Thread: streeting a 355 vs 383

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Hey i posted a while ago about strokeing my 355 and am still unsure about doing so, its in a 91 s-10 that i will be useing for daily use so i need it to be reliable. The engine is in serious need of a rebuild which is why i'm considering strokeing it.

How its set up right now it has a 4k-7k powerband and is all top end.
Will strokeing the engine will bring the band down and boost my hp at the same time? and will i still be able to take it up to 6500 rpm or so? or will i need to?
It has a hydrolic cam which i dont know the exact specifications of, i've heard of issues with big lift cams in stroked engines. Will the same cam be appropriate?

The carb is a 750 double pumper which i've been told is a little to big for a 355 would it be much nicer on a 383?

I hear that a 355 would be more reliable than the stroked engine? is this true? if so how much more? i'm assumeing that with the stroked engine i can get away with a lower torqe converter which will be nicer on my tranny if i'm right?

Do stroker engines run hotter? colder? like i said its an engine for the street.

The engine used to run nitrious and would like to put nitrous back on it in the future. Which option would be better for this?

I'm on a decently limited budget so should i drop my money on this? or other goodies such as a 4 speed and new suspension i only consider this because of the oportunity of the engine needing to be rebuilt.

If you actually read this whole thing thankyou and help/advice/opinions/what you would do's will be greatly appreciated, i'm haveing a very good shop do this and i dont want to have to worry about this engine for the next few years.
Thanks again.

wow lots'o questions

Well to be honest it's hard to awnser all the questions without knowing what the specs of the cam you have in there are because probably half the questions are going to be based on the cam.

1. (Will strokeing the engine will bring the band down and boost my hp at the same time? and will i still be able to take it up to 6500 rpm or so? or will i need to?) ..........That one is based directly on the cam, the duration of the cam will decide on where the motor makes power in the RPM band.

2.(It has a hydrolic cam which i dont know the exact specifications of, i've heard of issues with big lift cams in stroked engines. Will the same cam be appropriate?)......again without knowing the spec of the cam I cant really awnser that. One thing though, you said your running up to 6500rpms..thats about the limit IMO for a hydralic cam before you start getting valve float.

3.(The carb is a 750 double pumper which i've been told is a little to big for a 355 would it be much nicer on a 383?).....a 750 should be fine for a healthy 383, even a strong 350 can handle it IMO.

4.(I hear that a 355 would be more reliable than the stroked engine? is this true? if so how much more? i'm assumeing that with the stroked engine i can get away with a lower torqe converter which will be nicer on my tranny if i'm right?)........reliability is not something that is based on the stroke of the motor, until you get up to huge cid's where the rod to stoke ratio comes into play. The reliabilty of your motor will be based mostly on the quality of the lower end, and the specs that it was build to when assembled.

5.(Do stroker engines run hotter? colder? like i said its an engine for the street.) ......nope they dont run any hotter.

6.(The engine used to run nitrious and would like to put nitrous back on it in the future. Which option would be better for this?)......again this is a reliabilty question and that is based on the quality of the short block and the assembler that put it together.

7.(I'm on a decently limited budget so should i drop my money on this? or other goodies such as a 4 speed and new suspension i only consider this because of the oportunity of the engine needing to be rebuilt.).....thats a question only you can awnser, if the motor is going to need a rebuild soon as you said then i'd do the motor. A car with new 4-spd and suspension isnt gonna be very fast if the motor is shot


BG

Thanks man the all i know about the cam is that it either has a 513 lift or a 531 lift i think all i know is that its big

[QUOTE]Originally posted by -VS-
[B]Hey i posted a while ago about strokeing my 355 and am still unsure about doing so, its in a 91 s-10 that i will be useing for daily use so i need it to be reliable. The engine is in serious need of a rebuild which is why i'm considering strokeing it.


Tech had provided us a bunch of Dyno comparisons on different engines. One of those was comparing a 350 and a 383 build exactly the same. Both were well built motors using all the good stuff,AFR heads,cam,headers,etc. The 383 made 20 more H.P. and 35lbs. ft. of torque more.
I would think, unless You just want a 383 You would be better off building your 355 and taking the difference to make other needed improvments. While You have the motor down is the time to check your cam to see just what you have. A good race engine machine shop can tell You everything about your cam or you may be able to get the numbers off the cam and figure it out.

That intrigues me that all things being the same the 383 only produced 20 more hp. There was a guy here in town with a Monte SS that had a 383 in it. I don't know about his top end but his car was wickedly fast. I think he said it dynoed aroud 700 hp. maybe he was lying maybe he wasn't. Couldn't drive across town without him wanting to race. I heard he ended up blowing it up, but one thing for sure it was fast

instead of stroking to 383 have you considered destroking to a 327. Theres another guy in town here with a 90's S-10 with a 327 in it. He has a high rise intake and dual 450 carbs. I say 900 cfm is too much for this motor but it looks sweet. He has a hole cut in his hood with a scoop ontop of his carbs. This truck sounds sweet.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by firebird45331
[B]That intrigues me that all things being the same the 383 only produced 20 more hp.

Firebird, Isn't it amazing that these guys working out of their own garage or backyard can come up with all this horsepower on the street,while the professionals with all the resorces they have at theit disposal,the finest at their fingertips, including test facilities and dynos, building a good street engine to run on pump gas, never come up with all this super horsepower.I would suggest to you that 95% of the time that H.P. is only in their imagination.

This is the comparision I was talking about.
1--350 C.I. ( stock bore) --600cfm Holley --Air Flow Research 195cc street heads--AFR Flopower rpm intake--AFR hydraulic
218/223dur-460/470lift cam--1 5/8 headers--9.0 compression Max HP. 420@5000-------Max Torque 435@ 3800

2--383 used the exact same setup
Max HP. 440@5000------Max Torque 470@3500

If You look at the last couple issues of Super Chevy, the articles on Major Mouse a 427 small block--Roller cam--Speed Demon 750 carb--Per.RPM AirGap intake---Comp pro magnum 1.6 roller rockers
Notice the only difference is the 2 sets of heads

Last month--- Edelbrock E-tec 170 aluminium heads -194/155 valves --Max HP 512 @ 5400-----Max Torque 570 @ 4000
This month---Brodix Race Rite 180 aluminium heads-202/160 valves--Max HP 515 @ 5400-----Max Torque 572 @ 4200
If You read the articles and study the charts you would see that even with the 427 small block, the smaller heads with the smaller valves were better for the street.

i wonder if the guy in the monte carlo included the nitrous hp in his 700 hp figure hehehehe 500hp pro fogger system

i had a 383 with the interference of cam to rods hitting with the over.500 lift bought some eagle h-beams now i run .560 without clearance problems