i just bought a 383 for $400. has some goodies with it, crome oil pan, cam and an edlebrock rpm intake. the block numbers are 3970010. i cant find much about them. is this a good block?

 

Yeah, its good. Nothing special but its usually referred to as a "010" block. Really its just a high nickle block. FWIW my 383 is built on a 010. 400 would be a good deal I guess, hate chrome oil pans though.

 

thanks. whats wrong with chrome oil pans? only problem with mine is the guy didnt tape it off when he painted the engine so there is overspray on it that i have to get off some how.

 

not good

 

Chrome retains heat, and the chrome oil pans don't hold up to well when it comes to leaks.

 

Been a lot of cars using chrome oil pans for decades. I wouldn't change it, or worry about it. It's not worse than a painted pan, and I doubt you could even measure the difference in temp with a chrome pan vs. a painted orange pan.

 

Nothing wrong with them, they are actually cheaper than a stock replacement. Just not a fan of climbing under the car to polish it out.

 

yeah i def. keeping the chrome pan. all im gunna do is get new bearings and a new set of gaskets for the engine. the guy i got it from said he thinks its prolly pushin somewere around 450-500hp. is that a good number for a 383?

 

If you have very good aluminum heads, 500 h.p. is doable. Otherwise you could be more in the 450 and under range, and that all depends on what's inside the engine. Without knowing what you have, nobody here can give you a close "guess". You could even be under 400 if your engine is a moderate build. "383" doesn't automatically mean killer h.p., good torque, yes.

 

I've got a friend who has one in his 4wd truck and it dyno'd at around 300 hp at the crank. As Camaro 69 said, there's all sorts of versions of a 383 that can vary in HP.