Don't be too quick to toss the little B engine to the way side. I'll say it again and it worked for me very well. 3700 lb 68 RR with a 383 on circa 1989-ish pump 92, stock converter, P/S, 4.88 dana, 8" slicks = 12.65 @ 108. Same set up except 3.55's = 13.20's. Earlier on I ran a different 383 with cast pistons with a .465" / 280 Isky mega cam in the same car (except with 4 spd) and it was a reliable 13.50 - 13.60 @ 105 MPH car on street tires with no traction what so ever. Not a damn thing wrong with a 383. Not to say the other suggestions mentioned are bad - not at all. That 12 sec 1/4 mile day was great when the 440 E body guys realized they were looking at a 383 in a B body running 1/2 second quicker than they were.
The only reason I prefer the 915's is because of the quench chamber and I got hooked on those long before the advent of quench dome pistons and inexpensive aluminum heads, which are also closed chamber by the way. 915's also have a good port for that size displacement and the quench will help reduce detonation on the big bore while keeping the compression at a decent level when a slightly bigger cam is used. However, these days it may not make sense to rebuild a set of iron heads with $1000.00 aluminum units piled up and ready to ship.
Yes, you can add up a hefty bill building an engine but if you stick to the basics you can keep it under control. No matter what you will need to machine a block, heads and crank, etc... and don't get sucked into a bunch of whiz-bang fancy talk and special gadgets. All you need is good basic machine work to factory tolerances. Stroker motors are great (and I like the 451 concept) but it can be costly because of special pistons, crank mods, the required high flow heads to feed that thing at high RPM's, clearance the block for the rod bolts (for longer stroke), yadda-yadda. What I like about the 383 is you darn near can't blow it up even with quality cast pistons. The short stroke makes for lower piston speed, which is a big stress reliever and I think physics saved my butt more than a few times when I saw my tach bounce off the 8K mark on occasional missed shifts. Ever heard a 383 sound like a chain saw?? I have!
Hot rodding rules:
Rule # 1. There is always somebody faster.
Rule # 1. How fast you want to go = how much money you got. And yes, the only substitute for cubic inches is more cubic inches.
Rule # 1. Learn to drive your car! You can do a lot if you know how the car reacts in what gear at what speed. This rule reminds me of when I put my semi stock 68 4 spd Mustang 302 in 1st gear at 50 MPH to pull a fender on a hopped up El Camino. All I needed was that initial jump and he couldn't catch me.
