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SpeedPro 2315 (1.920" CH)

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sounds pretty good. I'd mockup & check actual deck height b 4 ordering the cometics to keep your quench. What octane? the angled plugs MAY pose a prob (someone will chime in). I am not a cam guy. I'd get a 3" mandrel ex system from the HP manifolds back like Andy did on his build (it's in the archives) & will need X pipe/proper muffs/rear resonators to keep the noise manageable. Yes .037" quench is perfect (measured in each hole) . Dont balance till you get the valve reliefs and or piston deck milled (if needed) EDIT you'll prob want the CR to b higher (forgot about the alum head effect)

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so I'm not sure why 10.5:1 CR is really needed?

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I may save the 2315's for another build since they were basically given to me (not free but cheap).

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Oh that's the story of my life as I have parts (new and used) in every room ex the bathroom. yes you'll use em (one of these days ). What I'm doing w my 451 & which would b my suggestion is to go w the right KB's & mockup the short block & see what you actually have (deck and quench plateau height) & in conjunction w what is avail for gaskets machine for quench and the right CR for your app w your intended octane/cam (though I am not sure what CR to shoot for) then dissassemble/machine/reassemble/recheck/dissassemble and balance it/reassemble . This'll give you a long block that will not need to be touched and you can then play/experiment w the external additions and know that your foundation is perfect

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The gear is a 3.23 with a 2500 stall. That cam should be just a little larger than a stock HP cam, so I'm not sure why 10.5:1 CR is really needed?

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You don't HAVE to run higher compression with the aluminum heads, just you are able to run a bit higher compression without detonating.

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The gear is a 3.23 with a 2500 stall. That cam should be just a little larger than a stock HP cam, so I'm not sure why 10.5:1 CR is really needed?

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That cam is notably bigger than a stock HP cam, and with 9.5 compression, 2500 stall and 3.23 gears, it will be soft in the bottom. Now if you had 440 cubes, 9.5 compression, 2500 stall and 3.73 gears I'd say you'd be okay with that cam. It's very easy to over cam a 383 and like I said, a lot of guys on here are having good luck with the comp xe268 in their 383's. I think a couple guys from here even have youtube videos of theirs.

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The Crower 271HDP, 222/234@.050 .486/.496 lift 112 centers comes highly recommended too...

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I may save the 2315's for another build since they were basically given to me (not free but cheap)

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If you decide to go with the KBs and want to unload the 2315s let me know. I'm in the middle of my own 383 build at the moment. Pretty similar to yours but I'm using my original open chamber 906 heads. Good luck with yours.

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I ASSumed the piston depth based off a measurement I took from the original pistons and then added the CH of the new pistons. I know I'm not going to know for sure until I get it back from the machine shop, which is why I haven't ordered the head gaskets yet.

I may go with headers, not sure which ones would fit or not. This is a manual brake, manual steering '68 Sat.

The gear is a 3.23 with a 2500 stall. That cam should be just a little larger than a stock HP cam, so I'm not sure why 10.5:1 CR is really needed?

I'm not going to be racing this thing at the drag strip. It's a pretty cheap car that I don't have much money invested in and felt like making something to cruise and go fast in every now and then.

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I ASSumed the piston depth based off a measurement I took from the original pistons and then added the CH of the new pistons. I know I'm not going to know for sure until I get it back from the machine shop, which is why I haven't ordered the head gaskets yet.

I may go with headers, not sure which ones would fit or not. This is a manual brake, manual steering '68 Sat.

The gear is a 3.23 with a 2500 stall. That cam should be just a little larger than a stock HP cam, so I'm not sure why 10.5:1 CR is really needed?

I'm not going to be racing this thing at the drag strip. It's a pretty cheap car that I don't have much money invested in and felt like making something to cruise and go fast in every now and then.

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I usung the Summit headers on my 440-6. They fit w/o any problems. Even when I had PS. I'm also using a mini-starter.

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You don't HAVE to run higher compression with the aluminum heads, just you are able to run a bit higher compression without detonating.

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You can use the speedpros , you may have to cut valve reliefs in them, have the block cut so the pistons are at zero, have the heads cut to 80cc and you'll be at 10.0 , the flattop piston will be more efficient than the KB400 with a dome.

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I ASSumed the piston depth based off a measurement I took from the original pistons and then added the CH of the new pistons. I know I'm not going to know for sure until I get it back from the machine shop, which is why I haven't ordered the head gaskets yet.

