I would like to get some of you alls opinions on this.
I am going to build an engine for my 70 roadrunner wich originaly had a 383. It does not have its original engine so it is not numbers matching. Now I can build a 70 model 440 hp for it or a 70 model 383 hp for it the rebuild would be the same cost pretty much so what would you build the 383 or the 440 and why ?
Thanks for your input.
Dave

The only way I would consider going with a 383 would be if the rest of the car is stock, as came from the factory: Color, Exhaust, Induction etc. (possible exception for wheels and electronic ignition).
If the car has other mods I would go with a 440.

Go with the 440.

why do 383's get such a bad rap? i've had both for street cars and never had a problem with 383's. NO FACE BITTING please! 383's are so much cheaper and plentiful.

For the same money needed to build a 383 you can build a 440 and get more power.

Ask any girl, bigger is alway better

The narrower "B" block gives some more space to maneuver around the engine compartment... I'd go with a 451 stroker based on the 383 block.

Darren

Hot Rodders number 1 rule, repeat after me : "There is no substitute for cubic inches"...

i knew i was setting myself up! but seriously, how much more HP gain is there between 60 or so cubic inches? if it that much of a gain, why were 383's standard equipment in b-bodies instead of the 440?

Mainly because not everyone buying a B body wanted a hot rod. B-bodies were your normal every day driver for a lot of people. There's about 25-30 hp difference but ther's almost 50-60 ft lbs of torque difference. Torque is what moves the car not hp.

Life is short, go for the big cubes.

It's the bigger torque that will move the B-body better.

All things being equal, the 383 has to spin higher, move more air, to make the same HP.

A 383 with the 440 crank (like a 451, but smaller bore) only makes a 438 at .060 over.

If you want fuel efficiency and awesome high end throttle response...........stay 383.

I'd build a big-inch low-deck block, 451-500", Stealth heads, make it look as stock as possible, and grin like a Cheshire cat when the thing runs low 12s or high 11s and it goes to & from the track on the freeway. And it looks like just another maybe-runs-high-13s 383 Road Runner.
That's the next combo I want to build if someone steps up on my '64 wagon.

the average guy that bought a 1969 roadrunner got the basic 383 and was a wanna-be hot rodder. if the 440 is so much better than the 383 why was it the the engine of choice of Mopar? why wasn't the 440 even an option for the first year and a half (RR not GTX)? is there really such a big difference for the average guy rebuilding a car especially when 383's are so easy to come by?

If you don't like switching to the 440, then switch the 383 rotating asasembly to 3.75" stroke or more.

Cost. The average RR buyer was a young guy without a lot of money to spend to go fast. Back then a $300 upgrade was a bunch of money. It was almost another years worth of payments. In todays world the 440 is just more cost effective. More power for the same money.

For me personally, I always hate to see cars with the wrong CID engine.
Since 440's were not available in Road Runners until 1972 (except Superbirds and of course as a 440+6 ) Personally I would find a correct dated 383 HP , but that's just how I would do it .
I don't like seeing cars painted the wrong year colors, Dodge bumble bee stripes on Plymouths or 72-74 Chargers , any wheel bigger than 15" ,
and certainly don't like blue or yellow headlights .
Correct hose clamps turn me on more than headers and aluminum intakes.
That's just the kind of guy I am .
If you are building a hot rod , go for the bigger motor.
If you are "restoring" the car , go with the right motor.
That's how I see it.

Greg

i don't know. i can appreciate both the 'gearhead' side and the 'correct zip tie' side, but i honestly think us guys in the middle would not see much of a difference, performance wise, between a 440 and a 383. except for when it comes to finding and paying for one.

Well, there's a LOT of talk about stroked 383's..............

I'd never take a 383 over a 440. You're giving up at least 40 hp and a probably a good 60 ft-lbs of torque. If the cost is the same, why take less hp and torque? And believe me, there is a BIG difference between the two engines. A properly tuned 440 can be scary fast. Hard to make a 383 that fast. Just my take on it.

The answer lies in my illiterate username

I read this quote somewhere, not sure where exactly but it went something like this..

A Body - Small blocks only
B Body - Go big or go home
E Body - Flip a coin

i thought 69 1/2 was first year for a 440 in a rr. if you are building a pretty much stock street car motor, meaning adding headers and a intake either the 383 or the 440 will work just fine. you will not be using all the power that either of these motors will produce. you are driving it and once in awhile burning the tires. if you think that you need a little more power build either one. i like the 383, doing it over i would have used our 426 street wedge.

440, same cost (except for up-front cost) but same parts net much more power and torque. Go big or stay home

I'd go with the 383, for me it's just iconic to the name plate.

I would build a high compression 383 with good parts and ported edelbrock heads so you can stomp the crap out of most stock and maybe stock 426 cars on the street and make them all mad....
use a good cam to spin it over 6grand and runn the hell out of it !

I'd never put a RB motor in an original B motor car. Keep a B motor in it but not a 383. A 400 block out to 511 inches is the way to go.