I recently bought an assembled 383 from a good friend, he had been storing it in a garage and there is a very light coat of rust on the cylinder walls, just enough to keep it from fully rotating, what is the best way to get it to completely rotate the engine? Oil, kerosene etc? Let me know
BEST way is top knock the pistons out and clean everything up------------------but it's no where near being the easiest. Larry T
I would find another good friend with a plymouth coupe and a small block chevy and just give it to them!
ohhh I don't know maybe about 200 hp! I know jester's motor and I'm just giving him some shit! He was also concerned about the fact that its only a 2 bolt main, He's not gonna race the thing, should he be concerned?
Every small block Chevy engine that was built before 1968 was a 2 bolt main. I think they were pretty reliable, I wouldn't worry about it. Larry T
A lot of machinists believe that a 2 bolt main block is actually stronger than a factory 4 bolt. This is because the outer bolts weaken the main webs. Splayed bolts don't have the problem because they angle out into the sides of the block. Sometimes more is not better.
If he is that worried, the machine shop can make it a 4 bolt if the castings will support the longer main caps...but get the wallet out!!
If it is stopping it from rotating that's not 'light' rust! Depending on the ring package and your budget; you could marvel mystery oil it and try to rotate it back and forth every night until it free's up and then take it on a nice steady run (not blowing grandmas doors off) but just a nice hour long highway trip. That should (depending on the ring package) free it up and make it useable for awhile. It will never be as good as if the walls were clean and straight but that gets back to your budget and in what state of assembly it is in. Mike
Sorry Brandon.... I just got sick and tired of reading about those on other car sites... That's why I joined up on this site.
50/50 kerosene and ATF, and if worried about 2 bolt main just use ARP studs, I ran 2 bolts for years and never lost a studded bottom end.
A couple old guys I know always hyped up their 389" stroker 327's.....besides....its just a number Proud owner of a couple of those numbers
How many of us have actually thrown the crank out of an SBC, without something else going south first to cause it? That's what I thought.
no reason to worry about a two bolt main motor on the street everybody wants a four bolt main block but unless your gonna do some SERIOUS racin dont waste u dough
I'm gonna pick on ya a bit lol,, but didnt you try to toss one out at the white hall reunion a few years ago?????
I still need to take the heads off and take a look at the top but the bottom looked like very light rust I am guessing the rings are rusty but will not know till I take the heads off. By the way a 383 stroker IS a traditional hotrod motor from the sixties all you have to do is look at the old hotrod mags and they had how to's on how to build them, unless your meaning of traditional is flatheads which would mean hardly anyone on this site could talk about any motor. Just saying
They didn't, but they sure made stroker cranks and custom pistons back then. I saw 352s and 389s a long time before 350s and 383s became the norm. Larry T
4 bolt main blocks are way over rated.Not any stronger than a 2 bolt for the street.Splayed caps work well though.
I always asked for a '70-'72 truck motor (sbc) at a junk yard and I always lucked out with a 4-bolt block.... For the same price as a 2-bolt car motor..
The newer 2 bolt blocks that would be post 4 bolt mains have heavier webs and are a good candidate for a 4 bolt conversion or just leave them 2 bolt and don't spin them past 10,000. Larry T is on the right track. Pull it apart clean it up and reassemble.
I will keep you all updated as I progress with the motor, so do you all think that I should just pull the pistons or just do a light clean on the top side of the cylinders until it spins more freely?
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