How fast have you been with a standard stroke 383?

Have fast have you been with a standard stroke 383?

What heads and cam did you use?

What car was it in?



The 383 never gets much credit but I have always admired them. So let's hear some success stories.

People have run in the 9’s with them in SS.

My heap has only been able to muster an 11.18@123 at 3550lbs running unported 906’s, RPM intake and SFT cam.

That's mega!

Thats not bad for a 383 @3550 lbs. What were the 60'?
consider this a i have a 383 that i would like to put in something one day.

Due to the large chamber, short stroke and large rod ratio, the charge motion, vacuum, etc. near TDC is unlike larger engines.
I'll bet the cam should look different as o I/E bias, OL, LSA.

Been so long since he's posted but, Hutch is running respectable with his '383' crank motor.

150.246 mph. But that was at Bonneville in 1959 with a 361 in a '59 Plymouth. Does that count?

There have been quite a few 383 powered NHRA Stockers that get into the 10’s pretty regularly.

Those are way more impressive than my heap running 11’s with a cam that has .100” more lift, a big carb, and an aftermarket intake manifold.

What are these quicker 383 engines revving to?

Not a real accurate comparison here but the basically factory original, stock stroke 383 with a factory "335 hp" hydraulic cam in my Coronet won't go much beyond 4,500 rpm.

Likely rpm limited by the hydraulic lifters and the way they pump up at that rpm and hold valves off the seat. I have used hydraulic cams that required adjusting them out to .006 using a feeler gauge. That did away with any possibility of pump up.

Did the same with mine, zero lash (when pushrod stopped turning lock it down), 6800 easy with a .509 cam 11.60s @ 118 in a Duster street hemi converter.

The cam does not limit RPM, only power. With enough spring you can blow it up.

I had 1.5” triple springs off a E Modified small block

Close enough!!!

Kevin

I'm sure you guys remember the SS/IA Rod Shop Dodge now running here in UK, I saw it run a best of 10.2 in 2020 he blew the 7500rpm+ 383 motor so now has a Hemi in it.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rod+shop+dodge+challenger+launch+at+santa+pod&t=chromentp&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fsantapod.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fdrivers2018%2FDuncanWattsm.jpg

I think I remember Dave Wren running in the 9.80s back a long time ago with his 1971 Cuda 383 SS/I car in the mid 1970s
If I'm remembering correctly he let the clutch out at 8800 RPM and shifted it around 8200 RPM That motor was a unbored 400 block given to him by the Mopar factory drag engineers that they had built and flogged a bunch on the dyno before giving it to him to race to outrun the 350 Chevy in that class: devil:

My car is a 3100 lb 69 Roadrunner and has been as fast as 9.87@137 mph. It's a 1964 block bored 4.310 stage VI early straight plug heads 2.14, 1.81 valves, long connecting rods, 11:1 compression and a DC 590 camshaft 5 degrees retarded . I shift normally at 7800 and it runs 10.00 at 134 to 135. When I beat it up a bit and shift at 8400 it has run its best numbers. Did break a Jesel belt a few years ago and buggered up my heads and it's been a turd running 10.20's ever since. Hoping to get everything back on track this winter.


Hutch

My roadster has been 9.60's and 5.80's in the 1/8th getting flogged several hundred laps a year.

It only weighs around 2100 with me. Its been a pretty solid combo. I have 2 engines and both shortblocks are the same. Stock crank, eagle rods, TRW (boat anchor) dome pistons.

I have tried lots of cams, intakes, spacers, and carbs trying to find the fastest/most consistent combo. I like the baby solid rollers, I have tired bigger cams but they didnt show any gains.

I want to throw some hose at it and see if it will run 5.50's.

Thinking I may drop a stroker crank in one of them on the next freshen in another 1000 runs or so.

There was a time in the 80’s and 90’s, folks would prefer a 383 engine.

I guess they were ‘cheap and cheerful’ and plenty around, even in the UK.

My first experience of Street driven Mopar 383 ‘drag cars’ in the early 80’s, was they ran quick!

Before Aluminium heads and only purple shaft cams, they was King...

The 906 head was the ‘bees knees’ back then and strokers were unheard of.

Then the 90’s came and folks were running into the tens with iron head 440’s.

My old iron headed 452 actually ran into the nines with no NOS.

The best 383 I ever remembered was Steve Case’s, plum crazy Challenger.

Street driven TEN second car and a real R/T too...

Been around forever and still doing it large with a 383ci lol...

There was a fantastic 383ci engine article in an old Mopar book, ''Musclecar and Hi-Po engines''

Chrysler themselves got Victor Edelbrock to do a 'Hotrod' article on a NEW factory 383ci engine in 1967!

They had been hearing of ‘bad press’ for the 335hp ‘383ci’ so 'MOTHER MOPAR' wanted to put the record straight lol.

On the Dyno, a brand new low mileage 383ci made only 280 horses...

So with lots of machine work and the right camshaft, they got it up to 420 horses.

The article does not say which heads were used 516 or 915 (440) heads?

The biggest problem being was 'factory over-tight' clearances.

''Freeing the horsepower'' was just more piston to wall and bearing gaps, worth 100hp...

Me, personally... 14.0 at 101 MPH in a '69 Super Bee 383 4-speed... back in either '79 or '80. Hey, you asked!

