I am thinking of upgrading the engine in my 68. What i was thinking is a 383 w/ aluminum head big cam all thge bells and whistles to get around 450-500HP then shoot the juice for another 200. Probably gonna be around $5000 at least right? give or take a few $
So what i am wondering IF i am gonna spend all this money should i maybe think about just going BigBlock? I know the $ will be more but so will the HP.
Also what do i need to change besides the motor to do this? I am thinking springs, motor mounts what else?

 

Either way you will be pleased. But there may be additional cost factors if you go with a Big Block. Headers, and some of the other accessories that will be changed where a Small Block bolts right in. You can't beat the torque of a big block but I feel that small blocks are more responsive, and can turn higher RPM's I have used 355, 377, 383, and 406 in Circle track racing and if you put a lightweight rotating assembly that is balanced in the engine you will get instant RPM's. If you do go this way you may also want to consider using one of the production Blocks on the market such as the Dart little M or the Chevy bowtie block, or world Products Block. These already are completely machined and have the stronger main bearing caps already in place. Just do a finish hone to clean up. You can easily spend over $1000 in machining aloneon a stock block. Also the aftermarket Blocks are Beefier in the important areas.
I am putting a 355 in my 68, because I already have a Short block assembly sitting here but I am going with the aluminum heads. Don't skimp on the heads either. The only way to make the engine good is to let it breathe. But that being said, some of the new heads from Edlebrock or RHS have fantastic flow numbers right off the shelf.
I think you might be a little light on the $$ figuire if you buy quality components You can do it for $5000 but $7000 might be more realistic but it will hold up much better.

 

Wcardoc

Well said.

 

the great thing about a stroker is that it builds tourque like a rat but is the size and turns the rpms of a small block

 

Is the engine you have in your 68 original if so what is it? Just curious...

 

I had a 427 with stock rods, L88 pistons and a heavy factory steel crank. It made about 530HP and turned 7400rpms through the traps, with oval port heads in a stripped down 68.

We are currently running a 396 Super Stocker with aftermarket rods and pistons, a factory steel crank and factory 990 heads. It made 737HP on the dyno and is turning about 8900rpms through the traps in a factory weight 69.

My uncle has a Big M, bored way over, aftermarket crank, rods and pistons in a factory weight 66 Vette. Made 848HP on the dyno and is turning 9300rpms through the traps.

406SBC are slugs without aftermarket parts. 383s are not known for their high revving ability. (without aftermarket parts) Any decentcircletrack motor will have response because they never go below 4000rpms.

There are too many other factors that dictate the responsiveness of an engine. Sure sitting there in park and revving the motor may seem cool, but what about the weight of the valves, lifter, springs. What about the flywheel or the driveshaft or even the torque convertor?

Dollar for dollar,once you get over the 1HP per CI rule, you will spend as much on a BBC as you will on a SBC to acheive the same HP.

RM

 

I disagree, firstly, a small block will more easily turn rpms, even a stroker. Consider the ls7, basically a form of stroker motor. Also, you speak about an aftermarket 383, I never heard of a factory 383 unless we start talking mopars. further, a 450-500 hp 385 stroker (383 bored .040 instead of .030) with forged internals can be built for around 5000 to 5500 dollars, whereas a big block cannot be built with forged internals for a price that low. We need to realize this member is probably trying to keep his car streetable, so 6, 7, or 800 horsepower probably is not the goal. He wants a car with compression around 10:1 that has cam but not to the point of being non-streetable. a small block weighs less, parts are everywhere, they will more easily fit into a car and still have room to work on it, and with a big block we get into changing the motor mounts, etc. small block is the way to go here