I may go with headers, not sure which ones would fit or not. This is a manual brake, manual steering '68 Sat.

The gear is a 3.23 with a 2500 stall. That cam should be just a little larger than a stock HP cam, so I'm not sure why 10.5:1 CR is really needed?

I'm not going to be racing this thing at the drag strip. It's a pretty cheap car that I don't have much money invested in and felt like making something to cruise and go fast in every now and then.

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I usung the Summit headers on my 440-6. They fit w/o any problems. Even when I had PS. I'm also using a mini-starter.

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You shouldn't compare a 440 and starter clearance using a mini starter to a 383 , the headers are closer to the block on the 383. I TRIED to use a mini starter with a set of 1 3/4 primary headers and I couldn't get the header on the engine with a mini starter .

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Ok, I have parts, so this is pretty much the way the build is going to be, not much in the room of changing things around now...

I did as much research as I could....with the help of you guys

Anything with a "?" beside it is still not for sure...so I would need some input

383
.030 over
std rod/mains
ARP rod/main/head bolts
Edelbrock closed chamber heads
Cometic .027"/4.35" head gaskets (?)
SpeedPro 2315 (1.920" CH)
stock deck height (squared to crank)
balanced assembly
Comp XE 274/286 cam/lifters
Performer RPM intake
650 Thunder Series Carb (?)
MP igniton conversion kit
Factory HP manifolds (?....any issue with the angled plug heads? would rather not use headers)
Comp Double Roller

I'm getting 9.57:1 CR ASSuming the piston is .01 in the hole with the 2315 pistons. That would also figure a .037" quench as well....correct?

How does this sound to you guys?

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MP has the Eddy head in a straight plug, but it looks like you've purchased the heads already.

Get the CR to 10:1 to 10.2:1

I too prefer zero deck and a 0.040" gasket. You'll probably save $ on the gasket too.

I too like the Crower 271 cam.

I would use more carb cfm

You definately do not need 3" exhaust. It will probably hurt performance.

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Ok, I am not building a race car, drag car etc. I am purposely building this thing to cruise, especially the interstate and highways. I appreciate the info on swapping converters, gears etc. But I'm not going to do that, it is what it is and I did it for a reason....I already have a car with a 3200 converter and "only" 3.55's. It revs too high on the interstate as it is....3200 RPM is too noisy for my liking.

My main concern is the heads/piston/head gasket combo. I wasn't aware when building a 383 that piston choices suck. Not only that, but it sounds like my options are expensive pistons or expensive machine work. I just so happen to have the expensive pistons....however from what most people on here tell me that the CR will not be enough with my head gasket choice (if I get it....027") and my head chamber volume (84cc). So I am back to thinking of just ordering a set of KB400s which from what I have calculated should be very close to 10:1...but I could be and probably am wrong.

Once I get info from the machine shop of what the depth will be with the KB400's vs the 2315's I'll make a definitive decision. Supposedly the KB400's will be inefficient compared to the flat top 2315's.....whatever that means.

The gear stays, the converter stays, the cam stays....I will probably take everyone's advice on the carb, maybe even consider headers after I get some miles on it and feel like doing something.

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Ok, I am not building a race car, drag car etc. I am purposely building this thing to cruise, especially the interstate and highways. I appreciate the info on swapping converters, gears etc. But I'm not going to do that, it is what it is and I did it for a reason....I already have a car with a 3200 converter and "only" 3.55's. It revs too high on the interstate as it is....3200 RPM is too noisy for my liking.

My main concern is the heads/piston/head gasket combo. I wasn't aware when building a 383 that piston choices suck. Not only that, but it sounds like my options are expensive pistons or expensive machine work. I just so happen to have the expensive pistons....however from what most people on here tell me that the CR will not be enough with my head gasket choice (if I get it....027") and my head chamber volume (84cc). So I am back to thinking of just ordering a set of KB400s which from what I have calculated should be very close to 10:1...but I could be and probably am wrong.

Once I get info from the machine shop of what the depth will be with the KB400's vs the 2315's I'll make a definitive decision. Supposedly the KB400's will be inefficient compared to the flat top 2315's.....whatever that means.

The gear stays, the converter stays, the cam stays....I will probably take everyone's advice on the carb, maybe even consider headers after I get some miles on it and feel like doing something.

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The CH of the KB400 is 1.908 , the CH of the 2315 is 1.920.

