Curious to see what 383 street friendly setups work

[djais1801]

So my car is set up for the track..and apparently the wrong cam (509 purple). I looked up the specs, and it is in line with the 391 rear and 3500 stall, and holley 750 no choke dbl pumper. But I have no low end torque.. And want a more street friendly car. The timing is way off as well.
So I am going to work on a more appropriate cam, then timing, then adjust carb.
However, I am confused about the cam being too aggressive...what i am about to say is probably "Apples to Oranges", but there doesn't seem to be any lope at idle..Unlike my 86 mustang that had a E303 cam...and you could hear it..

Curious to know what other people are running more street friendly. I want good low end torque, light tires, go cruise nights,etc..

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

Im running a +.030, 10-1 comp. 906 heads, 484 Purpleshaft, 750 Holley vac. secondary, MP electronic ign. Car runs strong with plenty of low end. I was running 3:55 rear, changed out to 3:23, still runs strong, but won't chirp 2nd gear as hard, but cruises better on the highway. Has a nice lopey idle at 900 rpm. Had a 440 with same set up that had lots more torque. You could roast the tires through second gear! 383 is definately better on the gas though.

 

[lewtot184]

hot cams and low compression don't lope. long duration cams with low compression equal low cylinder pressure which cripples torque production. 383's are very cam sensitive. they have a fairly high rod angle which is good for rpm but not necessarily good for producing torque. torque is the key. the car will not perform without good torque production and 383's aren't torque engines. you need to find out what your compression ratio is. single plane intakes can be torque killers. you have a heavy car, small engine and automatic trans. all factors that must be considered. i used to hot rod 383's on the street and learned the hard way about over camming. a moderate mechanical cam is a much better choice and is more flexiable.

 

[Meep-Meep]

My 383 from 25 yrs ago was a stock 69 build but I had 915 heads on it. I ran an Isky mega cam .465" / 280 on a 108 LC. I would ignite the tires (almost daily) from a 15 MPH roll and shift at 6000 RPM. I ran a torker and a 700 DP Holley. With a 4 spd, 3.55's and street tires the car went mid 13's at 105. The .509 will work but you better get some compression, and with today's gas you will end up with a headache. Keep your compression at 9.5:1 max and the cylinder pressure around 170 PSI. I'm running the MoPar .455 / 272 cam in my 440 now and it's great. Has a slight lope and makes good power with a factory intake from about 1500 to 5500. For the 383 I'd stick to 600-650 CFM for a 90% street car. If more track use and higher RPM HP then maybe a 700 or 750. All carbs work better with a strong signal so don't over do it.

 

[djais1801]

i have a torker 2 intake, and it's got a spacer...he also gave me the original intake that came on the 383..does any of this come into factoring?

 

[67 coronet]

i would try a bunch of adjusting before you start changing parts.you said the timming is way off,and that can make a huge difference.how tall are your tires?rear gearing and tire size can make a big change to operational rpm range of your eng.all depends on which way you want to attack the problem.make car work with motor,or change motor to work on the street.but i would start with trying some adjusting first.

 

[djais1801]

i like your thinking..just found out wifey is prego w/ twins...gotta watch the funds...the rear tires are drag radials 275 60 15's, rear is suregrip 8 3/4, 489 case, 391 gears

 

[67 coronet]

i like your thinking..just found out wifey is prego w/ twins...gotta watch the funds...the rear tires are drag radials 275 60 15's, rear is suregrip 8 3/4, 489 case, 391 gears

sounds like a pretty good combo,about 28 inch tall tire and 391s.how tall is your spacer at carb?you up your rpm range about 100 rpm per inch of hieght.if you dont need it to clear any linkage,i would remove it for street use.try a whole bunch of adjusting,and congats on the twins!!:hello2:

 

[djais1801]

sounds like a pretty good combo,about 28 inch tall tire and 391s.how tall is your spacer at carb?you up your rpm range about 100 rpm per inch of hieght.if you dont need it to clear any linkage,i would remove it for street use.try a whole bunch of adjusting,and congats on the twins!!:hello2:

thanks..totally freaking out! the spacer is approx 1.5 inches maybe 2. I am not mechanically inclined, and have to rely on more knowledgable friends..But this is my first mopar, and don't know too many mopar techs in my neck of the woods, only GM, Ford guys.

 

[BIG-A]

383-.30 over, @9.2-1 COMP, .484 CAM, WEIAND DUAL PLANE INTAKE, 1/2" WOOD SPACER WITH 1/2" NITROUS PLATE, STOCK HEADS, HEDMAN COATED HEADERS, HOOKER AEROCHAMBER MUFFLERS, SPEED DEMON 650 MECH. SECONDARIES, NITROUS 125 HP SHOT, MOPAR ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTOR WITH "CHROME" ECU., 3.90 POWR-LOK 489 CASE AND 325/50/15 MICKEY THOMPSON DRAG RADIALS.
VERY STREETABLE WITH NICE IDLE, SOUNDS GOOD TOO.
HAS UNBELIEVEABLE THROTTLE RESPONSE AND PULLS HARD, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NITROUS.​

 

[Junky]

750 Holley, Performer RPM intake, 0.030 milled 346 heads blended/ported with 3 angle valve job, Hughes Whiplash cam, Schumacher tri-y headers, multi spark ignition, 727 with stage 2 trans-go kit, converter flashes to 2,500 RPM, 3.73 gears, dual exhaust with Dynomax Super Turbos, 275/60 rear tires. Pulls pretty good from idle to 3,000 RPM. From 3,000 to 6,000 RPM it halls the bacon! Engine is out of a '71 Newport. I love the Whiplash cam. 518 lift, 229/242 at 0.050, 107 LSA. Has a very noticeable beefy idle. Pistons are .020 in the hole.

