The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 383 question

My nephew was telling me he built a 383 stroker, 400 crank not sure what block but using 327 heads. Why 327 heads? He also said he didn't have to do anything to the block, I thought you had to remove some material for connecting rod clearance. I only saw him for a short time and didn't get to ask these questions. Dave

A 383 built with a 400 crank (if it is the correct description) would have been built with a 350 block and yes the block needs to be modified to clear the connecting rods.

Depending on what pistons he used the 327 heads could result in pretty high compression ratio and I believe the 327 valves were smaller so the combination doesn't make a lot of sense. However, without knowing what parts he actually used it pretty hard to know.

The stock 327 heads could have come with 3 different intake valve diameters and 2 different exhaust valve diameters, along with 2 or 3 combustion chamber volumes. As long as he knows what he expects from the package he can/could choose the compression ratio based on piston and head specs. I built mine with a C.R. of 9.00:1 - 9.50:1 in mind. 350 block bored .030", flat top pistons with 2 valve reliefs, 74 c.c. heads, I chose heads with 1.91" intakes 'cuz I wasn't building a high RPM motor, the 2.02" valves can breath a little more at high RPM but your low RPM torque can suffer. So with those parts it comes out to just under 9.50:1 compression ratio. You could also use the 350 rods or the 400 rods but you have to make that decision along with the correct pistons. My block came out of a mid '70's truck-4 bolt, high tin and nickel in the cast iron, heads are from 1972, stock 5.7" truck rods. The block has to be relieved at the bottom of the bore in order for the rod bolt to clear due to the longer swing of the new crankshaft, it has just a tad over a 1/4" more stroke than the 350.

Thanks guys!