You should really call the cam company and get their recommendation for the convertor a cam/rear gear mismatch can be somewhat masked by a 4spd , not some much with a automatic trans. ... edit , I just went back and reread, your convertor choice may not be that far off especially if you go with the 268.

What I meant by inefficient is the dome impedes flame travel across the chamber , a flat top doesn't . I am building a 383 based stroker with 12.5 compression and the only way to do it was either cut the bleep out of the heads or use a small dome , I chose the dome , should have cut the heads

You didn't buy the EXPENSIVE piston , that is the Diamond. You could have had the block decked , mock it up and ordered a piston that didn't require cutting a mile off the block, that's what I did with the 383 engine that I just recieved from the shop yesterday. But my block had already been cut a mile because of bad first piston choice, the 2315, and then shoddy machining by a couple of shops this block has passed thru till the latest. It's a 10.0 build with open chamber iron heads.

Do what you want , you asked for people to rate your build , you got it and it seems you don't like some of the answers you are being given.

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if you are worried about compression use the steel shim gasket. IIRC it crushes to .019.

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The CH of the KB400 is 1.908 , the CH of the 2315 is 1.920.

What I meant by inefficient is the dome impedes flame travel across the chamber , a flat top doesn't . I am building a 383 based stroker with 12.5 compression and the only way to do it was either cut the bleep out of the heads or use a small dome , I chose the dome , should have cut the heads

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I understand what you mean by the dome "getting in the way"....but how does that affect your car? Decreased performance? Gas Mileage? I was looking at getting the dome to help with CR since everyone was saying 9.5:1 wasn't enough for that cam. The dome would put it about 10:1.

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I understand what you mean by the dome "getting in the way"....but how does that affect your car? Decreased performance? Gas Mileage? I was looking at getting the dome to help with CR since everyone was saying 9.5:1 wasn't enough for that cam. The dome would put it about 10:1.

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In a perfect world the flame front would progress faster across a flat piston than one w hills but a flattop piston w enough CH to get quench will most likely give you too high of CR plus you'll need valve reliefs machined. Get the KB's w the quench plateau & mockup/machine to get quench (.040" max) plus the right SCR for your app

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I understand what you mean by the dome "getting in the way"....but how does that affect your car? Decreased performance? Gas Mileage? I was looking at getting the dome to help with CR since everyone was saying 9.5:1 wasn't enough for that cam. The dome would put it about 10:1.

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In a perfect world the flame front would progress faster across a flat piston than one w hills but a flattop piston w enough CH to get quench will most likely give you too high of CR plus you'll need valve reliefs machined. Get the KB's w the quench plateau & mockup/machine to get quench (.040" max) plus the right SCR for your app

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The thing is the dome isn't on the side where quench is obtained, it's in the chamber area... To get quench you need a closed chamber head which I believe is what the O/P is planning to run... So at the point quench becomes a function of how far the piston is in the hole & head gasket selection.... There are no off the shelf quench dome pistons for 383's...

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Ok, I am not building a race car, drag car etc. I am purposely building this thing to cruise, especially the interstate and highways. I appreciate the info on swapping converters, gears etc. But I'm not going to do that, it is what it is and I did it for a reason....I already have a car with a 3200 converter and "only" 3.55's. It revs too high on the interstate as it is....3200 RPM is too noisy for my liking.

My main concern is the heads/piston/head gasket combo. I wasn't aware when building a 383 that piston choices suck. Not only that, but it sounds like my options are expensive pistons or expensive machine work. I just so happen to have the expensive pistons....however from what most people on here tell me that the CR will not be enough with my head gasket choice (if I get it....027") and my head chamber volume (84cc). So I am back to thinking of just ordering a set of KB400s which from what I have calculated should be very close to 10:1...but I could be and probably am wrong.

Once I get info from the machine shop of what the depth will be with the KB400's vs the 2315's I'll make a definitive decision. Supposedly the KB400's will be inefficient compared to the flat top 2315's.....whatever that means.

The gear stays, the converter stays, the cam stays....I will probably take everyone's advice on the carb, maybe even consider headers after I get some miles on it and feel like doing something.

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I understand what you mean by the dome "getting in the way"....but how does that affect your car? Decreased performance? Gas Mileage? I was looking at getting the dome to help with CR since everyone was saying 9.5:1 wasn't enough for that cam. The dome would put it about 10:1.

