Crate motor vs rebuild

[68chargerr]

Hey,

Wondering if I can get some advice. I have a 68 charger, wondering if I should rebuild a 383 or get a crate 440?

First off the car is an original 383 car but motor is not # matching. The 383 is in my father in laws barn, no idea what kind of shape, been there a loooooong time. I can have it for free. Any idea how much to get rebuilt? I don't have the time or skill to rebuild so I would be paying someone to do it. If I go that way what am I looking at out of a stock 383 4 barrel circa 1970? I would like around 400hp. What are some common upgrades that I should consider while having it done?

Second option is to buy a crate motor, which if I am buying I think I want to go with a 440. I see in the year one catalog which is from 2008 they had a crate 440 for $4500.00. Is that about normal for what I should expect to pay?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[rumblefish360]

You'll get more for your money if you rebuild it.

 

[WileERobby]

If you do the 383, spend the money on the heads - bowl & port work, a good multi-angle valve job, new springs. Make sure you have a true min. 9.5-1 comp ratio. Add a good intake (Edelbrock performer dual-plane), 750 vac-secondary carb, decent cam (check Hughes for a modern profile, they'll help you with your specs), headers with a 2 1/2" mandrel-dual exhaust will get you 400hp, but what you want is TORQUE. The key is all the components working together.

 

[1badgtx]

I say rebuild...Then you know what you got...www.440source.com
These guys will help...Stroker is the way to go!!!
Petty Blue 67 GTX:evil5:

 

[Meep-Meep]

As you stated, you will have the engine rebuilt by someone, so maybe it's best to go to a local shop that some of your gearhead buddies recommend. That way your presence may keep them honest and they will do good work. I don't have experience with crate motors but I'm sure there are good ones out there. A buddy of mine has a 360 MoPar crate in his valiant and it seems to work well.

383 or 440 will be good and don't let anyone talk you into stuff you don't need. Start with good 'ol fashioned machine work done properly by a good machinist. High quality replacement cast pistons are fine, especially with a 383 where the piston speed is low. Precision balancing is always a good idea. Don't go crazy on a cam. 270 - 280 deg duration with about .470" lift is just fine. 108 LC will tend to come on like a two stroke and require better gears for the low end punch so you may consider a 112 LC for more combined driving conditions. Both cams will require some compression so your target 9.5:1 should work well. Stock heads with a good valve job and pocket porting is a must. For the 383 combo in a 3500 lb B body you should see a solid 13 sec 1/4 mile with 3.55 gears, and the 440 built similar I would guess a little higher MPH than the 383 (more MPH in the 1/4 translates to more HP). Getting it to hook with street skins will be your challenge.

 

[TruBee]

I didn't have the original motor for my car. So I picked up a dated correct-coded warranty block for my '69 and am having it built into a pretty nice stroker

 

[Crunchy_Frog]

If I recall correctly, that crate motor from Year One was $4500 when YOU supplied them with a core. Also shipping wasn't included with the price. Would be cheaper to take your core and have it rebuilt locally by a reputable (mopar) specialist. As far as how much to build up a 383... it all depends on what you have to replace and what you can reuse and how fast you want to go. If you want to get all p&p fancy on the heads... would be cheaper to go with eddy or MP heads. When I recently had my 383 rebuilt again (first guy was a dumbass (he still is) and screwed it up, second guy had to fix the first guy's screw-ups, third time because engine sat for 10 years w/o so much as being turned over on occasion) cost about $3500 for parts and labor. The only things that we kept were the block, heads, crank, and pistons.

 

[Cranky]

The 383 can be made to run. After all it is a 'baby' big block or a 'big' small block Being short stroke, the torque won't be like a 440 but if you like an engine to scream, they can do it....and getting 400 hp out of one is easy with todays cams,heads, intakes etc.

 

[rumblefish360]

Good post meep meep.
I also agree with Cranky. Oh so true.