deal or not on a 383 basket case?

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
" hey grumpy? Im 18 and new to this, engine build stuff,. later today Im going to go look at a 383 stroker engine,advertized locally, the guy says he had all the machine work done locally and has all receipts but after 200 miles it spun a bearing and he has it torn apart again and wants $150 for it, it is complete except for carb and cam.I was wondering what I should look for when I go and see it to make sure I'm not getting ripped off."



If you can, Id strongly suggest taking a far more experienced hot rodder type person with you,to inspect the engine,Id take a dial caliper and measure the bore on the block which should be 4.030 or at least 4.00,if its a 350 as there are a few 383 engines built with 4" bores and 3.80 vs 3.75" stroker cranks, if you don,t know any experienced car guys ID strongly suggest finding and joining a couple local hot rod or corvette clubs and finding the experienced members who work on their own cars and offer free labor as youll learn a great deal,as to the engine,as it will help a good deal in later engine work and making contacts in the hobby., it would be worth paying a machine shop to inspect the parts , if the blocks not damaged $150 is a good price,especially if its a good 4 bolt main cap block, the block, intake and oil pan, valve covers and miscellaneous parts alone are easily worth that $150 but youll need to clean out the blocks internal oil passages and have the block pressure cleaned and inspected, if you look it over and don,t see any cracks in the block or any damage but the spun bearing, buy it and take all components to a local machine-shop for detailed inspection,and I think ID avoid the shop the receipts show did the previous work if the engine only lasted 200 miles,and get a written bid on correct reassembly it might cost your a couple hundred dollars, for the inspection, and $400-$900 more to have the engine rebuilt correctly but you'll know what your dealing with,and youll know its not a 307 or 305 or a basic 350,
keep in mind it might be simply a case of a moron previous owner selling an engine he abused and busted or it might be some guy trying to unload trashed parts or an old 307 on gullible people, but remember a new 350 basic crate engines only about $1400


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