rebuilding 1969 383 charger engine

n04hs · Post by **n04hs** » Mon Sep 30, 13 9:30 pm

Hi i only have the block and want to get a little more power out of it, need help with pistons and generally what the best thing to do! i know it has to be balanced. if anyone has advice that would be brilliant cheers noah

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Sep 30, 13 9:32 pm

Hi Noah!

Welcome - I did not see your earlier post.

Where are you based?

Lots of help on here from daily driver to Uber-mental dragsters!

You need to set boundaries (Ask Don Scott)

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Sep 30, 13 9:35 pm

As an aside, some 383 parts are not as well catered for = pistons for example - sometimes hard to get higher compression ones. You MUST match these to the heads - there are different types (Open and Closed) that behave differently.

A full breakdown of what you have in the toy box will help.

n04hs · Post by **n04hs** » Mon Sep 30, 13 9:51 pm

Thanks pete.
Im near guildford.
I just bought the car as a project so its a rolling chassis at the moment.
got two blocks with it and want to completely rebuild one from scratch so its getting bored out at the moment so will find out what size pistons i need soon.How do the open and closed pistons react different? cheers pete.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Sep 30, 13 10:17 pm

It's the heads that are either Open or Closed chamber design.
However, they have to be compatible with the Pistons you select (and clearly vise versa!).

I have not rebuilt a 383 before (I have owned 3) but I know that some members have faced challenges getting the pistons they wanted (bore and compression ratio) due to the relative lack of demand of 383 stuff (Most people favour 440's though the 383 is a good street motor).

You really need to get some professional advice on this.

Are you going replacement alloy heads? This may give you some better options............here goes the money...

n04hs · Post by **n04hs** » Mon Sep 30, 13 10:23 pm

Lovely, I'll have to look into this and keep a close eye on my poor wallet!!!!
Was looking at alloy heads.

Roger · Post by **Roger** » Mon Sep 30, 13 10:23 pm

Noah wrote:Thanks pete.
Im near guildford.
I just bought the car as a project so its a rolling chassis at the moment.
got two blocks with it and want to completely rebuild one from scratch so its getting bored out at the moment so will find out what size pistons i need soon.How do the open and closed pistons react different? cheers pete.

Whoa there! You need to decide what size pistons you are using BEFORE you bore it.

Get the pistons, measure up, work out piston to bore clearance then bore and hone to suit.

And to work out what pistons, do what Pete says first.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Sep 30, 13 10:28 pm

Cheers Roger (saw you were signed in!!)

Roger is a great source of advice, and has learned through a process of dilligence and pain on how to restore THE perfect Charger!!!

(PS - thanks for the chat on Front suspension setup at Sywell

)

n04hs · Post by **n04hs** » Mon Sep 30, 13 10:40 pm

Thanks roger, Didn't know if the engine had been played with so was getting it measured so that i didn't get pistons to small.It can't get honed apparently because of to much wear so needs boring.

Cheers guys.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Sep 30, 13 10:44 pm

...but to re-iterate the point; 383 pistons are only available in very limited oversize options.

As Roger states, you have to bore the Block to fit the Pistons in the order of + .0035" clearance... the pistons are actually barrel shaped, and if too loose it will rattle and too tight it will seize............

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Tue Oct 01, 13 8:57 am

First thing to do is decide on the heads you want and then if they are alloy you need to source pistons and rods that will work with those heads and give you between 10:1 to 11:1 compression ratio. Once you have the rods and pistons THEN buy the heads and get the block machined to fit the pistons and machine the block deck to get the correct compression in the heads.

You might also want to start by deciding how much HP you want. The bigger the cam the closer to 11:1 you want that compression.

The cam and crank stroke will dictate what intake will work best.

pete walton · Post by **pete walton** » Tue Oct 01, 13 8:33 pm

Noah wrote:Thanks pete.
Im near guildford.
I just bought the car as a project so its a rolling chassis at the moment.
got two blocks with it and want to completely rebuild one from scratch so its getting bored out at the moment so will find out what size pistons i need soon.How do the open and closed pistons react different? cheers pete.

Guildford is just up the road from me,,,,Noah keep it simple mate and you will enjoy it..... Stock rebuild for the street ,,,, chuck a bit of money at a set of cheep 516 heads,, SENSIBLE cam jobs a gudun.....Check bore size before ordering stock pistons...better still take the block and crank along to someone like Hauser and have him prep the block and crank to suit the new pistons etc.....check cam bearings etc while you are there....deep oil pan ,,bigger pick up,,update ignition and off you go anywhere you like.....you want to go faster ,,then it starts to hurt ....so keep it simple and enjoy is my advise ......trust me I have Bananarama! up big time

n04hs · Post by **n04hs** » Tue Oct 01, 13 8:43 pm

dave thanks! I'm starting to think along the lines of what pete says and keeping it stock,I really want to get it on the road as soon as possible without rushing.

Thanks for the help with the pistons and boring!

pete walton · Post by **pete walton** » Tue Oct 01, 13 9:33 pm

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engi ... ewall.html

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Tue Oct 01, 13 9:39 pm

Yeah Pete-Ws advice to keep it simple is the best option by far.