wide block 383?

[Jaysam]

ok guys sorry to sound like such a newbie on the big block subject. Im still deciding on a '65-'67 383 out of a chrysler newport or a '73-'74 440 out of a motor home ( leaning towards the 440 or both ). I went to a small car show today, and because i'm fairly new to this all, other than the distributor placed near the front of the motor i cant tell by looking the difference between a 383 and a 440. So i asked a guy there "is there a way to tell the difference?" He said "the 440's have a wider block than the 383's". "Unless it's an older 383, than it may be a wide block 383 wich are rare". Then he told me heads can be swapped back and forth but intakes can not be due to the wider block on the 440's. Again, unless its an older wide block 383, than the intakes can also be swapped back and forth. Does this sound correct or am i mistaken. But the 383 in the newport only has a 2bbl carb on it, could it still be a wide block? Im really thinking of buying both and putting the older 383 heads on the 440. Does that sound like a good decision or like a bunch of crap? Thanks for any input guys. Jason

 

[BeastlyBirdie]

There are 2 sizes of big blocks, B block and RB or raised block. The RB includes 413,426,440. B is 350, 361,383,400. In 1958-9 they built the 383 as an RB. Usually, the size is stamped near the distributor.
Depending what you are building will help with selection. The 440 probably has a cast crank, but it is 57 cubic inches larger. Either one I would get different heads for.

 

[rumblefish360]

Keep in mine there is a IIRC, a 1 year only 383 RB block which could be considered a wide block 383. Though it has nothing to do with the Poly series engines. The 277,303 & 318 poly's.

 

[Jaysam]

on the 383 if i saw it correctly the #'s on the intake were 2205737 with an HW above those #'s. I dont know if those mean anything but i couldn't make out any other #'s on anything ( block or exhaust manifolds ).

 

[bigblock]

Those numbers mean nothing to which engine it is on. Kinda,lol. You probably will never see a RB 383. Weren't many made.

 

[Jaysam]

So are the 440's really wider blocks like the guy said? I thought they were the same size, just thought the bore and strokes were different.

 

[BeastlyBirdie]

Yes, 413,426,440 are wider and taller than 350-400 blocks.

 

[A383Wing]

everything bolt-on is pretty much interchangeable between the "B" & "RB" engines except the intakes

 

[Garys1969RR]

Use the 440 engine, which is a wide block. Forget about the wide block 383 as you will prob never see one. The 68 Newport would be a std 383 with 906 heads. ( last 3 numbers) The cyl heads have a casting number on them, this is a very important part to look at. The 906 heads would be a real good head to use, unless you can find some 915s, or after market alum heads.

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A 1965 383 would have the 516 head on it from the factory. That is a good head for C/R, but the port air flow is less than a 906 or 915 head.

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The heads will interchange, intake manifolds and distributors wont.