold a customer a cam for his 446-6.
What I tell people who are wanting to use the fast rate .904 cams is, they will make good power up to the limiting rpm of the valvetrain...... which, if you’re running adequate spring loads ends up meaning the “lifters”.
So, he was on board with that.
He got the same cam used in the HR article...... the XE285HL.
The car runs strong......has gone mid-11’s in a full weight 70 B body.
But...... it won’t go over 55-5600.
This spring it developed a loud tick on one valve.
The hammering finally killed the lifter.

View attachment 968419 View attachment 968420

Hi Dwayne, you re referring to HFT on this (Limiting RPM ) on the valvetrain? I've tried .904 SFT with great results as a matter of fact because of the lifters giving out the SFT .904 are actually doing better than even Hydr rollers

 

[PRHeads]

Yes, I should have been clearer on that.
Fast rate HFT cams.

 

[RemCharger]

I haven"t seen anyone mention the comp pro magnum lifters. I used them in my street 383 back in '01,, on an XE284. Stock rockers and adjustable pushrods. Set them at .002~.004 preload hot as per comp cams. Pulls clean to 65-6600 (never pushed harder than that). Seems that they knew the cams needed a better lifter back then but no one paid attention?

 

[66chargerpat]

Again....another cryptic response. Please explain your THOUGHTS....VERBALLY. Some of us (me) have no idea what you are trying to say...
BOB RENTON

Hello Bob, just saying I'm following this thread.My 383 is in need of a rebuild soon. Cam and valve train options are what I'm interested in.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Hello Bob, just saying I'm following this thread.My 383 is in need of a rebuild soon. Cam and valve train options are what I'm interested in.

And I "got" most of that from exactly what you posted, so, by all means, carry on...

I had commented on that HRM article and how it was so nice to see the "unsung hero" that the 383 is get some love!
My buddy had one with similar mods, HFT, without as much lift, 70 Roadrunner Air Grabber pistol grip and a 3.90 ring and pinion gearset that was a MONSTER in "its class" on the street.
I'm hoping to use SFT lifters and cam on my 541 stroker given the "modest" HP and torque goals of appx 700 each.

 

[fratzog lover]

And I "got" most of that from exactly what you posted, so, by all means, carry on...
View attachment 968958
I had commented on that HRM article and how it was so nice to see the "unsung hero" that the 383 is get some love!
My buddy had one with similar mods, HFT, without as much lift, 70 Roadrunner Air Grabber pistol grip and a 3.90 ring and pinion gearset that was a MONSTER in "its class" on the street.
I'm hoping to use SFT lifters and cam on my 541 stroker given the "modest" HP and torque goals of appx 700 each.

Here ya go!

 

[biomedtechguy]

By the way, I have nothing but GREAT things to say about Nick!!
I called about a YouTube segment that showed him tying a line lock activation "switch" into the horn button of a 70 Roadrunner. The "Brake System" dash light was the indicator that the line lock was activated.
When I inquired about a detailed electrical schematic, he replied and called me. Very cool, normal, not "full of himself celebrity" type, just a great, knowledgeable and dedicated Mopar and car guy.

 

[fratzog lover]

Probably different from a phone call from Worman

 

[PRHeads]

A few comments about the latest installment of Nicks 383 session.....

-We were a BG/Demon dealer from a little before the Demons came out until a few years after.
I can’t tell you how many times I had that same scenario that Nick was “enjoying” play out.
Carb is super lean..... you add a pile of jet..... and it’s still lean.
The sales rep would call to see how things were going, we’d tell about a few of the latest instances where that had happened(it was almost every carb), and he’d tell us, “you’re the only ones having that problem”.
Yeh.... sure we are.
Eventually...... we got tired of having to spend so much time getting a new carb to work well. Especially when over 90% of the time, swapping to an ootb Holley cured the problem.
BG had a great dealer program to be able to sell the carbs at competitive prices....... the problem was the carbs themselves were, for us at least, very problematic.

