Last month we built this conspicuously stock 383 Magnum, and it was time to haul it over to Westech Performance Group to run it on the dyno. We planned to add some power to the bottom line before we were through.
Last month we bolted together a 383, built as true to original 383 Magnum/Commando specs as practical. Inside, our 383 benefited from Jim Grubbs' blueprint-quality machining, moly rings for increased bore life and seal, and modern KB hypereutectic pistons. The block was milled for "zero deck," which will eventually give us an ideal quench clearance if aftermarket closed-chamber heads are employed.
The stock #906 heads were milled .020-inches to compensate for the thicker replacement head gasket, thereby reducing chamber volume from the stock 87 cc to 83 cc. The deep valve notches in the KB pistons (6 cc) required to run long-duration high-lift cams, coupled with the 84cc open-chamber heads and the 383's short stroke, gave us a compression ratio of 9.2:1. This compares to 9.7:1, which would have been achieved with stock-style flat-top pistons with no valve reliefs.
For our baseline runs, the engine was fitted with the stock 383 AVS carb, iron intake, and iron exhaust manifolds with 2.5-inch extension pipes at the flange. Rick Stoner of Westech filled the crankcase with 10W-30 Unocal oil, and it was ready to fire. Stock, the 383 just nudged over its rating, delivering a respectable 338 hp.
Such minor modifications aside, this was a 383 just like Chrysler used to build. We gathered up an original 383 Magnum AVS carb, the correct PN 666 iron intake manifold, a real set of factory high-performance exhaust manifolds, and slid in a reproduction 383 "Road Runner" cam. A PAW SuperStock crank kit supplied the usual rebuild parts, as well as a crank and rods ordered as a balanced assembly to replace our too-far-gone originals. Overlooking the Mopar electronic ignition distributor-installed more for reliability than performance-the 383 on the engine stand was like an artifact from the past. We had only one question: How much power would it make?
From 1968-1970, the 383 Magnum was rated at 335 hp, although Mopar fans who remember these free-revving engines would compare seat-of-the-pants pull to the 440. Sporting the same heads and cam as the 440, but with a smaller displacement, the 383 certainly could be wound tighter. Was it good for its advertised 335 horsepower? A visit to the friendly dyno operators at Westech would give us the answer.
With our baseline numbers in, we stripped the factory Hi-Po manifolds from the heads. Some will argue that on a mild engine combo, the factory iron exhaust doesn't give anything up to headers. We felt otherwise. A well-used set of Hooker 1 7/8-inch SuperComp dyno headers were bolted on. Power climbed to 355 hp, with a near constant torque gain across the entire curve. That's a meaningful improvement.
It was no secret that a 383 was responsive to traditional hot rod mods. Some may even argue that modified 383 cars played the key role in establishing Mopars' legendary reputation for performance. The 383 B-Bodies in particular were everywhere, while the Hemis were feared but seldom seen. The 383 cars were performance machines for the regular guy, and were used, abused, modified, torn-up, and sadly, often thrown away. The 383s fought it out in the trenches, simply because they worked. People weren't afraid to modify their 383s, and we weren't going to be shy about souping-up ours. We had a program of bolt-on parts waiting to prove their worth, with the dyno being the final yardstick.
Truth or Lies
Much has been said of the horsepower numbers game in the musclecar era. Sometimes the claim is made that the gross ratings were wildly optimistic. In some cases the assertion is that certain engines were "seriously underrated." We've been here before, testing a stock 340 and a stock 440, and generally found that Chrysler was fairly accurate in its ratings compared to dyno numbers we've seen on other stock engines. We dutifully loaded our stock 383 onto the SuperFlow dyno at Westech to see how many of the 335 horses were real, and how many imagined. The 383 sparked instantly to life, and we were struck by how mellow it sounded through the factory manifolds compared to the open-header, big-cammed beasts we had been testing lately.
After the customary break-in cycle, we let the 383 fly. The readout at the end of the pull showed 335.2 hp at 5,000 rpm, and 392 lb-ft at 3,600 rpm. We adjusted the timing from 35 degrees total to 38, and ran a couple of backup pulls. The 383 responded with 338 hp at 5,000 rpm and 394.6 lb-ft at 3,600 rpm. No, Ma Mopar wasn't lying when she hung the numbers on the high performance 383.
We elected to go to a Mopar Performance single-plane M-1 since we wanted to encourage the short-stroke 383 to rev with subsequent mods. It bolted on with no hassles.
Power Mods
While 338 hp for any stock engine is respectable, we wanted to explore the power-producing potential of the 383. This time around we would keep the basic 383 long-block package stock, but shake out some of the hidden power with basic bolt-ons. Our first target was the same chosen by countless thousands of 383 owners over the years-adding a set of tube headers. We pulled down the Magnum manifolds and replaced them with a set of Hooker PN 5101-1 HKR metallic-ceramic coated 1 7/8-inch four-into-one headers. Was there much to be gained over the sleek high-performance manifolds? The 383 definitely thought so, posting 358.3 hp at 5,400 rpm, and 413.7 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm. The headers added a solid 15-25 lb-ft of torque across the full rpm range. That's added power you'd definitely feel.
The big Demon actually boosted torque right from the bottom of our test range at 3,000 rpm, and upped peak power to 367 hp. At the lower rpm levels it wasn't a matter of the increased airflow adding power, but rather, better fuel mixing. Up top the gain narrowed, likely because the intake was negating the airflow potential of the big carb.
