Thread: SB chevy 383 head/ camshaft suggestion?

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I am buildind a 383. I currently have a scat 3.75" stroke crank, eagle 5.7" rods, speed pro pistons + 5cc, XE284 COMP cam (CCA-12-250-3), Edelbrock Air Gap intake and a 750 edelbrock carb. I am planning on putting it in a smaller car like a camaro with a 3000 stahl. I am definitely buying aftermarket heads for this build. Any head recomendations? Im thinkin about 195 to 200 cc intake runners. AFR? DART?World? RHS? Any suggestions? Also, will I have to clearance my rod capscrews to clear the camshaft I am running?

Originally Posted by dk350sb

I am buildind a 383. I currently have a scat 3.75" stroke crank, eagle 5.7" rods, speed pro pistons + 5cc, XE284 COMP cam (CCA-12-250-3), Edelbrock Air Gap intake and a 750 edelbrock carb. I am planning on putting it in a smaller car like a camaro with a 3000 stahl. I am definitely buying aftermarket heads for this build. Any head recomendations? Im thinkin about 195 to 200 cc intake runners. AFR? DART?World? RHS? Any suggestions? Also, will I have to clearance my rod capscrews to clear the camshaft I am running?

Bad plan. You're making the same mistakes all of us on this board have made and hopefully learned from.

1. The cam is not the first thing you choose for a motor, it is the last thing you choose, after everything else is coordinated toward the goal you wish to reach with the motor. It's the last thing you buy before you buy a torque converter. Rear gears, tires, wheels and rear suspension parts are the first things you buy, based on the speed range of the car and the intended purpose of the car.

2. You do not use a flat tappet cam in today's environment of altered oil formulations. Extreme pressure lubricants that used to allow us to run flat tappets have been eliminated from off-the-shelf motor oils, so if we are going to run flat tappets at all, we must be very careful about all the facets of choosing an installing them. Here is a checklist to help cover your @@@ when using one.....
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ips_and_tricks

3. Even if you did use a flat tappet cam, the Extreme Energy grind is the worst type you could possible choose. It might have been put to good use 20 years ago, but in today's conditions, it is not one of CompCams better ideas. They are extremely noisy and have a better chance of grinding a lobe or 3 off the blank than a grind using easier ramps. Actually, it's the lifter that goes South first because of the extreme pressure exerted on it from the extreme ramp. Once the lifter crown is destroyed, the lobe isn't far behind.

4. The only fix for this whole mess is a roller tappet cam, a hydraulic if you are using the motor in a street or street/strip application or a solid roller if you are a hard-core street/strip kind of guy or you will use the motor for racing only. Some of the solid rollers will not hold up on the street, so do your homework finding out which ones will work and which ones will not.

5. If you are new to building motors and chose the cam you did just because you want others to hear the motor rump-rump and think you have a "race motor" between the fenders, then you are a POSER and someone should yank you up by the back of your collar and give you a swift kick in the @@@ for being so stupid. Build your motor for the purpose it needs to meet. Then if the cam has a lope to it, great. If the cam does not have a lope to it, great, but for God's sake, do not build a motor just to get a lope. It might sound good, but it will be worthless in all other areas.

Here are 108 small block Chevy combinations that have been dynoed and proven to work. Go through here and find the motor that you think you want and that will do the job for you in your Camaro. Then come back on and ask specific questions about procedures and fine tuning. Most all of us can recommend the proper heads and cam to do what you want to do with the motor, but you need to find a ballpark.....After you have scrolled to the bottom of the page, click on another combination section from the orange bar at the bottom of the page....
http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

Oh yeah, about the rod clearance. If you had used Scat rods, you wouldn't have to worry about it, they are already clearanced for the cam. Don't know about the Eagle rods. Some say they are OK, some say not. You'll have to mock up your assemble and check each rod one at a time. You may have to do a little grinding on the block at the oil pan rail for big end clearance. Also, swing the rod through its range once you have the pistons hung. Look for interference between the balance pad of the rod and the underside of the crown of the piston.

You'll want to use a tall intake manifold such as an Edelbrock RPM or a Weiand Stealth. They're worth 40+ horsepower over a short intake. I don't want to hear that you don't have room for it. That's what a Sawzall is for. Make room. Cut a hole in the hood and cover it with a nicely-formed hood scoop or use cowl induction with a closed piece. Use a 14" X 3" minimum air cleaner and 1 3/4" long-tube headers. Don't use those cheezy, fosdick shortie space savers. You may as well just walk out to the street and toss a handful of money in the gutter. A good set of properly sized, long-tube headers is worth 60-70 horsepower over cast iron logs.

TechInspector has given you some good advice. I based my 383 build on Combination #15 on Ryan's Car Page. Wow! What a great engine it is. If I had to do it again now, I would go hydraulic roller but at the time I built mine, oil was not a problem.

Thanks for the info fellas. As for you techinspector1, I was just asking for a recommendation, you did not have to write a book, I have ran the Comp Cams XE274 in a couple different 350's and never had a problem with it and I kno how they run. The XE284 is just one step bigger. So im not a friken poser like you inquired. I asked if you had any cylinder head suggestions for the combination of parts I am running, not a lecture on camshafts. But thanks again. I got er from here

dk350sb, I think Tech was just trying to help, and has a good knowledge
of everything about an engine...The 383 (388) I put together a few yrs
back, I used The GM double Hump Iron heads that had completely been
redone from one end to another when I bought them. After I decided on
two four barrells, gear, etc. I called Comp Cams and they advised me on
what cam to use. I bought their kit including springs, push rods, and of
course the hydraulic roller and lifters...I think the 383 is built to best
perform up to about 6500 rpm, and I was using a 5 spd stick..I really
loved that engine. If I was redoing another 383 I would probably call
Dart..Just my 3 cents worth...rd

Originally Posted by dk350sb

Thanks for the info fellas. As for you techinspector1, I was just asking for a recommendation, you did not have to write a book, I have ran the Comp Cams XE274 in a couple different 350's and never had a problem with it and I kno how they run. The XE284 is just one step bigger. So im not a friken poser like you inquired. I asked if you had any cylinder head suggestions for the combination of parts I am running, not a lecture on camshafts. But thanks again. I got er from here

See what happens when you try to help a POSER? They get all defensive.
I wrote my reply not only for you, but for the additional hundreds of fellows who will be reading this thread.

hey tech guy you dont take any prisoners do you good man nunattax

Originally Posted by nunattax

hey tech guy you dont take any prisoners do you good man nunattax

Dad was Irish, mom was Scottish. Takin' crap is not part of my heritage.

Way to go tech, hang in there..As you said, the info you post will
help others like myself. I'm only a half A$$ mechanic and old too.

There is a wealth of info on this site, and I have become adicted to it.

Merry Christmas to all..RD

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Dad was Irish, mom was Scottish. Takin' crap is not part of my heritage.

dear dad was Irish and mom is Irish and i am level off with abit german i do not take NO crap i just and dig you a hole