Thread: Building a street 383, looking for cam advice and other suggestions

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Starting a new thread on a motor which has been discussed a bit on other threads before.
Object is to have power similar to new Camaro and to have good street manners allowing
Coast to Coast Cruising. Street torque desired. Live at mile high level but will run to sea level.

Purchased a craigslist 383 build which I took apart and examined. Sold the Summit vortec heads, manifold and carb. Have a Holly 3310 and Performer RPM intake.
Motor is 4.03 bore, 3.75 stroke, Ross forged pistons -12cc, 6.0 eagle rods, Pistons are even with deck – zero decked.
On pervious advice from Tech on another thread I scraped together my “hot rod money” and purchased Pro Filer 195cc heads with 72cc chambers.
Using a Felpro gasket for .041 crush.
Jerry gave helpful advice on the carb setup. Tech and Roger suggested fuel injection to help with altitude changes. All liked the addition of a blower, me too. That “hot rod money fund” was not quite ready for the jump to a commercial unit. Holding that blower out for the future.
New purchase of a Holly Stealth Ram manifold with Holly Fuel rails. I like the look of the basic manifold which I think could be converted to a blower base later on. Current plan is to just run it as injection. Thinking 36lb injectors and 58mm throttle body. Holly control wiring and brain are very expensive – any suggestions there? Fast?

Basic Cam Question:
New cam that came with the motor is standard Hyd of unknown manufacture 230@.50 with .575 lift on both intake and exhaust. Could someone give me estimates or even better a dyno-sim run with that cam?
Second choice, I am considering a Howards retro roller small base circle Hydraulic cam #110245-12S (278/284, .500/.510 lift with 112 degree lobe separation. RPM range of 1500 – 5400) Is this worthwhile or can you make a better suggestion? Any chance of a dyno-sim of that setup to compare with the other?

Open to suggestions, have at it.

For what you'll spend on roller cam and all the stuff to convert to a reliable FI system , you can buy a take out engine/trans/asseries from a late model and you will then have the power/torque of the newer Camaros----------get ECM and dash plus wiring harness-----

Try Southern Performance Systems in Sugar Hill Ga ask for John Tucker, tell him I sent you------John used to get the drive trains from factory test cars in Detroit-they were test stuff and couldn't be sold as complete vehicles so Detroit disassembled vehicle and then crushed the body/chassis-----I've bought not only engine/trans but Corvette complete suspensions/steering---

Have you looked into the FItech units? I have some friends that have them on their rides and they work really nice and for the price are hard to beat. Granted, a 5.3 4L60E swap would be pretty reliable and cheap as well. But that doesn't help you since you have the stuff collected to do your 383.

FiTech Fuel Injection

Jerry, if I was just starting out, your method probably is the least trouble and most effective. But it makes me feel like I would just be replacing everything with new parts, not looking to see how I could "hot rod" what I have. (The young man next door is going to mechanic school and most of what I hear him say is find the bad part and replace. He rarely has a clue to why something is failing or if there is something that can work better.) What little money I have is invested with what I hope was good parts. Can you look at helping me make the best of it? You have the experience of building motors for years, would you share?

Ryan, the FItech units are very nice and similar to many types out there for retrofitting. I was hoping to improve on that type by using port injection. Perhaps my concept of picking what I understand as better methods has backed me into a corner.

Pride: My car is 76 years old this year and yes I currently have a "late model motor"! In fact the motor is only 51 years old. I like to ask new car owners where they think their cars will be in 76 years and will they be running on the road with the brand new year models in 2092.


Come on guys, I am a HOT RODDER thru and thru!!! Give me some help here.

Scooting, I just mentioned the FiTech because I figured it would be cheaper than the holley stuff. I've had 2 other friends ditch their holley efi as it would never learn properly and always was off the car or truck being sent in for repairs or reprogramming. One of these guys went to a Fitech, the other went to a Duramax. I realize that you're a hot rodder and you have all this (new) old small block stuff. But those LS engines can be ran with the stock PCM and be tuned to do what you're wanting for a lot less money. So I guess to me IMO it just comes down to what injection system you want to go with and how much more money you want to spend on the build. From the looking I've done, the FAST is about $500 more than a Fitech unit with the add on fuel system from Fitech. Which is better? I'm not sure both have great reviews.