-the camera pans over to Nicks Torker 383 on the bench.
Looks like it’s had a few mods done to it in the past.
So this is not an ootb Torker 383 vs an ootb M1 test.

-Anyone else notice the “addition” to the combo after the HP750 got put back on the Torker at the end?

-The HR test was done at Westech.
After one of the first ever enginemasters contests, where the prelims were done at 3 locations and the finalists were sent to Westech for a final run off...... the competitors from the other two locations picked up big power on the Westech dyno.
At some point after that it was “discovered” that the barometer at Westech was way off...... to the tune of about 5% correction.
This was around when the HR 383 test was done.
If the actual tests were run at Westech prior to the barometer being correct, then you’d take about 5% off the numbers they got(22-23hp), and then the numbers are pretty close to what Nick was seeing(455-23 = 432hp).
Someone would have to dig around to see how the timeline works out for when the HR dyno pulls were made vs when the dyno baro correction was made.

 

[BSB67]

A few comments about the latest installment of Nicks 383 session.....

-We were a BG/Demon dealer from a little before the Demons came out until a few years after.
I can’t tell you how many times I had that same scenario that Nick was “enjoying” play out.
Carb is super lean..... you add a pile of jet..... and it’s still lean.
The sales rep would call to see how things were going, we’d tell about a few of the latest instances where that had happened(it was almost every carb), and he’d tell us, “you’re the only ones having that problem”.
Yeh.... sure we are.
Eventually...... we got tired of having to spend so much time getting a new carb to work well. Especially when over 90% of the time, swapping to an ootb Holley cured the problem.
BG had a great dealer program to be able to sell the carbs at competitive prices....... the problem was the carbs themselves were, for us at least, very problematic.

-the camera pans over to Nicks Torker 383 on the bench.
Looks like it’s had a few mods done to it in the past.
So this is not an ootb Torker 383 vs an ootb M1 test.

-Anyone else notice the “addition” to the combo after the HP750 got put back on the Torker at the end?

-The HR test was done at Westech.
After one of the first ever enginemasters contests, where the prelims were done at 3 locations and the finalists were sent to Westech for a final run off...... the competitors from the other two locations picked up big power on the Westech dyno.
At some point after that it was “discovered” that the barometer at Westech was way off...... to the tune of about 5% correction.
This was around when the HR 383 test was done.
If the actual tests were run at Westech prior to the barometer being correct, then you’d take about 5% off the numbers they got(22-23hp), and then the numbers are pretty close to what Nick was seeing(455-23 = 432hp).
Someone would have to dig around to see how the timeline works out for when the HR dyno pulls were made vs when the dyno baro correction was made.

View attachment 969312

I think Impastato's was one of the three other locations. We were doing some dyno tuning about that time at Vince's place and there was some interesting conversation on how motors from his dyno were making 40 more horsepower on the west coast.

My "950" from a a well known carb specialty guy was pig fat everywhere, and jetting did nothing. I got it better, but never felt as though I got it right.

 

[Jerry Hall]

I like Nick's finish on the 383. Apparently the Torker 383 is a better intake for the application as well as the Holly 750. 425 HP is great numbers for that build. I always thought I wanted a 850 Demon carb in the day, and I am now glad I couldn't afford one. Only took me 53 years to find that out.

 

[biomedtechguy]

I'd like someone who did...all of the stuff discussed, solid flat tappet lifters, and a pair of high performance cylinder heads!
The GM 396/375 (and I think there was a 4XX horsepower version of the 396 in a Corvette? It was replaced by the 427)
Being a MOPAR MANIAC since my dad stood on the gas in his new 383 base Roadrunner, 727 auto on the column, and some kind of "upgraded" (louder) mufflers, when he, my mom and I were on Interstate 10 and some guy flew by. We were on the high rise bridge, and the torque and horsepower pulled us right over the top and ZOOMED down, catching the speeder within a mile, blue light flashing on the dash of the B-5 Blue Roadrunner...
Anyway, the 396/375 had solid lifters, aluminum intake, and I think aluminum heads too? The 383 is the closest displacement to the GM offering, and it also was in "similarly priced" break points in the Chevy line, so I always want to see the MOPAR equivalent represent!!
My friends and I were always impressed with my buddy's 70 Roadrunner 383 Air Grabber pistol grip equipped car once he did some shade tree mods, and it really liked the higher ring and pinion gearset. The 3.90 seemed to be the best all around for what he used it for, but the 4.32 made it a 1320 ANIMAL, and I saw MANY a street race callout FALL to the screaming 383. Oh yeah, if he would have had solid lifters and a hot cam, and heads to match....that would have really brought his game up to the next level!