Next, we set our sights on the original AVS carb. With only a guesstimated 600 cfm at hand, and the dyno recording over 1.8 inches Hg. of vacuum at wide open throttle, it was clearly short on airflow and costing some power. We went straight to the kill here with an 850 Demon carb. The 850 may be considered too much at this mild state of tune, but with our subsequent modification plan, it would be just enough.
Even though at this stage of the game we would be over-carbureting the 383 with the big Demon, we were confident it wouldn't be a detriment on the dyno. On the street, however, it may be a bit much for a stock 383 with headers. The added airflow was a definite improvement, with the 383 now edging up to 367.2 at 5,100 rpm, and 434 lb-ft at 3,600 rpm. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we found the big carb actually added substantially to torque in the low- to mid-range-as much as 25 lb-ft. Although the top-end numbers also climbed, the gains weren't as dramatic as lower in the rpm range.
The Demon carb was clearly doing a better job of mixing the air and fuel than the AVS. We knew exactly what was holding the 383 back at higher rpm-that heavy chunk of cast iron sitting under the carb.
We opened the engine, liberally coated the cam with the supplied lube, then slipped it into place. This Comp cam is ground on a 110-degree lobe separation angle, and we installed it 4 degrees advanced, putting the intake centerline at 106 degrees.
Our next mod, naturally, was to swap the stock iron intake for a modern performance piece in an effort to unlock the 383's breathing efficiency. Since we eventually intend to create a high-rpm screamer from our 383, we opted for a single-plane intake. Since Mopar Performance's M-1 has been the best low-deck street/strip single-plane intake we've used to date, it was pressed into service on our 383. With the intake change, the visual character of our 383 was transformed, finally looking like a performance mill. Our next pull showed that the looks were more than skin deep, with the dyno numbers now catapulting to 406 hp at 5,400 rpm, and 433 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm. True to form, we lost a handful of torque down low while going from a dual-plane to a single-plane, but we gained huge up top. The M-1 really unlocked the breathing of the engine, giving us a remarkable 400-plus hp with a stock-cammed, stock-headed 383. Yes, 383s can make power, and make it cheaply. We had a rebuilt stock engine, with headers, carb, and intake, and were churning better than 400 hp.
We just bolted the stock valvetrain back on with the new cam installed. Although not adjustable, the stock Mopar shaft-mounted stamped steel rockers are rugged.
Our final mod, not surprisingly, was a good old-fashioned cam swap. There was, however, nothing old-fashioned about the grind. Competition Cams has recently introduced a line of Mopar-specific grinds which take advantage of the Mopar engine's .904-inch tappet diameter. Mopars have a tappet diameter of .904 inches, while Fords measure .875 inches, and Chevys .842 inches. Why is this significant? The larger tappet raises the limit on the possible cam velocity in a flat tappet cam. This allows the cam designer to develop more aggressive profiles, giving a faster rate of lift. More lift means more open area at the valve, and typically more power than a lower lift cam of the same duration. Most cam profiles are simply designed to be compatible with .842-inch tappets, since it is the lowest common denominator, and will work with that tappet size or larger.
With the new cam, the engine had a noticeably racier idle and an angry growl up the rev range. We pulled it to 6,200 rpm, and found 455 hp at 6,000 rpm. Not too shabby for a stock 383 with headers, cam, intake, and carb. The 383 had picked up 117 hp with four tried-and-true bolt-ons. What's next? We'll likely shift our attention to building a hot set of heads to turn the wick up even more, and maybe even go to a solid flat tappet cam and watch that 383 scream for mercy.
We were eager to try one of the new Comp grinds, and ordered up an XE285HL-10. This is a fairly serious hydraulic profile, rated at 285/297 degrees gross duration and spec'ing out at 241/247 degrees duration at .050 inches, with .545/.545-inch lift on a 110-degree lobe separation. The cam was degree'd in at four degrees advance and topped with a set of matching Comp lifters. We were still budget-conscious with this engine and elected to retain the stock 383's valvetrain. Unlike some competitive brands of engines, the big-block Mopar hydraulic shaft-mount system is rugged. We upped the valvesprings at the same time to Comp's PN 924 dual-spring assemblies since the high lift cam requires more spring than the stock 383 cam. We used an on-the-head spring compressor from Powerhouse to make quick work of the job.
Back up and running, with the big stick, the 383 had a weightier thump. With the stock heads, the cam would likely not realize its full potential with our present combo, but we still expected a gain and expected to pull higher rpm. With that in mind, the dyno controls were reset to 6,200 rpm, and we opened up the 383 once again. It pulled cleanly through the revs and we now had a 455 hp 383. Peak power was actually 454.9 hp at 6,000 rpm, and 456.6 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. With the big cam we lost 5-10 hp at the bottom of our test range, but from the mid-range up the big stick just pulled away like a freight train for a gain of nearly 50 hp. The useable rpm range of the engine was extended by better than 500 rpm in the bargain.
We were impressed with the 383. Stock with the exception of the headers, cam, intake, and carb, we were solidly over 450 hp. That's dollar value per horsepower.
Is that the end for this 383? We'll likely revisit it a few issues down the line, looking to increase the head flow capacity and compression ratio. We can handle that in one swap. Maybe a solid lifter cam to up the rpm range, and who knows how far the under appreciated 383 can go.
Dyno Results
Tested at Westech Performance Group on a Superflow 901 Dyno
