opinions on this 383 build?

[vegaschevy]

I have seen these guys with 454s, 396s, 350s.

What does everyone think of the price they are asking and the Hp claims and parts combination?
CHEVY 383 STROKER / 490 HORSEPOWER ALUMINUM HEADED COMPLETE CRATE MOTOR!!!
ALL NEW / PRO-BUILT!!!
2 YEAR / UNLIMITED MILE WARRANTY!!!



**** ONLY BRAND-NEW / PRO-BUILT SBC 383 STROKER / 490 HORSEPOWER COMPLETE CRATE MOTOR YOU'LL FIND FOR LESS THAN $3,700!!! ****

****** YOU'LL NEVER FIND THIS MUCH SBC CRATE MOTOR ANYWHERE ELSE THIS CHEAP!!! ******

******** ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING & RUNNING SMALL BLOCK CHEVY CRATE MOTORS YOU'LL EVER FIND!!! ********

************** 2 YEAR / UNLIMITED MILE WARRANTY ********************


BRAND NEW PROCOMP HP ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEADS!
ALL NEW/NEVER INSTALLED IN VEHICLE!
PRO-BUILT / MACHINED / ASSEMBLED IN A STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY............NO HOME-BUILT JUNK! !
SUPER BARGAIN ONLY $3,690! OUR REGULAR PRICE: $4,990!
COMES WITH RECEIPT!
HORSEPOWER: 490, TORQUE: 495 FT./LBS. (VERY STREETABLE / PUMP GAS!)
COMES WITH CARB, INTAKE, IGNITION, PAN, H. BAL., TIMING COVER, ETC. AS PICTURED, PLUS HP HEI DISTRIBUTOR, HP ALUMINUM W.PUMP, AND POLISHED ALUMINUM VALVE COVERS!
2 YEAR/UNLIMITED MILE WRITTEN WARRANTY!
NICE MUSCLECAR LOPE/IDLE!
DELIVERY / SHIPPING AVAILABLE!
CALL PERFORMANCE ENGINES: (623)388-9067
OPEN 8AM-6PM MST M-F , 8AM-4PM MST SAT



MACHINED, BALANCED & BLUEPRINTED, 3-ANGLE COMPETITION VALVE JOB ON CYLINDER HEADS, ASSEMBLED (ALL DONE BY PROFESSIONALS)

SUPER DEAL & MOST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK ON CRAIG'S LIST!

GREAT MUSCLECAR SOUND!

@PUMP GAS FRIENDLY COMPRESSION RATIO (10.5:1)@

GREAT CHOICE FOR STREET/STRIP RELIABLE HIGH PERFORMANCE CRATE ENGINE!

BALANCED TO WITHIN 2 GRAMS!

INCLUDES A 2 YEAR/UNLIMITED MILE WRITTEN WARRANTY!

Machined in a State-Of-The-Art Machine Shop, Plus Professionally & Meticulously Assembled Assuring You The Utmost In Quality & Reliability! Something Not Found In A Home-Builder/Hobbiest's Product!

BLOCK: CHEVROLET 350 4 BOLT MAIN

HEADS: PROCOMP HP ALUMINUM 190CC INTAKE RUNNER (ALL NEW PARTS: 2.02"I/1.60"E VALVES, SPRINGS, GUIDES, RETAINERS, ROCKER STUDS, GUIDEPLATES)

CRANKSHAFT: CHEVY 383 (EAGLE, BRAND NEW!)

MACHINE WORK:
Oven Baked & Magnifluxed (Completely Cleaned & Checked For Cracks)
Bored & Finished Computer Honed To Within .0002'' Straightness & Roundness
Align Honed Main Bearing Bores/Saddles
Square Decked
Re-Size Connecting Rods
3 Angle Competition Valve Job
Balanced & Blueprinted
PORTED CYLINDER HEADS
PROFESSIONALLY Assembled

