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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.

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.