Shopping for a 383 short block

[Telman2]

My 350 started running like crap just before I put the bucket away for the winter. A friend offered to let me use his heated garage this week to work on it and long story short the block is cracked. I'm in the market for a 383 short block and was wondering if anyone here has ever dealt with either Revolutionary Performance and Machine in Tennessee or BluePrint Engines in Nebraska?

If anyone here know of other reputable sources for a short block I'd appreciate your input. I looked at GMPP but they want more money they I care to spend.

 

[akitagandy]

My 350 started running like crap just before I put the bucket away for the winter. A friend offered to let me use his heated garage this week to work on it and long story short the block is cracked. I'm in the market for a 383 short block and was wondering if anyone here has ever dealt with either Revolutionary Performance and Machine in Tennessee or BluePrint Engines in Nebraska?

If anyone here know of other reputable sources for a short block I'd appreciate your input. I looked at GMPP but they want more money they I care to spend.

These are good people check them out My link

 

[GT63]

I think I'd just go down to the GM parts dept and get a GM 383 crate motor, Part #:12499106.

GM Performance Parts

 

[Telman2]

I think I'd just go down to the GM parts dept and get a GM 383 crate motor, Part #:12499106.

GM Performance Parts

That was the first place I looked, cheapest price I could get within 150 miles of me is $3846.70

 

[putz]

summit gm short block
This doesn't look to bad. If you are looking for a roller version you are going to dump quite a bit of money in them. My 18 year old kid just had a 97 350 block bored and a scat rotating assembly put together and has about 2700 in it. Roller cams are like crazy expensive.

 

[Mike]

Without trying to point any fingers or disparage anyone's otherwise good name, I generally see red lights flashing and hear klaxons blaring when I see someone advertising a 383 SBC with a 'New GM block'. Why not sell it as a 377? No sense boring a a new 4.00" block that obviously doesn't require it. Leave the material there for the next freshen. Trust me, nobody is ever going to feel 6 cubic inches in the seat of their pants.

One of your examples advertised using an aftermarket crank. Our experiences with that particular manufacturer's cranks were they needed to be pulled out of the box and immediately ground .010 to get the journals round. Unless I mis-read something and it was actually advertised as an EGG-le crank.

If I were you, I would look for a reputable, local machine shop. Then you will be able to sit down with the owner/operator and discuss what you want to be done and what has to be done. You didn't describe the crack in your current block, but if it is confined to a cylinder wall you could easily sleeve the block. I can't begin to count the number of race blocks we sleeved through the years. (Remind me to tell you a story about a very prominent Ford Super Stock racer and how he sleeved blocks. Oh wait, he made me promise not to tell... :thumb If you can, shove a sleeve in there, touch-hone the other seven, touch up the valve job, polish the crank, fit a new set of rings and bearings and you can drive on.

I found there are a couple ways to assemble anything - the cheap way and the right way. And you will get exactly what you pay for.

 

[Francis Blake]

What Mike said. My building of hot rod motors is rather limited but I have gone through about 35 motors in my 70 years to fix any number of problems from piggyback bearings to bent rods and I only had to go with a different motor one time. Good luck and keep wrenching.

 

[Keith Bowman]

My 350 started running like crap just before I put the bucket away for the winter. A friend offered to let me use his heated garage this week to work on it and long story short the block is cracked. I'm in the market for a 383 short block and was wondering if anyone here has ever dealt with either Revolutionary Performance and Machine in Tennessee or BluePrint Engines in Nebraska?

If anyone here know of other reputable sources for a short block I'd appreciate your input. I looked at GMPP but they want more money they I care to spend.