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In a perfect world the flame front would progress faster across a flat piston than one w hills but a flattop piston w enough CH to get quench will most likely give you too high of CR plus you'll need valve reliefs machined. Get the KB's w the quench plateau & mockup/machine to get quench (.040" max) plus the right SCR for your app

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Robert , Robert , Robert , you appear to know NOTHING about 383's , you should sit back and LEARN from those that do ...

KB does NOT make a quench head piston for a 383 , never has and probably never will, so you need to stop suggesting that to people building 383's. Nevermind to get quench with a flat top and a closed chamber ... uuum , just zero deck , you zero deck and with 80cc head you end up with 10.0 , since the heads he wants to use are 84cc he's not going to have too high a compression ratio ??? It's not rocket science , the problem with a 383 and compression is the SMALL bore size and the SHORT stroke, combined it's hard to get decent compression.

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The CH of the KB400 is 1.908 , the CH of the 2315 is 1.920.

What I meant by inefficient is the dome impedes flame travel across the chamber , a flat top doesn't . I am building a 383 based stroker with 12.5 compression and the only way to do it was either cut the bleep out of the heads or use a small dome , I chose the dome , should have cut the heads

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What is the CH of a stock 383 piston? I can't remember but I thought it was less than the KB400 1.908.

I understand what you mean by the dome "getting in the way"....but how does that affect your car? Decreased performance? Gas Mileage? I was looking at getting the dome to help with CR since everyone was saying 9.5:1 wasn't enough for that cam. The dome would put it about 10:1.

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Depends on the year engine but the stock CH of the 68-69 383 HP (which is what i base all my on ) , and 68-69 2bbl for that matter , is 1.932 , this puts the piston .0025 in the hole on a factory deck height, the 2bbl piston has a dish. as delivered the HP was 9.2 at best. I've gone 100mph in the 1/4 with a 56K worn HP engine with a timing chain so loose it could be removed without taking off the gears ... almost... so it's not as bad as we are lead to believe.

One of the mags did an article on installing ebrocks on a 383 , they THOUGHT they had a piston close to factory CH. But when they pulled the heads it had low compression cast replacements, they were something like .050 plus below the deck , the engine was not the DOG they thought it would be, food for thought .

In the grand scheme of things you will probably not notice any difference with the KB400 so just ignore what I said about inefficiency .

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i would recommend studs and not bolts on the heads and use plenty of thread sealer. r

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i would recommend studs and not bolts on the heads and use plenty of thread sealer. r

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Thread sealer on what ? The head bolts on a big block mopar are DRY ????

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you guys are all over-thinking this. It's a friggin' driver 383.

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bigger carb and headers if you feel like spending the money now and go have fun!

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thread sealer better than oil.

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you guys are all over-thinking this. It's a friggin' driver 383. Use what you have except the cam. If you haven't bought the e-heads Don't. They are overkill. Grab a summit cam and a good set of used iron heads and roll. You are going to use mani's anyway. You won't be able to tell the difference. Quench? really? On a 330-350 hp motor? who cares. It will run fine. Jeeeesh some people like to make this way to technical. Plenty of toss together 383's and 440's running fine w/ many many miles and many many passes with little or no attention to all those details.
Don't know what the guy is saying about thread sealer on your head bolts...you coat them with oil and put them in. If you run e-heads the studs are better. You do however need to run sealer on your mani' studs. I use teflon tape on mine. Good luck with the build.

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Wait , aren't you the guy always spouting off about running a holley and headers for max hp out of any given combo ? Make you your mind .

And on to the sealer on exh studs ... Not on Eheads , only heads from Chrysler directly have wet bolt holes on the exhaust.

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thread sealer better than oil.

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Ok, I am not building a race car, drag car etc. I am purposely building this thing to cruise, especially the interstate and highways. I appreciate the info on swapping converters, gears etc. But I'm not going to do that, it is what it is and I did it for a reason....I already have a car with a 3200 converter and "only" 3.55's. It revs too high on the interstate as it is....3200 RPM is too noisy for my liking.

My main concern is the heads/piston/head gasket combo. I wasn't aware when building a 383 that piston choices suck. Not only that, but it sounds like my options are expensive pistons or expensive machine work. I just so happen to have the expensive pistons....however from what most people on here tell me that the CR will not be enough with my head gasket choice (if I get it....027") and my head chamber volume (84cc). So I am back to thinking of just ordering a set of KB400s which from what I have calculated should be very close to 10:1...but I could be and probably am wrong.

Once I get info from the machine shop of what the depth will be with the KB400's vs the 2315's I'll make a definitive decision. Supposedly the KB400's will be inefficient compared to the flat top 2315's.....whatever that means.

