I got a 383 engine was seized when I got it got all torn down was thinking of putting new cam in not sure what I should go with just want it to be a cruise car with the family nothing to fancy any ideas ? Thanks for help o Ya as far as I know everything else on it is stock

Welcome aboard! Summitt has close to OE specs cams for cheap (I have one). Many have used em with no complaints. $72 & if you add in a bit more to your list the shipping is free over $100 (& you'll need lifters/tchain (get a 3 way) & file fit plasma moly rings

Cool thanks Ya my parts list from summit has been adding up fast lol I was gonna do cast rings cause bores are just a little bit off to get the extra seal ( .002 in worst spots) most of it was really good once I got it free didn't need more then a degalzing but the cam had some weird pitting in it and just can't c using it and having to change later

I agree the Summit cam kits work good.Ive run all of them for Mopars and some Chevys also.Ran the big cam in my 440 and then stuck it in a 62 383.It ran great in it but it had 3.91 gears.Id say it would still run decent but for close to factory go small.Rocky

On second thought the Summitt SB tchain we bought for the stock car way back (house brand) had way more slack than I was comfortable with. I dont have the final word on at what point the out of round and taper says that cast rings would be better (see what others say & you need good measurements for us) & a dial bore gauge would be the best/fastest but a person can come close with a ring with squared edges and measureing gap at top and bottom of ring travel then again at 90 deg to that (top and bottom). Just me (some dont care for it) I would final finish with a dingle berry hone of the right grit especially for a rering

I measured bores with telescoping and caliper for out of round and taper the stand size was 4.50 and the biggest spot on one bore was 4.52 with isn't to bad I heard that was me doing top mid and bottom and my father in law had a 3 stone deglaze is what I used and as far as the chain I was looking at the comp cam double roller kit

.020 is a HUGE amount to be out of round in bore size, and a 3 stone deglazeing hone will not make make it seal in any way possible. are you sure you are measuring correctly ? calipers are not the measuring device to be using here. i'm not trying to be a smart a$z, just 42 years as a machinist talking. FSM for 63 states .005 out of round max and .010 taper top to bottom before re boring is necessary. i hope your stated number was just a typo.

forgot to add the standard bore size for the 383 is 4.2495-4.2515

Ya was a typo sorry they are 4.252( 2 cyilders) at most lol sorry about that most is 4.250 was late when I made that last post sorry and telescoping gauge is what I used could afford a bore Gage

that is much better. with what you have to measure with, a VERY light touch is required to get close to sorta the right measurements, but for what you are looking for, you should be ok with the correct selection of ring material.

Ya that was kinda a big typo lol but trying to get the rings off the old piston that has been sitting since 1972 that a whole new ball game kerosene and brass brush for the win and who ever put the rings in last time had no idea what they were doing all seams line up no wonder y they parked it

I do not understand your assumption that "cast rings" are more forgiving.

The top ring is where the magic is. Some top rings are cast iron with molybdenum on the outside edge, those are called moly rings. Some top rings are cast iron with chrome plated on the outside edge. These are called chrome rings and have no place on a high performance engine that's not run without an air filter or else not run in a desert, because they are hard on the cylinder walls. Some top rings are plain cast iron.

There are steel rings, Deves comes to mind as a maker of steel rings. I don't know if there are even steel rings for a 383, maybe somebody makes them. Total Seal is another company that makes rings out of a variety of materials.

I believe all second rings are cast iron.

Oil rings are usually stainless steel

Any modern ring package should seat within the first few miles. Moly rings are easier on the cylinder walls and they seat quickly because the moly surface is soft. c
Plain cast iron rings seat very quickly as well, but they don't last as long as the other materials.

So use the best ring package you can afford, and it may be advantageous to use file-fit rings to account for your cylinder bore differences

R.

It not a high performance engine it's just a boat that might see 1000 miles a year at most during summer time winter will be parked indoors just I heard cast rings will give a better deal then Molly ones the kit I was looking at had Molly in it but was gonna sub for cast just to make up that lol bit

Moly rings are far better than cast iron but reportedly if the out of round and or taper is on the edge that CI might seal better (no opinion on that) & if it is worn to that point what about reboring/new pistons/rings etc. But I think I would still go with Moly either way rering or rebore (& what Dog said, a Moly ring set is a moly top ring and a castiron 2nd ring) tho there are specialized apps with top/bottom Moly rings but not commonly used) and what he said Moly is a far better ring type for most apps. just me unless it was a numbers matching deal I'd get a 400 block and offsett grind a 440 steel crank for 470 cubes. the external dimentions would be the same so all your brackets/exhaust etc would right back up. You might peruse Andys' 451 manifesto in the archives. It might persuade you!

It's important to remember that the plain cast iron ring and the moly ring are exactly the same except for a thin layer of molybdenum plated onto the outer edge of the moly rings. There shouldn't be a whit's worth of difference in how they conform to a cylinder wall.

The moly rings are easier on the cylinder wall and seat better/faster than a plain cast iron ring. Chrysler used them in many engines in the '70s and '80s and those engines will have virtually no cylinder wear after 100K miles.

If the moly rings come in the kit use them. If you are piecing together a kit and want to save $20 or so use the cast iron rings. I think it's that simple.

R.

Ya I just gonna use the kit but I was taking the old rings off and one of the pistons is screwed can I just replace one of them?

Cam dynamics 266 energizer. This was the best of the "tame" cams I have tried. 266 adv. 210@.050 .440" lift 108 lobe sep. Whatever you get , the tighter the lobe sep. the better.Wider separations give up too much low end,and they need all they can get from off idle to 2500. These were all in low compression 383's in two different Newports. One a 66 the other a 68.

Yes as I explained in another post just swap the piston and be done with it. Fact is you are not going to find any replacement piston that will have the same compression height of your stock pistons.

So you have three choices: 1. Find NOS or good used 2. Use a stock replacement 3. Have a piston manufacturer make you one to match, except no one will make just one piston, you have to buy a set.

Re: camshaft The last poster is right on the money except the cam he's talking about is a chevy lobe. The Cam Dynamics line was bought by Crane and lives on as Blazer, IIRC. I bought the same cam for a chevy 350 that I sold before finishing the project.

Good Luck!

R.