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383 stroker

4K views 16 replies 4 participants last post by  Lilrob 
#1 ·
I am rebuilding my 350 engine and I am making it a 383 stroker. Is there a website that I can read about getting the most power out of a 383 stroker?
 
#2 ·
Power is in the heads. You can pour liquid gas into a running engine and hydro-lock it (breaking everything inside) so gas isn't the limiting factor in making power; air is (or the oxygen content of the air, which is why every one loves nitrous-oxide).

By the same token bigger isn't always better. You can have heads that are too big and a cam that is too big.

Just remember Goldie Locks and her burglary of the Bear residence. You want what is just right, not too big not too small.

To figure that out you need to know how you are going to drive it. Race cars are all max effort that run at wide open throttle. Street cars do not and any attempt to do so will get you arrested. As such there is no such thing as a street/strip car.

There are either highly competitive race cars or street driven cars. If you ever want to go racing build a dedicated race car to class rules and race for the glory of competition.

Big Dave
 
#9 ·
Only took me about forty years to learn that.

I will state I had been building BBC motors for twelve years when I picked up a book called How to Hot Rod the BBC. I was amazed to discover that they knew as much about the subject as I did. It wasn't until I read a few more books published by my track favorites (Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, "Smokey" Yunick, John Lingenfeltter, or Reher Morrison) that I learned anything new.

Best books for a beginner on building a motor would be written by David Vizard:

https://www.amazon.com/Rebuilding-S...HPMNTCCTKJE&psc=1&refRID=HYDZ1A2R4HPMNTCCTKJE

https://www.amazon.com/Vizards-Max-...ocphy=9012089&hvtargid=pla-466623776639&psc=1

David was a magazine writer that used to research aftermarket car parts performance potential based upon his engineering experience and using his own flow bench and engine dyno that almost all car engineers have in their basement. Though he is a degreed mechanical engineer he doesn't use anything harder than algebra to explain how things work.

Big Dave
 
#11 ·
I am a degreed engineer. So I know the theory involved, but they don't teach you anything about automotive engineering outside of two or three colleges located around Detroit for some reason. As such I learned engine building and later car design at the school of hard knocks. One thing I can share is that those twelve year spent learning to get me up to speed on what works and what doesn't with a BBC cost me seventy thousand dollars or more. The book when I first picked it up cost $4.95 which is a substantial discount in training cost. Recommend asking an expert or reading a book. It is a lot cheaper than buying the latest thing advertised in a car mag and trying it out on your car.

One other thing that all of the engine builders I mentioned above share is that aside from me they are all dead. If I knew back in 1963 what I know now I would probably be the most famous engine builder of all time. Takes time and effort to learn it all, but it pays to ask questions of those willing to share what they know. It is why I spend hours on line every day sharing what I know with others before I start my long rest six foot under.

I was lucky in where I grew up. In an age before the internet you had to travel to talk to some one and they where usually making a living and didn't want to spend time talking to you. I lived three miles from Don Garlits and spent years cleaning parts before he allowed me to build one of his motors. Smokey Yunick was three hours drive from my house and I often went over to talk with him when I bought my custom ground cams from Harvey Crane; whose shop was also in Daytona Beach a couple of miles from Smokey's "Best Damn Garage in Town".

Big Dave
 
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