The gear stays, the converter stays, the cam stays....I will probably take everyone's advice on the carb, maybe even consider headers after I get some miles on it and feel like doing something.

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Just want to share this with you, last year I rebuilt a numbers 69hp 383 for a super bee. I left it as much stock as the available parts would allow using the speed pro pistons .030 and the Summit cam/lifters which was very close to the original stock hp cam. Even used the original 625 carter carb and the hp manifolds. Stock original converter and 323 gears. Stock original 906 heads with stock valve sizes and springs. This is a sweet running engine with plenty of torque to light up the tires and a respictable high end. The idle is smooth and throttle response is crisp, just a great running engine for the street. To sum it up, the stock hp 383 is a respectable performance engine in its own right. I suggest a pair of headders for a nice 15-20 hp gain.

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You have no idea how much I appreciate this information. It makes me feel alot better about the one I'm building. Thank you

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The CH of the KB400 is 1.908 , the CH of the 2315 is 1.920.

What I meant by inefficient is the dome impedes flame travel across the chamber , a flat top doesn't . I am building a 383 based stroker with 12.5 compression and the only way to do it was either cut the bleep out of the heads or use a small dome , I chose the dome , should have cut the heads

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What is the CH of a stock 383 piston? I can't remember but I thought it was less than the KB400 1.908.

I understand what you mean by the dome "getting in the way"....but how does that affect your car? Decreased performance? Gas Mileage? I was looking at getting the dome to help with CR since everyone was saying 9.5:1 wasn't enough for that cam. The dome would put it about 10:1.

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Depends on the year engine but the stock CH of the 68-69 383 HP (which is what i base all my on ) , and 68-69 2bbl for that matter , is 1.932 , this puts the piston .0025 in the hole on a factory deck height, the 2bbl piston has a dish. as delivered the HP was 9.2 at best. I've gone 100mph in the 1/4 with a 56K worn HP engine with a timing chain so loose it could be removed without taking off the gears ... almost... so it's not as bad as we are lead to believe.

One of the mags did an article on installing ebrocks on a 383 , they THOUGHT they had a piston close to factory CH. But when they pulled the heads it had low compression cast replacements, they were something like .050 plus below the deck , the engine was not the DOG they thought it would be, food for thought .

In the grand scheme of things you will probably not notice any difference with the KB400 so just ignore what I said about inefficiency .

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Thanks for this info

Ok, this is my final plan from the best I can tell from the input on here and what's available to me in the real world...

1) The cam: I am going to save the XE 274 for a future 440.

2) I am going to buy an XE268...will this work with the 3.23's AND 2500 stall? 9.5-10:1 CR ok with this cam?

3) I did some calculations....I looked up the stock deck height (this engine was never apart either) I got 9.98 IIRC. I took the rod length + the SpeedPro's CH of 1.920 + HALF of the 3.375 stroke, subtracted from the favtory deck height spec and....from my calculations.. am ASSuming the 2315 pistons to be .0145 in the hole. So...I think I will use these pistons AND chop .010" off the block...AND machine the intake to fit...if need be...then I'll do a mock up on one cylinder to check valve clearance.

4) I am going with the .039" head gasket...not the steel shim.

5) What would work better for a carb...the 650 or 750 Edelbrock Thunder Series now that I am giving in and going with the smaller cam?

I know how to assemble the main/head bolts....just never did a 383...and probably never will again

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I did some calculations....I looked up the stock deck height (this engine was never apart either) I got 9.98 IIRC. I took the rod length + the SpeedPro's CH of 1.920 + HALF of the 3.375 stroke, subtracted from the favtory deck height spec and....from my calculations.. am ASSuming the 2315 pistons to be .0145 in the hole.

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Your math is right, but 10 bucks says your deck height is not 9.980" from the factory. Not that it really matters, just that you'll have to mill a bit more than 0.010 off your block to get it where you want.

Dropped off my 383 block and crank at the machine shop yesterday

Good luck

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The 650 & since you are deck milling I would mockup 1st as the actual block deck may not b near what's listed but not sure since I do not know 383's

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ive got a stock bottom end 1971 383 in my dart and just changed the cam to the comp extreme energy 268 and it really turned out great. the vacuum isnt anything to write home about at 12 or 13 at best . im running a 650 demon carb and the engine has plenty of top end. im probably running right at 9:1 CR with milled heads on it.

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