Likely my favorite 383 car ever: Dave Boertman's '71 Challenger SS car. It was a mid-to-high 10-sec car with an "interesting" backstory as described HERE.

What oil pumps were being used for these 7,500+ rpm combos? How loose on the bearings? Presuming these faster times were roller cam/tunnel ram/open header combos with 5K+ 8" converters and 5.xx gears...

Almost forgot that just recently I finished helping my friend build a 383 stroker (438"). It's a pretty mild street cruiser combo. OOTB 440 Source heads, about 9.3:1 C.R., 228/232 @ .050" hydraulic FT cam, RPM intake, headers, 750 carb. Made just under 450 hp and 450+ lb. ft. of torque. It did rev to 6,000 rpm though which is more than I can say for the heap in my own car. Combo is going in a '66 Fury with highway gears and regular tires. Won't be raced but maybe it might go in the 13's on slicks.

383/438 On the dyno For B Bodies Only

Wow, lots of trickery going on there!

My car, Duster @ 3000 pounds and me at 180 ran 118, the Wallace calc says 400 Hp. 030 over pop up TRW slugs, stock bottom end, .509 cam, 915 stock heads (triple springs), isky rockers, Torker intake, 3310 Holly, Hooker headers, 4.88 gears 11.5X 29.5 M&H slicks and street Hemi converter. A little port work in the heads and I’m sure it would have run faster

Back in the day We ran low 7's {7.10} in a 69 RR. stock stroke and stock bore 383. It had an old Cam Dynamics Flat tappet cam. Adv 310/585. I don't remember the duration at .050. 906 heads

You mean 10.80s? The record minimum today is 10.05...

NHRA will reset the SS and Stock records to a minimum after they had been the record for two years, at least they use to do that.
I'm pretty sure about the numbers Dave Wren ran with that car Mopar gave him that motor for, Bob Mazzolini ran almost that quick with his 1971 SS/IA 383 Cuda a bunch of years later in another Mopar prep body in white car from Portland, it was trick also CRS on remembering the original owners of that car, they had several Dodge and Plymouth dealerships in the Portland area back in the late1960 and early 1970, Italian last name:

Quickest Mike Cotton ran this year was 9.73 in SS/IA trim (at least per Nitro Joe’s stats) with his Cuda. Jerry Hatch is also capable of running around that range in the ex-Eric Bell beautiful orange Challenger. Speaking of Wren, I was running brackets at Mission BC in 2005 and Dave rolled out of his moss covered trailer a primered 63 with a max wedge “he had thrown together”. Best sounding motor I’ve ever heard. The master still had his touch, might still but haven’t heard anything about him in the last 5 years.

Stock volume pumps. 0035" mains. 0028" rods no problems.


Hutch

SS/AA cars were barely in the 9’s - no way did Wren or anyone else run that fast in IA.

That car ran in SS/I, not SS/IA.
Dave Boertman SS/JA 1971 Challenger was a lot slower than Wrens 1971 Cuda was
Dave was thrown out of the Indy Nationals two years later running that quick and fast after winning the class in teardown in either 1974 or 1975 , the wheelbase was 1/8 inch to short
He was one of many sportsman racers sponsored by Mopar in the NHRA sportsman classes before they went BK in 1980 due to the unfair weight advantage NHRA had given to the Chevy Pro Sttock racers racing against the Hemi cars in 1973.
I remember the SS/A and SS/AA cars running in the mid to low nines in the 1974 Winternataionals.

Much as I hate to say it the Chevies had us covered.

Notice the date the records were set.

Just like today, nobody runs as fast as they can or weight is added to your class. The big hitters never ran all out. Chrysler told the A cars to not bomb the record so the little guys in their class have a chance, more cars more publicity.

Year, 1970. US hywy 2 west of Grand Forks ND. Observed 5750 on my tach, converted to 138mph. 1968Coronet, 4spd. Stock motor, 3.23 gears. Handled loose as a goose!

Most fast cars sandbagged to a point but I don’t recall ever seeing/hearing any Chrysler product run a second under the record.

I know of a few Chrysler products that won class by running out the backdoor and ended up bombing the record, but no where did they run more than a tenth or two under.

Was directly involved in all the Chrysler “activities” from around 67 to 80. Pretty much knew what cars were sandbagging and which ones were bogus.
Some “heroes” won SS back in the day that should have been tossed but even they didn’t run a second under the record either.

And the other thing to use as a benchmark. A similar car in a differentiations Eliminator like MP.
1975 - A/MP 68 Dart at 426 @ 3400 lbs. Tunnel ram, ported aluminum heads, ran 9.45 @ 145-148 mph.
How would a SS legal SS/A car go that fast the same year with “legal” heads and a crossram.?

i went 10.50 at 130 with my old challenger in street trim with a 6-71 stock eddy heads. 15lbs boost.

Those years all run together now but pro stock was barely in the nines around 70-72, iirr. Super Stock race at the beach in 69 or 70 the A cars were running 10.60s-80s and the best 65 A990 Plym 4 speed went 11.07. Sam P. had a 69 GTX Hemi 4 speed convertible running 11.50s. We thought they were flying. No door slammer got close to the nines

I saw Doug Duell at Beech Bend this year working out a 383 they had in the Hemi Cuda. I think it was running GT/GA which I believe is a 10.40 index so I’m pretty sure its in the 9’s.