ALL NEW PARTS:
Speed-Pro (Federal-Mogul) Hyperutectic Pistons
Hastings Moly Rings
Clevite CL-77 Rod/Main/Cam Bearings
Crane HP Hydraulic Flat-Tappet Cam (LIFT: .510"I/.533"E, DUR @ .050": 244I/254E, 112 LOBE SEPERATION) NASTY MUSLCECAR IDLE/LOPE YET STREETABLE!
SA Gear Double Roller HP Timing Set
HP Connecting Rod Bolts (180,000 p.s.i)
PROCOMP Aluminum HP Single-Plane Intake Manifold (Dual-Plane Available NO CHARGE)
Edelbrock 750 CFM Carb
PROCOMP ALUMINUM FULL ROLLER HP ROCKER ARMS (1:5 Ratio)
Fel-Pro Gasket Set
PROCOMP HP H.E.I. Distributor/Coil (50,000 Volts)
Melling HV Pump
Melling Oil Pump Pickup Screen
Melling Oil Pump Driveshaft
SSI/Specialty Products Oil Pan
Professional Products HP Harmonic Balancer
P.E.P. Cylinder Head Bolts
PROCOMP HP Valves (2.02" Intake/1.60" Exhaust)
Manley HP Pushrods
Pioneer Brass Freeze Plugs
Dipstick & Tube Holder
PROCOMP HP Aluminum Water Pump
PROCOMP HP Mechanical Fuel Pump
PROCOMP POLISHED ALUMINUM Valve Covers (Add $110 To Change To Trick FABRICATED Polished Aluminum Valve Covers)
Fasteners (Intake Manifold, Valve Covers, Oil Pan, Waterpump Bolts)

Horsepower: 490
Torque: 495
$3699

[ProStreet71]

I dont trust anything thats made by procomp!

[treman03]

Been flagged for removal.. What does that tell ya..

[BossHogg69]

I agree, the reason it's only $3700 is because of all the ProComp stuff they used...

[Rodms]

As far as I know procomp makes good rocker arms and the rest is scrap,shouldn'nt be used rods in the motor either,and if it was high performance engine should have clevite hp bearings also,If you need some of these parts to do a home built junk motor let me know ,my wife works for mahle who owns clevite,perfect circle and on and on

[BossHogg69]

Originally Posted by Rodms

As far as I know procomp makes good rocker arms and the rest is scrap,shouldn'nt be used rods in the motor either,and if it was high performance engine should have clevite hp bearings also,If you need some of these parts to do a home built junk motor let me know ,my wife works for mahle who owns clevite,perfect circle and on and on

Mahle is a good company - their reps were always cool when I saw them at shows - PRI, SEMA, etc. I used to be a the Sales Manager for the Cloyes Performance Products Line (True Roller timing chains and such), so I kinda know a couple things about the engine parts world. Those SA Gear timing sets used in the motor above leave a LOT to be desired. I wouldn't run one in a motor with that much power.

[ProStreet71]

I disagree with the procomp rocker arms being any good. Ive seen the needle bearings come out of the fulcrum and destroy a motor. I dont want cheap rockers(made in china) on a motor that ive spent 7 grand on.

[vegaschevy]

what would be a good combination of parts to make a great stroker motor that does not break the bank. I can have the block machined and assemble everything else myself.

[djracer]

Buy you a good Scat (better than Eagle in my opinion)balanced 383 kit then a set of Dart or Afr heads and do it yourself.

[Rodms]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

Mahle is a good company - their reps were always cool when I saw them at shows - PRI, SEMA, etc. I used to be a the Sales Manager for the Cloyes Performance Products Line (True Roller timing chains and such), so I kinda know a couple things about the engine parts world. Those SA Gear timing sets used in the motor above leave a LOT to be desired. I wouldn't run one in a motor with that much power.

Yeah and Cloyes makes the timing gear stuff for clevite

[BossHogg69]

Originally Posted by Rodms

Yeah and Cloyes makes the timing gear stuff for clevite

Ha, Cloyes makes timing gear stuff for EVERYBODY!! Edelbrock, Comp Cams, Crane (they were all my accounts!) NAPA, CarQuest, and Clevite too. We had a lot of different colored boxes in our warehouse....

[Rodms]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

Ha, Cloyes makes timing gear stuff for EVERYBODY!! Edelbrock, Comp Cams, Crane (they were all my accounts!) NAPA, CarQuest, and Clevite too. We had a lot of different colored boxes in our warehouse....

Yeah clevite or mahle is doing carquestUS,and napa canada gaskets in there onwn boxes ,napa us went to felpro instead of victor.I almost have the parts for the new engine except for timing gears .balancer and gaskets,I was going noisey but now with it all balanced I heard it could throw the harmonics off so I'm just gonna do a good chain!! and see what happens. hopefully good.

