How much HP can i get?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Reliability is a relative term. If you keep the revs low, a 383 has no real issues. If you plan on having a race engine or driving it as such, reliability goes way down hill. 383's are far from a new thing, they have been built for over 20 years for improved torque over a 350. If they were awful they would not be built in such large numbers. If it is a pure street car you can get away with a 2 bolt 355 with a cast crank, stock rods and cast pistons. Pair it with a good street cam like a Comp XE262, a set of Patriot heads ( chosen over Vortecs because of lower weight, similar power and flow and the ability to take more lift), Performer RPM Q-Jet intake and a properly set up Quadrajet and you will be very happy with it.

 

[83cut350chev]

hope this helps, its a great article for the goodwrench 350 (i have the same motor)always runs strong,never had any problems with it,good power stock

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

 

[83cut350chev]

Re: repost

i thought about a stroker, but how reliable is it for street and highway driving? if i add performance manifold, headers, carb,duel exhaust and distri to the goodwrench engine will it kick out 350hp?

i have flowtech longtube headers,dual exhaust,msd hei ignition and have(guessing) about 300 hp and 340lb ft. with a carb and intake
take you should be in the neighborhood of 350 hp i would think

 

[CutMonRegMan]

That isn't a horrible deal, but as he said, you could have one built and get more power out of it for that price. But with that engine there, you could eventually throw a different cam and better heads on it and get a lot more power. Plus with that engine you will have the GM warranty

Before i lucked up on my brother sad day of wrecking his impala ss i was going to go with the same set-up mainly for the warranty as well. But many engine rebuilders offer a limited warranty but not as good as gm's. If the warranty is not so much an issue as the cost and value i would find a junkyard core an get it built to what your looking for.

 

[1980Gbody]

i would build your own just start wiht a decent block and go from there i started building a 383 and have 2000 into it and when its done it should be making high 400s or even low 5s wiht the torq up around there to

check out white perfromance, parts are cheap from there and their very knowledgeable when it come to building v8s

so far in my motor i have
eagle 383 10.7:1 rotating assembly
crane blue racer cam and lifter kit 488/510
patriot aluminum heads 64cc 2.02 int and 1.6 ex valves
1.6 ratio roller rockers and girdles
longer push rods
130gph holly fuel pump
high volume water pump
tall aluminum valve covers
for around $2000

i figure around $1000 to $1500 more to complete the motor

http://www.whiteperformance.com/
or
http://stores.ebay.com/whiteperformance1

 

[wickedrat73]

dude...no matter what you build remember one thing...high flowing heads build horsepower...you can throw all the aftermarket junk in the world at an engine, but if it cant breathe, it won't ever live up to it's potential....start with a decent block with a "best of both worlds" cam...something that will get good bottom end, yet generate enough vaccuum to run all your accessories (a/c, brakes, etc.), stay with a dual plane intake for torque, and spend money on good head work...anything you do to the engine in the future (headers, ignition, whatever) will seem to work that much better with a decent set of heads...and don't forget to step up your torque converter if you get "bigcamitis"

 

[Sprottrod]

The Good Wrench motor is a great budget platform. I have put mine through the mill. The only thing that I havent changed is out is the short block. Even with a stock bottom end I still turn 7400 rpm out of it. The motor is over ten years old and still runs great. I have used it from stock daily driver to a cammed out screamer. I couldnt have been more please.

 

[megaladon6]

high flowing heads build horsepower...you can throw all the aftermarket junk in the world at an engine, but if it cant breathe, it won't ever live up to it's potential

that's not a 100% true statement. having too high a flowing head can drop low and mid-range power due to the lack of air velocity. one example is the patriot vs vortec comparison. the patriots have better flow numbers especially on the exhaust side but the vortec produced slightly better power.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It all depends on your combination and your intended application. The heads, cam, intake, and compression ratio need to be chosen carefully so that they compliment each other. Run too big a cam on a low compression engine and you have no low RPM cylinder pressure and a soggy bottom end. Run a big single plane intake with small heads and a mild cam and it will make good power nowhere due to the mismatch, etc. Then you need to tailor the rest of the car's mechanical parts to work with both the power curve of the engine and the weight and intended use of the car. Torque converters should be chosen based BOTH on the engine's torque curve and the car's weight as they are the determining factors in what the actual stall speed will be. Gearing and tire height also play into it, but to a lesser level than weight and torque.

I have run heads that were too large for the engine on my AMC 360 and it is an expensive, disappointing DOG to drive. 2.08 intake, 1.74 exhaust valves and heavily ported. It also has a Comp 280h Magnum cam, Holley 750 and a Performer intake (another mismatch) along with Hooker Super Comp headers and a 2500 stall speed (the complete list of expensive parts on that slow *ss car is mind boggling). Unfortunately, I can't spin it over 6k due to the weak factory oiling system and rods. My mild 355 in my Olds with less cam, less gear, a stock converter, air conditioning and more weight will blow it's doors off and idles better with good fuel mileage to boot. So yeah, it's a useless hard starting, slow, poor idling dog of a car. Don't do what I did. Pick a proper combo for the intended goals and you won't waste money like I did.

 

[wickedrat73]

i understand that engine internals have to be matched according to their intended purpose in order to perform...but the original question was "how much horsepower"...and from what i've seen, if you want horsepower, that's where you start and go from there. you want torque? that's another ballgame...best of both? yet another...everybody's got their formulas, but the bottom line is you gotta think it out and then try it...if it don't work...oh well, lesson learned...trial and error is a lot of work, sometimes, but in the end, it's all experience.