Are all 383 blocks the same?

[Xp29h]

Mopar, good question... This little bad boy on every cylinder! It was a pain in the butt. Each cylinder was pretty close. My guess is they didn't finish honing the cylinders and drove the flattop Pistons in too tight. I'll probably never know until I take it apart and look. But, this machine works great!

http://store.katechengines.com/whistler-compression-ratio-tester-p174.aspx

 

[Mocajava]

One last thing professors, this is a 1969 Coronet, oe 383, 2bbl with a 727 on the column. The charts I looked at said this 383 has a cast crank (69-71 with 2 Bbl) but another article I read said that all 383's BEFORE 71 were forged cranks. Contradictory and which is correct? Would be thrilled if this was a forged crank, really makes the rebuild easier. Mocajava

 

[69roadr]

One last thing professors, this is a 1969 Coronet, oe 383, 2bbl with a 727 on the column. The charts I looked at said this 383 has a cast crank (69-71 with 2 Bbl) but another article I read said that all 383's BEFORE 71 were forged cranks. Contradictory and which is correct? Would be thrilled if this was a forged crank, really makes the rebuild easier. Mocajava

1971 383 2 bbl started with the cast crank.

 

[Bruzilla]

Seeing this thread makes me question the direction I am going. I have a 383 2bl that runs excellent in my 69 Coronet but have been searching and acquiring 440 components for a transplant. Is there that much to gain by stepping up to a 440 OR would I be better off just to build the 383 with high performance goodies internally? I had a 383 magnum in my 68 Super Bee in high school and loved that motor, just thought stepping up would be a dramatic increase. I am not looking for track time, just fun on the streets with a great sound....what do you think gents?

The advice I always give folks is if you're not facing any originality/numbers matching issues, always go with a 440 because that's most likely where you're gonna end up at some point.

I've know too many guys who've bought 383s or 400s because they were a good deal, drop a lot of money into them, and enjoy them but people are always asking "is that a 440 in there?", or they see cars with 440 badging and eventually decide they want to upgrade and when they do they can't get the money out of the smaller engines they put in and get hit with a loss on top of the cost of building up the 440.

Better to go big early.

 

[monaco66coupe]

Every 71' 383 I owned was a forged crank. 72' 400's came out in the fall, of 71', and were cast. 383's are good engines, Cop cars were full of them. not everyone loves 440's. In a hot climate, they can be a bear. And they suck gas,as compared to the 383. 383's have their place. I rebuilt my 68' Charger with the original 383HP, and had no Interest in a 440 for it.
And in the day I saw many an astute 383 driver Superbee embarrass more than a few 440 R/T cars, at least to 90 MPH or so.
it was all in the skill of the driver. 383's can be a lot of fun if set up right.