[TrueChevyTech]

Originally Posted by Rodms

As far as I know procomp makes good rocker arms and the rest is scrap,shouldn'nt be used rods in the motor either,and if it was high performance engine should have clevite hp bearings also,If you need some of these parts to do a home built junk motor let me know ,my wife works for mahle who owns clevite,perfect circle and on and on

Wife still working with them, looking to build a 383 very soon, also being my first build, I want to have some parts left after i blow it up once or twice =p

[Rodms]

Originally Posted by TrueChevyTech

Wife still working with them, looking to build a 383 very soon, also being my first build, I want to have some parts left after i blow it up once or twice =p

Had to work today and be in at 6 AM.

[fryco]

you get what you pay for. check out competion products. http://www.competitionproducts.com/ there local to me, my engine builder buys from them. they sell crates, long & short blocks, top end kits what ever.

[BigDan3131]

I agree anything that seems like a bargain usually isn't. Ebay, CL and other craptastic site like that aren't worth it. I would look up to see who won the Engine Masters Challenge and check out those companies. Most of them have a tight budget to build those engines.

[oldno7]

My brother is always telling me about this good deal from so & so. I usually just ignore him because most of the time it's one of those. 500 hp for 2500 bucks. I think you should decide what kind of motor you want street/ drag ect, and then go from there. If it's a street case remember your only going to get so much of it to hook-up, so overkill is not needed. (I can't believe I just said that) Alright I gotta go now

[shrunken66stroker]

You have to be careful because maybe it is actually making 500 horse and 500 lb ft. of torque. When it doesn't say in the ad, you know for sure that the crank and rods are cast and not forged. 500 hp is at the upper end of the range for the whole rotating assembly and you better make sure it's balanced professionally. Not to mention all of the tolerances being correct. I've seen the results of one of these high horse power low buck engines when it ate itself up and it's not pretty. Also, you better plan on replacing the tranny, U-joints, drive shaft, rear gears and axles. If the engine doesn't eat itself up it will eat up everything behind it.

OldNo7 makes a good point about the overkill horse power going out the rear tires in the form of smoke.

Get a small block and have a good machine shop like Kell's here in Vegas do all of the machining. They'll assemble the short block for you and you can dress it up how you like from there. It will cost you more than that Craig's list "deal" but at least you know you won't be in the market for a replacement after 20 thousand miles or less.

[mdunn]

OK..so I have been waiting to chime in on this thread. The reason the add was deleted was becuase I bought this motor the day before this post started. Yes, I knew it was a gamble, but I got the price down to $3000. And yes, I know what the parts are, but I think most of you would agree by the time you bought a block, a stroker kit and had the machine wrok done, you would have close to this in the bottm end.

I just got the motor broke in last week and am in the tuning stages now. Yes it has been a lot of headaches getting it into my '72 K5 4x4. All the parts are exactly as described. I pulled the valve covers to check everything and could see the pison part numbers through the spark plug holes. Crank was marked on the flywheel side. The block numbers came back as a 80-84 4-Bolt main passenger car. Dipstick is on the passenger side which caused me some trouble. I also had him change the manifold out to a dual plane insterad of the single plane to focus on the low end torque.

When I first fired it, I had water leaking from several of thehead studs. Although sealed, it appeared these studs suffered from the same problems that you read about for the ARP studs. I put a can of Bar's Stop Leak in like everone mentions to do, and all of the leaks have ceased.

The flat tappet cam, as you can tell from the specs is pretty big. I am only running 14" vacuum at 1000rpm. Initially the motor wanted to stall in gear, but I got most of that worked out now. It has a grat lope to the idle and sounds really good. The motor when it first fired at 70psi of oil pressure. After break in it holds 40psi at idle and about 50psi going down the road at 2500rpm.

The enigne also came with a Edelbrock 1407 carb as listed. I am still trying to figure out the correct settings and jetting for this. I installed off-road needle and seats and reset the float height before firing it. Still seems a little flat around 3500rpm. My guess is this may be the Procomp head specs or the cam also.

I'll keep you posted. The motor came with a 2year/Unlimited warranty, but I am hoping I do not need to use it. But finally for the money, I am considering waiting the 2 years, and then upgrading the heads to something better. Other than that, the bottom end is small block chevy...can't have too much go wrong right?

I am open to all feedback and tuning suggestions. Like I said, I was on a budget and I know I got what I paid for, but I am hoping I can make the best out of it!