383 Stroker Rebuild

[RICEATER94Bird]

Hey, I'm Gonna Be saving up money from each paycheck, and eventually, once i have enough saved i will be doing a 383 Stroker. When i do this, i'm gonna do the whole deal. I want to build the most radical, yet still streetable engine that i can out of my LT1. I have a few questions out of this. First, what is the most horsepower i can get out of a 383 stroker, but still be tame enough to use as a driver? Also, how much will i be looking at to invest? Input will be great! Thanks!

[Joe 1320]

Hey, I'm Gonna Be saving up money from each paycheck, and eventually, once i have enough saved i will be doing a 383 Stroker. When i do this, i'm gonna do the whole deal. I want to build the most radical, yet still streetable engine that i can out of my LT1. I have a few questions out of this. First, what is the most horsepower i can get out of a 383 stroker, but still be tame enough to use as a driver? Also, how much will i be looking at to invest? Input will be great! Thanks!

1 HP per cubic inch is tame and not very stressed if built correct. 1.5 HP per cubic inch gets hairy. Anything in between is possible with longevity when built with the right combination of parts. You can go higher, the costs increase dramatically.

The biggest variables are the heads and cam. That's where the big power gains come from. As far as what is streetable, that's a debate all it's own.

[RICEATER94Bird]

When i do the rebuild, i would want to use the best parts available. I would get forged internals. The engine would need to be ready for boost. I know there are many different options out there, and i'm a novice when it comes to building engines. I would have it sent out to get done. I just mean that i want to get as much power as i can out of the engine naturally aspirated, yet still be able to drive it alot and have no worries. Most likely a supercharger, maybe a turbo, will be added a while after the 383. I just want to know where i will be at as far as horsepower goes with just the 383?

[78formula78]

It could be a challange to make build a motor for boost yet still have it be mean while its N/A. Boost usually means low compression, my little four banger, that's turbo charged from the factory, only has 7.8 to 1 comprisson ratio. A N/A motor usually has a pretty strong comprisson, which when boosted is very easy to detonate. If your going to be using boost then I'd recommend that you build it for boost, then break it in without your power adder. After all that's done and your tired of driving around on an 8.5 to 1 compression then put on your power adder. You could probally get away with a higher compression ratio BUT you said you want streetable and reliable, so thats why I'd recommend you stay with a low compression if your going to boost.

[strkt_&_blwn]

I have 8.5/1 in my 383, it's a pretty radical setup. However if you wan the most radical that you can get out of your LT1 then go 396 all the way. then boost that . that'll be a hairy son - of - a - gun.

Like stated above you wont be able to have a narly set up n/a and then boost it. Doesn't work like that. But my 383 should make somewhere around 375-400 hp N/A, but it's also low compression. Now when I throw the boost at it that's a different story. It did 542 rwhp and 524 rwtq. It's streetable, really impractical, but streetable -the-less. I'm running 12 psi with a D-1SC. The engine can handle more I just need meth injection to add more boost, to keep the longevity.

Looking back on it now I wish I would have done a 396 since I was already there. In fact next time I pull it out I'm swapping the lower end to a 396

You can make some crazy hosepower with an LT1, you just can't be squemish with your wallet if you want it to last.

[Joe 1320]

These guys are giving you sound advice. The more boost you are going to use, the lower the compression has to be due to fuel requirements and parts longevity. In a perfect world with 120 octane you might get by with higher compression, but it's still much safer to run lower compression and high boost. If you are determined for a middle of the road compromise, medium compression and low boost can still work well.

[MunsonGTA]

go 396 with a good crank, rods, and pistons. i'd suggest callies crank and rods or something similar, ross pistons or something similar. run it low compression 9.3:1 or lower i'd suggest. you could run 93 octane with 12-15 lbs of boost all day long and still drive it on the street. whoever tunes the car will really determine the overall power and how streetable it is.

[Injuneer]

With high boost, the 396 might not be the best choice. The long crank throw forces the wrist pin higher in the pistons, limiting rod length. Clearancing the block for the longer crank throw, and the possible need for a small base-circle cam are additional issues.

A buddy of mine took his LT1 to 1,125HP with 20+# of Vortech boost. He saw no advantages at all in complicating things with the 396's clearance and compression height issues. You aren't going to see a huge HP increase with the 3.4% displacement gain, compared to the 383.

[RICEATER94Bird]

I would have never thought that! I have always thought that i could make the 383 as radical as possible and still throw on boost and it would be fine. So what would the better choice be......a radical N/A 383, or a low compression 383 with boost? I just wanna built it to where nothing can touch me on the streets besides supercars.

[78formula78]

I'd say boost it, because if you go turbo (harder yes, but I like them better) you could easily drive it down the street and with and electronic boost controler keep your boost at almost nothing. Allowing great gas mileage and less stress on your engine, but with the turn of a nob be at insane power. It's almost like having nitrous except you never have to worry about your bottle going empty. I have some numbers which talk about charge temps, detetnation, and N/A VS turbo they're ment for my little four bangers but the principal is the same. A intercooled turbo that is not being worked outside it's effecience range will have a very cool charge temp when compared to a N/A motor that is on the very edge of a pump gas friendly compression. A cooler charge temp means less chance of pre-ignition and detonation all things which could destroy your engine.

I can post a link to the article that has the numbers but they're buried deep in a 62 page pdf. file so If you want them let me know.

EDIT- I would defently subjest the turbo since your automatic, I know there are a few GN owners in here who can personaly tell you the wonders of an automatic transmission and turbo chagers combined together.

[RICEATER94Bird]

Well thats whats been getting to me. I could either have this badass radical engine that will turn heads. Or keep the engine tamer, but add on boost and just have a freak. Both are tempting. And from what i've been reading, most people have been reccomending a turbo over a supercharger. I like the fact that turbos are more efficient, but i just love that whining sound that superchargers make! Now that i've thought of it, this whole project is going to be pretty tricky. It's really a toss up.