383ci Small-Block Chevys - 446 HP On The Cheap!

Easy Displacement

The happy 383, on the other hand, eliminates many of these drawbacks. For those who adhere to the long-rod school of thought, it’s possible to run 6.125-inch connecting rods with a 3.750-inch stroke in a standard deck height block and still retain a reasonable 1.000 inch of piston compression height. While rod-to-camshaft interference can become an issue with long-duration grinds, small base circle cams offer an easy solution. So while a Gen I Mouse motor build is somewhat ordinary in a world that’s gone LS-crazy, building a venerable 383 still makes a whole lot of sense.

While a forged crank and pistons, along with Scat’s more rugged H-beam rods, would be a wise choice for forced induction or nitrous applications, all that would accomplish is add unnecessary cost without any appreciable benefits in durability for a moderate-rpm, naturally aspirated combination such as ours. Truth be told, even the budget-priced internals used in our 383 build can easily handle a 150-shot of nitrous without much fuss. Andy Mitchell of Outlaw Racing Engines, who manned the boring bar and dial bore gauge during our build, says the need to stretch a buck is a prevalent theme with today’s hot rodders. “The days when people spent $30,000 on 632ci big-blocks are over. People don’t want to spend that much money anymore,” he says. “They see complete motors selling for $5,000 on eBay, so that really changes their expectations. These days, people want economical combinations that they can get some longevity out of. They’re racing cheaper, but that doesn’t mean you have to use low-quality parts. By carefully selecting your parts combination, you can have performance and durability at a reasonable price.”

A short-block is only as good as the cylinder heads that feed it, and to get the most out of our budget 383, we ordered a set of EngineQuest AC200BS aluminum cylinder heads. These castings boast 197cc intake ports, 65cc combustion chambers, and 2.020/1.600-inch valves featuring a three-angle cut. We’ve had great luck with EngineQuest’s Vortec-style iron castings in past engine builds, so we were eager to give their new aluminum heads a shot. Not only do they weigh 58 pounds less per set than their iron counterparts, at just $1,098 per pair, they cost only $118 more. “We’ve had great success with our iron heads, and our goal was to transfer that same technology over to our new aluminum castings. These aluminum heads are based on our iron castings, both of which relied heavily on wet flowbench technology during their development,” says Don Knetzger of EngineQuest. “Since most of the R&D from the development work on our iron heads carried over into our new aluminum heads, this enabled us to keep costs down. The cooling passages have been slightly revised due to the different cooling properties of iron and aluminum, but otherwise the two heads are very similar in design and airflow. With all the 350 to 383ci motors that are still being built, a 200cc casting seemed like the best fit for the marketplace, although we are considering larger 220cc heads.”

To make sure that the airflow potential of the EngineQuest cylinder heads didn’t go to waste, we matched them up with an equally capable induction system. Summit Racing isn’t just a premier retailer of major-label goodies; the company has been rapidly expanding its line of private-label parts, and they even bundle them together for you in convenient packages to further maximize cost savings. To finish up the induction system, Summit set us up with one of its top end Pro Packs, which includes a dual-plane intake manifold, a 750-cfm carb, an air cleaner assembly, and intake gaskets and bolts all for $531.

Since the very nature of budget-oriented engine builds is making respectable horsepower on the cheap, there’s always a bit of tension when strapping an untested combination to the dyno. Fortunately, our concerns were unfounded. With Outlaw’s Andy Mitchell doing the tuning and Westech’s Steve Brulé pulling the handle, the 383 served up 446 hp at a very street-friendly 5,900 rpm, and 474 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. Disproving any suppositions that our 383 is overcammed, it produced a stout 454 lb-ft at just 3,500 rpm. With a hydraulic roller cam of similar duration in lieu of our flat tappet unit, it’s conceivable that the 383 would have netted an additional 15-20 hp. Throw in a solid roller, and another 15-20 numbers on top of that is entirely feasible. Nonetheless, our budget 383 exceeded all expectations, proved extremely easy to assemble, and should provide tens of thousands of miles of hot rodding fun.