 

[ironherad]

I'm just a newbe here but I have played w/ these cars for years. I agree w/ 67 Coronet, start w/ your timing. Make sure your Harmonic damper is at TDC when your no 1 is. Then, If I recall, get the timing tape (cheap enough, I think $20), a timing light, and remove n plug your distributor vacuum adv., crank the carb idle up to 2000 rpm, and go for 32 degrees before TDC. Then, if you can, try for 36-38. With good octane fuel. It depends on your compression ratio, beware of detonation. It has been a while since I have done this, so you guys feel free to kick me if I am wrong. I had a 68 Coronet 383 4/spd (1st motor I ever built, over 20 years ago) w/ a .474 purple shaft (Street Hemi Grind), Old Weiand Single Plane Tunnel Ram, 906 heads, (Valve job by Ed Garlits) fully grooved mains, HV oil pump, baffled pan w/ windage tray, M.P. rod bolts (before ARP was the choice) It was a Magnum mill, so I had some compression, M.P. electronic ing. w/ orange box , other stuff I have forgot, and a 750, Ancient tech, But it was a street killer. With the stall you have, you should be able to launch Very Hard (for street use, add a tranny cooler) You may want to consider S.S springs, or at the least, spring clamps placed in front of the axle housing. (low buck) If you can get it to hook up,you need sub-frame connectors, I never needed em , she annihilated the Mickeys....car was extremely violent, but tracked straight, and I ran it up to over 7300 RPM. No, a 383 doesn't have the grunt of a big inch mill, but it gets there way faster, because of the low deck. Oh, and w/ cams smaller is good for low end torque, bigger is for high end H.P. It is possible you have a 2 bbl mill, which is a low compression eng. But don't toss a 383. Anything I can do to help let me know..and Congrats on the Family!!!!!!!
Ironhead

 

[Sweet5ltr]

So my car is set up for the track..and apparently the wrong cam (509 purple). I looked up the specs, and it is in line with the 391 rear and 3500 stall, and holley 750 no choke dbl pumper. But I have no low end torque.. And want a more street friendly car. The timing is way off as well.
So I am going to work on a more appropriate cam, then timing, then adjust carb.
However, I am confused about the cam being too aggressive...what i am about to say is probably "Apples to Oranges", but there doesn't seem to be any lope at idle..Unlike my 86 mustang that had a E303 cam...and you could hear it..

Curious to know what other people are running more street friendly. I want good low end torque, light tires, go cruise nights,etc..

Something is VERY wrong with your setup if you cannot notice a VERY aggressive idle with the .509 Purple Shaft camshaft. It has a very large amount of overlap. The .509 in our 451 rattles windows. The E303 is a really small roller camshaft (duration wise) and with a wide LSA. I ran the B303 in my first engine (stock EFI 5.0, with full exhaust) and an F303 in my panhandle performance, carbed 306. (1991 Notchback.) The F303 sounded less radical than the B303, and the E303 is far less radical sounding than both of those listed. The .509MP Camshaft is not even in the same class of overlap as the Ford cams, especially being a Hyd. Flat tappet in comparison to the Rollers.

 

[djais1801]

so...finally got the timing issue figured, but she is still angry at cold start, plus i basically have to flood the engine to get it started...she stammers and misses at cold start, but once warmed up she is fine. Gonna change the carb to a Holley 770cfm street avenger w/ electric choke + put the edlebrock performer 383 on it, and get rid of the torker II.
Then I will see how she does before looking at the cam, stall and rear gears.

 

[Red63440]

383 standard bore and stroke with flat tops-10.0:1
915 heads w/shim steel head gaskets, ported and polished w/2.14/1.81 valves-comp cams springs retainers,locks.
MoPar cam and lifters #4452993
Stamped steel rockers 1.5 ratio
Double Roller timing chain
Holley Street Dominator
Carter 750 Competition carb w/electric choke
Factory Distributor with Pertronic conversion and coil
Aluminum Vaned water pump
Champion 3 row Radiator w/electric pusher fan
Headman Elite headers
2 1/2" exhaust
Automatic trans
2500 converter
Manual/auto valve body
8 3/4 rear with 3.23 suregrip, SS springs

 

[383man]

Mild 383 that was in my sons Dart a few years ago:

Stock shortblock with stock bore that I rebuilt.
452 heads that we pocket ported the bowls and used Crane single springs.
Heads were milled to get a true 9.5 comp.
MP .484 cam with adv 284 duration on a 104 centerline.
Stock rockers with shims under shaft for .020 lifter preload.
Stock dist I recurved and MP orange ECU.
Performer RPM intake with 750 DP.
CPPA headers and 2-1/2" exh.
727 trans with reverse manual V/B and Turbo Action 3000 10" converter.
3.91 gears and used McCreary G/60-15 tires with just SS springs.

This was in his 72 Dart that weighed 3550 with him in it. Ran a best of 12.31 @ 110. Had a great sounding idle with the .484 cam and it ran good for what it was. Ron