FordGirlGoneBad

I apologize in advance for the long post, but I'm wordy. Sorry.

I bought a Wheeler Sportsman Series 383 Stroker short block a while back and am in the process of buying the other parts and pieces needed to make the car an occassional track car, but primarily for shows and a weekend cruise car. The engine was replaced about four years ago with a 350 (355 w/bore) and of course a few new parts like the 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, a Holley Street Dominator manifold, MSD ignition coil, 4:10 rear, blah, blah...

Now, to set the record straight - I love cars, I love going fast in cars and I like my cars to look good. I; however, have zero mechanical knowledge when it comes to parts I must have or parts it would be nice to have. I know, I know - it's a dangerous place to be when you don't have money to burn (and I do not!). The car runs like crap now - backfires, sputters, and I've done everything I can afford to do to try and make it right - even dyno tuned at ELD Performance after all the new parts and pieces were installed. It still ran like crap. So, here's where I need some help.

I'm starting over with a brand new block. The engine is internally balanced and all forged with Wheeler claiming 500+HP if you were to put CNC’d heads on it (Wheeler claims that this engine, a complete turnkey from them will have 540HP). Engine is a 4 BLT main with nodular caps and full race prepped blueprinting. Eagle 4130 Crankshaft, 4340 H-Beam Rods, Forged pistons, and fully balanced Assembly. 7" internal race balancer, Billet Double Roller Timing Chain with Torrington Bearing, and a hydraulic roller camshaft, two piece RMS.

CAM SPECS
Intake , Exhaust Intake , Exhaust
Gross Duration= 520 , 540 Duration= 236 , 242

Lobe Separation= 110.0

If I put 64cc heads on it, it'll have 11 to 1 compression ratio.

In talking to Wheeler the top end of the engine will be about $1600 shipped - in their abbreviated words...

W/our own heads we get a good 500hp-520hp realistically when we dyno them. We use 2.05 stainless intake valves and 1.60 stainless exhaust valves. Heads are fully machined including 3 angle valve job, bowl cut, screw in studs and guide plates. You'll need a good set of roller lifters and you'll need a set of ARP head bolts, and a dual plane intake manifold (Crosswind/RPM airgap style) is a win-win for your needs.

My questions are...

1. Can I reuse the Holley manifold on my current set up on the new set up?
2. If I get the 64cc heads for the block as noted, what size carb would be the best fit?
3. Does the set up above sound reasonable?
4. Should I go ahead and get a big hose radiator to keep everything nice and cool from the start and not chance it on my stock radiator and hose? What about a full time fan rather than intermittant? (I removed the A/C a few years back.)
5. What other component changes should I anticipate?

Any other hints, suggestions, etc. are welcome. I should take a class about engine building, but have no idea where to begin...are there any really good online tutorials?

86White_T/A305

For cooling you can reuse everything you have and change to a cooler thermostat if you worried about the motor getting too hot..i suggest either a 160deg or 180 and if your using electric fan/s then change to a colder fan swith on the motor.

Your intake would essentialy work just fine and most like the carb you were using on the 355 aswell.Will it be the best/optimal selection to use Im not sure as I havent built a carbed motor in some time.The reason i say this that you can change the jets in the carb and adjust your vacuum advance and springs once the motor is running and see what it likes best.This will be your cheapest option..but very time consuming for tuning and test driving but Im sure you will get good performance still.

Recommend you take a trip over to the carb forum here and see what those guys suggest for your setup or if what you have can feed the 383 fully.tell them everything you have and maybe you can get away with porting the intake for a few bucks and re-jetting the carb and not have to buy more stuff.Good luck

Atilla the Fun

The Holley intake is good enough to not cause you any driveability problems on this build. It might limit you to around 480 horses, but its not causing your tuning troubles.
Your short block assembly is way overkill, you're wasting far more money than you really need to for this.
The 600 carb is way too small, you need a 750.
Running the cooling fan all the time is silly. It needs to be on a switch. Do use a 180 degree thermostat, and be sure to drill a 1/18" steam hole in it, then orient your new steam hole toward the front when you install it.

FordGirlGoneBad

I bought the block from the original purchaser. He paid full price - I bought it for much less. I thought I'd be spending more time at the track but that's not possible right now. I'm hoping that will change though. Right now, I just want to get it in the car, looking good and running good - and not be embarrassed if I run at the track.

Thanks so much for the info so far. I was thinking 750 would do it from what I've seen out there, now I just have to decide on Edelbrock again or Holley. I'll take that discussion to the carb section as noted (thank you again).

Atilla the Fun

I prefer the Edelbrock for easier tuning, but be aware that the Edelbrock 750 doesn't flow as well as the Holley 750. This is because Holleys are wet flowed, to simulate fuel, while the edelbrocks are not. The Edelbrock 750 feeds Edelbrock's 540 HP 454 RPM package, so it's good, but Edelbrock also has an 800. The Holley Street Avenger 770 is good, but if you want a carb you can take out of the box and not need to tune, (other than setting the idle rpm) the only way to go is to call Demon directly. It's a few dollars more, but SO much less hassle later. Be sure to find out what elevation (above sea level) your home town is at before calling.

FordGirlGoneBad

Thanks for the help guys -- this build is giving my major headaches. It's like your teenage kid - all it does is ask for money and more money.