 

[biomedtechguy]

I can't WAIT to get my 541 aluminum 6bbl stroker dialed in and kick some *** on test and tune night, and make a few "sprints" at Cruisin the Coast!
Gosh I'm still such a teenager when it comes to stuff like classic muscle car racing, and as amazing as boosted technology and modern powerplants are, represented nicely by my friend's 2005 Corvette....$10k for the car, no engine. Buys a LS2 for little money (now he wishes he would have got a LSX) and puts a centrifugal supercharger and upgraded fuel injectors on it with an intercooler and special intake manifold. Damn thing runs the FACTORY COMPUTER CONTROL! Proceeds to break a number of parts downstream, replaces them with stronger parts, works through some laptop tuning bugaboos including transmission control stuff, and BAM!! Now, about 4-6 months after installing the setup, he's running 9.8 at 139 MPH.
So, as amazing as all that **** is, I just LOVE a naturally aspirated thumping big block!! Nothing sounds quite as good as that, and I don't think I've EVER heard a newer Ford V-8 that doesn't sound like ****.

 

[Photon440]

I'd like someone who did...all of the stuff discussed, solid flat tappet lifters, and a pair of high performance cylinder heads!
The GM 396/375 (and I think there was a 4XX horsepower version of the 396 in a Corvette? It was replaced by the 427)
Being a MOPAR MANIAC since my dad stood on the gas in his new 383 base Roadrunner, 727 auto on the column, and some kind of "upgraded" (louder) mufflers, when he, my mom and I were on Interstate 10 and some guy flew by. We were on the high rise bridge, and the torque and horsepower pulled us right over the top and ZOOMED down, catching the speeder within a mile, blue light flashing on the dash of the B-5 Blue Roadrunner...
Anyway, the 396/375 had solid lifters, aluminum intake, and I think aluminum heads too? The 383 is the closest displacement to the GM offering, and it also was in "similarly priced" break points in the Chevy line, so I always want to see the MOPAR equivalent represent!!
My friends and I were always impressed with my buddy's 70 Roadrunner 383 Air Grabber pistol grip equipped car once he did some shade tree mods, and it really liked the higher ring and pinion gearset. The 3.90 seemed to be the best all around for what he used it for, but the 4.32 made it a 1320 ANIMAL, and I saw MANY a street race callout FALL to the screaming 383. Oh yeah, if he would have had solid lifters and a hot cam, and heads to match....that would have really brought his game up to the next level!

Chevy put more effort into the 396 simply because GM wouldn't allow them to put bigger engines in the Chevelle until 1970. Mopar didn't need to crank the snot out of the 383 when you could order up a 440 GTX or Charger in 1967 and powerful 413-426 versions earlier. Or a Hemi. Similarly, Ford didn't go overboard with the 390 when you could order 427 and 428 engines in intermediates. That is my view on it anyway.

 

[Hemirunner]

What’s up with the spacer under the carb using the 750? Are we comparing apples to oranges here??

 

[PRHeads]

What’s up with the spacer under the carb using the 750? Are we comparing apples to oranges here??

-Anyone else notice the “addition” to the combo after the HP750 got put back on the Torker at the end?

 

[Hemirunner]

He had 420 something before without the spacer and needed the spacer to get back to that?? Something going on there... he should have had west coast numbers with that spacer on there! Now you have us bench racing dynos! Lol

 

[Jerry Hall]

Wore it out on the dyno. How many pulls total with all the experimentation? Time for another freshening.