Guest krescent Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 hey, if any of you guys read my last posts, i'm going to be building a V8 240z(1971) with my father very soon. (blah, but now he's getting iffy..i HATE it when parents do that..make up your mind! haha) Anyway, we are doing suspension work now, and will be heading to MSA sometime this week to buy swaybars, struts, headlight covers and a spoiler (which ill add later, someone told me to hang off on the bodywork for a while) ok so anyway, my question.. we havent purchased the actual engine/trans yet, and i havent been able to find (yeah, i searched) enough information to choose between a 350sb or a 383 sb engine. The main question is (putting cost on the side for now) is: although both engines are the same size..is there any more work that would be required to swap in a 383 rather than a 350? i mean, is it just as easy? does the JTR manual give enough information to be able to install a 383? a private message from Hanns said that i would need to "grind the block", and i'm not sure if we have the tools (or experience) to do that...except, I'm not exactly sure whats involved either. and finally, T5 and T56 transmissions are manual right? would they work with both engines? Thanks, and i am sorry if this post was made before, i tried my best searching -sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 If you are starting from a bare block BUILD A 383 or 396 stroker the differance in cost is only a few hundred dollars but the power potential is significant If you use an internally ballanced rotating assembly to build that 383 , that allows you to use the 350 style damper and flywheel/flexplate all the parts like trans and mounts fit and function the same and youll gain about 40hp/40ft lbs over a similarly built 350 engine don,t sweat the small amount of clearance work on the block, especially if you use (H) style STROKER DESIGN rods as they are designed for MAX clearance and the block work is easily done with a carbide burr and a ellectric drill YOU MAY NEED A SMALL BASE CIRCLE CAM, IN SOME APPLICATIONS FOR EXTRA CLEARANCE TO THE CONNECTING RODS heres a old post that will help Ive built dozens of 383 and 396 sbc engines and the clearancing can be done BY YOUR OWN HANDS with a standard HAND HELD drill and a few CARBIDE BURRS OR GRIND STONES in that drill in well under two hours if you take your time and total expence even if you need to buy that drill and burrs will be well under $50 total http://www.click-onsource.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=OVAL_1-4_Shank buy a 1/2" burr and a cheap drill http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20776&item=4358782476&rd=1 place you old bearings in the block an place the crank in those bearings after coating them with axle grease slowly rotate the crank and grind a minimum of .060 clearance anywhere the counter weights might touch the block and try NOT to grind more than about .070 any place it touches the block (use a JUMBO size paper clip as a gauge if you don,t have feeler gauges) next assemble two connecting rods and pistons, one connecting rod and piston for the left one connecting rod and piston for the right, use old bearings coated with axle grease and no rings on the pistons, assemble them to the crank and grind anyplace the rods touch the block, grind minimum of .060 clearance and try NOT to grind more than about .070 any place the rods touche the block (use a LARGE size paper clip as a gauge if you don,t have feeler gauges)move them to the next journal and repeat untill all 4 journals and 8 connecting rods clear. now assemble all eight rods and pistons without rings and install them in thier correct locations and recheck everthing carefully. next intall the cam and index it correctly with the timeing chain/gears, rotate the engine slowly and look for clearance issues, between the cam and rods/rod bolts ,youll need to use a small base cam if there are major clearance issues and thats almost always a good idea when building a stroker combo but in most cases if your cams lift and duration is under about 230 at .05 and .500 lift there should be minor if any clearance issues, usually the outside edge of a rod bolt head is the only area needing a touch up. once everything clears, wash all the parts VERY CAREFULLY ,TWICE and re-oil then send out to be ballanced [/color]now you might ask why do that! well, first youll know its done correctly, and that a correctly built 383 will have a very significant hp and torque advantage over any similar 327 or 350 http://www.bracketmasters.com/small_block_stroker_383_cu.htm http://www.prewittracing.com/newpage2.htm http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/showfla...true#Post676922 "Pardon me for being dense GRUMPY ..but what is being grinded upon, the block?" this may help the comon areas are the area near the block oil pan rail where the rod bolts touch and the lower inner cylinder walls and where the cam lobes touch the rod bolts upper shoulder on some types of rods, now you can,t grind on the cam, but you can grind the edge of the rod bolt and you can use a small base circle cam to give greater clearances http://www.karl-ellwein.org/2005engineprojects/388project.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest krescent Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 oh man, that was a fast reply..and unfortunately i'll be doing more research to understand everything that you mentioned (i'm 17, arent quite familiar with all of the terms yet heh...slowly but surely!) but thanks a LOT, I wasnt going to go with a bare block build, i mean, we wouldn't be converting a 350 into a 383, if that's what you meant. With that being the case, there's nothing to worry about then? oh and about the "H style rods" i just did a google search, came across this site: http://proformanceunlimited.com/specs/383_450drop.html looks a little shady lol, won't be buying the engine there..but it says it has "Eagle Cast Steel Stroker Crankshaft Assembled W/Tri Metal Clevite 77 Rod And Main Bearings Eagle H-Beam Connecting Rods W/ARP Rod Bolts (Good For Over 700HP) " this site as well: http://www.nolimitmotorsport.com/eagle/ that what i'm looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 your 17? ok step 1 buy AND READ SEVERAL TIMES the JTR swap manual http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html STEP 2 get these books and read them before going any further, it will help a good deal, while only the basic info is presented it still makes for a good knowledge base, and referance DO YOURSELF A HUGE FAVOR buy these books, FIRST it will be the best money you ever spent, read them, and you will be miles ahead of the average guy. youll save thousands of dollars and thousands of hours once youve got a good basic understanding of what your trying to do! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...F8&v=glance http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...nce&s=books HOW TO BUILD THE SMALL BLOCK CHEVEROLET by LARRY ATHERTON&LARRY SCHREIB http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...2699400-6836852 . HOW TO BUILD MAX PERFORMANCE CHEVY SMALL BLOCKS ON A BUDGET by DAVID VIZARD . JOHN LINGENFELTER on modifying small-block chevy engines how to build & modify CHEVROLET small-block V-8 CAMSHAFTS & VALVTRAINS BY DAVID VIZARD SMOKEY YUNICK,S POWER SECRETS STEP 3 read this http://www.chevyasylum.com/chp/Welcome.html step 4 buy and start with this engine, as its the LEAST EXPENSIVE way to start, and you start with a NEW engine with a factory warranty, at least up to the point you start modifications so you atleast start out with a good basic engine http://www.sdpc2000.com/catalog/3508/products/228960/290HP-350-Long-Block-Pre-Emissions-GM-Crate-Engine.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Mr. Grump: u r still miles ahead than others....always a learning experience and 383 kits are now affordable using the 350 parts and the aftermarket crank and pistons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest krescent Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 YES! i am so happy, my JTR manual fianlly came in the mail! so that's step one down. thanks for all of the info again grumpy, so as far as building the engine im guessing you suggest starting with the original 350 and building it up. I just got offered a rebuilt 350 (estimated 300+hp) and TH350 trans (although, i wanted to go with a T5) for 1,900, less than 10k miles...offered by one of the admin's here haha but anyway, i'll relay all of this information to my dad..sucks that i only see him on the weekend, (divorce is a killer for Z-construction heh) but thanks again heh, the forward: The basic installation goes like this: 1. Prepare the Chevrolet engine/trans for the conversion 2. Prepare the Datsun engine compartmnt for the conversion. 3. Mount the Chevrolet engine/trans into the datsun. 4. Electrical, speedometer, driveshaft, exhaust and cooling system. it sounds so simple....lol hopefully this project won't be sitting at my dad's house for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.