With the holley, do you have to piece a system together for the multi port? I see what you're saying about wanting to stay with an old engine but either way you're adding technology to it and changing the looks. The fast and Fitech can still look like an old carb'd engine. The Fitech have supercharger units too.

Hopefully someone can give you better help. I'm not much help. Haha

Well it looks like this question about cams is about to slip into the darkness without a reply to the question.
I am going to attach a couple of photos of my $5 rattle can detailing. Just trying to do what I can with what I wanted.
First is the Pro-Filer heads

Purchased a used Holley Stealth Ram manifold.
Doesn't this look like a good base for a blower? I think so. I have bought an M122 Magneson blower from a Shelby Mustang and inter-cooler assembly from a Land Rover. Just need to make the box fit on top of this.

This looks easy as a base to build a blower manifold from. Little bit of a ram effect yet rated down in the lower rpm ranges.

For now I would like to start by running it as an injection motor and determine a feel for how it runs.
I have the Mustang throttle body and could adapt it on or use the 58mm upgraded Chevy one.
I would think that Fast should be able to control the motor either way.
I have built this item by item as suggested on this forum and now would like cam advice. Hope this finds an answer.

I'm not the "Bow Tie Guy" by any means but I would be going with the Howards choice as long as it's available as a roller.

And I love the colors on your setup.. fwiw. LOL..

I have your static compression ratio at 9.48:1, which will want a cam somewhere between 208 and 216 degrees intake duration @0.050". If it were up to me, I'd use a Howards CL110235-10S if you need reduced base circle to clear the cam lobes. If you used rods that clear the cam on their own, then use CL110235-10. Both these part numbers are for a kit, cam and roller lifters. The Dynamic Compression Ratio with this cam is 8.47:1 on the Keith Black calculator. More cam will lower the DCR. Less cam will raise the DCR.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-cl110235-10s
http://www.ebay.tv/sch/i.html?_odkw=...0S&_sacat=6028

Install straight up, neither retarded nor advanced on these 0.050" numbers.....
Intake opens 0.5 degrees BTDC
Intake closes 32.5 degrees ABDC
Exhaust opens 31.5 degrees BBDC
Exhaust closes 5.5 degrees ATDC

If there is another grinder that you like better, call them up and get a recommendation.

.

Ray, the engine looks great in yellow! Looking back in time, and relying too much on memories (dangerous, believe me...) I think that you bought the ProFiler heads to take advantage of the flow at higher rpm's, and you're wanting to push your power band out more into the 5500 to 6000rpm range, while maintaining it's manners in the normal cruise range as much as possible. I seem to recall some stories of an "Old guy in a hot rod" hanging with the kids in their Camaro's and Mustang's up to the century mark, but then they pull away slowly? Do I have it anywhere close to right, or has my CRS struck again?

Thanks Tech. I understand the cam spec's are perfect with the chart that correlates compression ratio to cam duration. I would like to push the power band a bit higher to take advantage of the heads. Considering the dynamic compression ratio, what are the safe limits? I do want to have the engine run on injection for a while at first and see how I like.
The current static compression was chosen with the thought of using the blower for a mild hit later on. I chose an Magneson m122 blower because of it's greater efficiency over a standard Weiand or B&M type blower and wanting to use that better efficiency at low blower output - perhaps 6lbs. This type of blower has a reputation of producing cooler input air and better boost curves at lower rpms. To help with the heat problem I am going to build an intercooler for it to blow thru - reducing the inlet temp of the air.
Any suggestions on improving the long term blower motor?

Roger, you are teasing the situation. Old guys in Hot Rods never pick on young boys in their new Daddy bought Camaro. Nope, all us old guys at the stoplight just wave and explain the bowl of fish on the passenger seat and watch the youngsters rev up and punch it. Ain't being old grand?

Originally Posted by Scooting

Roger, you are teasing the situation. Old guys in Hot Rods never pick on young boys in their new Daddy bought Camaro. Nope, all us old guys at the stoplight just wave and explain the bowl of fish on the passenger seat and watch the youngsters rev up and punch it. Ain't being old grand?

When my 40 was together, if someone wanted some, I gave it all she had! For a hacked mess it didn't do too bad.

Ryan, think what yours is going to be like with the Hemi!
Say it over again, HEMI! That should keep you pumped up and working.