Must be cabin fever and reading all the KOH threads, I have a complete running SBC and turbo 350 trans sitting in the shop on the floor, I keep getting the urge to do a 383 sroker with it with alum heads and an aftermarket fuel injection kit, then cut the front off my rig, tube it out, mount it in and get an atlas and stretch the front a little, put some bypass shocks on it and go fast. Should I go for it ????
I have been thinking about it for a couple weeks now, if I do it it will be a project that I get everything ready to go before I touch the buggy, I will build the engine first, then get the Atlas, start collecting up the bypass shocks and goodies for that and whatever else I will need, I would want to have everything for it before I touch it, I took off from competing last year and just wheeled for the fun of it and had a blast doing so. I decided to take this year off also and do the same. I will have fun wheelin this year while I get everything needed and then knock it out all at once if I do it. I just don't want to down the buggy while collecting parts is all

i'd round up all your parts first then tear into your rig...
really sucks bein out of somethin to wheel when your waitin on parts/money to buy parts..

That is what I have already pretty much decided, I would collect everything and have the engine all done before I even touch the buggy, I don't want to down it any longer than I have to so I would wait till I had everything ready first and then kock it out all at once

I would sell the 350 for what ever you can get out of it and buy a J-yard 5.3 or 6.0.

by the time you build the 383 and buy the "aftermarket" FI system you could easly have a 5.3 with cam, LS intake, with a flashed PCM and cut harness.

but other than that it sounds cool...

I thought about that but keep liking the idea of the older SBC for simplicity when it comes to wiring, the aftermaket fuel injection kits come with their own CPU unit which keeps harness stuff simple also, I just want to keep everything simple and not need to have a bunch of sensors and crap to deal with. I already have the engine & trans, stroker kit is not badly priced and I have found a speed shop locally to get the heads really cheap already.

Simplicity.... you cant get more simple than a cut harness form companies like Fuel Injection Specialties, or Turn Key, ext. Fuel Injection Specialties builds my harnesses and computers for about $800. That included a custom PCM map. weed the harness at the pig tails, reloom, shorten/lengthen any wires, delete smog/torque management sys. And they get an extra 15%-20% more power out of the motor.

My harnesses I get are five wire hook up, and have wires for all the gauge's wired in (if you want to run electronic gauges). As symple as can be, plus its OBD-II.

Oh and thoes extra sensors are what makes a good EFI system run well and why holly pro-jection forenstance runs like shit.

what kind of hp numbers are you looking at out of the 383? were finishing up a 6.0 swap in an fj and all we did was trim down the factory harness, we got the complete motor harness and comp for 1400 from knoxauto, factory hp claims 325, dyno guy claims we can pull 400 out of it with a tune he'll throw in for us since he has to eliminate a lot of the sensors out of the computer. after workin with his motor and seeing a lot of ls swaps thats what i'd be doin if it were my junk

At this point, I am still just kicking around ideas, I will think it about it some more and research a few more things before I do anything

i know a guy with a 383 in an xj.
it's actually a chromo tube chassis with xj skins.
i'll try to get some pics for inspiration.:D

I have a 383 in mine. Should be 440HP for the specs it was built to.
truthfully I cant feel much difference from the old stock 350 I had it in that was likely 200HP(-), Its not fast but is very heavy.

I built the 383, but the old school motors always weap fluids un like the newer engines like the LQ4. I hate the messy seals. I used Right stuff gasket maker and good seals but still always drips alittle.

Id do a Th400 not the Th350.

I tried the propane thing for 5 years but on the KOH trip I brought 5 tanks and even went to town to fill one up. I want to get an after market TBI setup but am looking at some money $1000-$1600 for the fuel system. For $2500 you can get an LS based motor like the LQ4. The only reason Im not swapping my 383 for and LQ4 is down time. I can bolt on the TBI setup in a weekend.

I wouldent do it again.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139642&page=28

Aren't you still running the same MTR's you were running 6 years ago??

Post some pics of those cool parts sitting on the floor of your garage.

Maybe you should just get off the couch and go wheeling. :flipoff2:

Yup same MTR's, hard to wear them out when everything around here is mud
just a stock setup pulled from a Chevy truck, not to fancy to look at
I would love to get out but this cold weather is hard on my heart

Since I am now a go fast expert (ha!), i wouldnt spend the money on bypasses unless
you just want the cool factor. There were plenty of guys out there running way to fast
(80 mph+) on just plain old coilovers. Packaging a bypass shock on the front of an
already heavy front end probably wouldnt be the easiest/most fun thing in the world.

Coilovers will blow your 2.0s (iirc you're running 2.0s, not 2.5s) away. Hell you could
even get some 2.5s, build in some more uptravel and go have a blast.
But thats just my "expert" .02

Yeah, I was reading how alot of them were running King coilovers and did just as well once they got them all dialed in, like I said, I am still researching what I want to do at this point, My rig is still running great and I will keep having fun with it untill I decide what I want to do and then only once I have everything I will need will I do anything to it

During KOH, if we came up on a car without bypasses we just hit the gas and blew past them, knowing our suspension could handle more than theirs. It's all about the tuning, the best shocks in the world won't work well if you don't have access to getting them tuned properly........and you can't do that sitting in the car. A properly tuned bypass will let you go at speeds that are scary and dangerous. But, trying to go too fast on shocks that are not properly dialed in is even more risky and dangerous. Many, many stories of flipped rigs at speed this year, including us.

But, this is all a pipe dream at this point, right? :smokin:

just playing around with ideas at this point, nothin set in stone, just have a complete engine and trans sitting on the floor and trying to decide what to do with it at this point. Hell, I may leave mine alone and build another one, have not made my mind about anything yet

i know a guy with a 383 in an xj.
it's actually a chromo tube chassis with xj skins.
i'll try to get some pics for inspiration.:D

whoops, i was off on the displacement. but here it is.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=834663

You would be less of a man if you DID NOT do it.

just saying :flipoff2::flipoff2:

I have a 383 stroker in mine and love it. It's got trickflow heads, roller cam,holley injection. On the dyno it made 470 hp and 501 torque.throttle respones is awsum, horsepower and torque is incredibale.been running it for about 10 years now and am still very impressed everytime i drive it. The newer motors are cheaper and dont seem to have the leaking problems just like everyone said but i wouldn't trade mine for one.

I am still thinking about it, I think it would be alot of fun to do, just gotta figure out a few things and decide if I want to commit to collecting everything I will need for it

holley injection

What compression and cam are you running?
Which Holley kit the 950?

I was looking at the FAST EZ-efi or the affordable fuel injections's TBI kit tuned for a built 383, heard the Holey hits are a PITA to tune for a built motor.

Im at 11:1 with aluminum heads and a comp cam 260H-10 212/212 duration, .440" lift (but with 1.6:1 ratio rockers),so Im border line for 91 octane, 93 oct would be ok. C12 smells good even when mixed... :flipoff2:

I have a 383 in mine as well, but i went carbureted with a 750 edeljunk and Lunatti cam...throttle response is absolutely scary which is perfect for me since i mostly see trails and mud. But if you want FI i would defiantly go with the 5.3 they are dirt cheap, and make pretty good power.