dead's 383 is dead
 

:( yep i have a .080" hole in number 2 cylinder that goes all the way through to the water jacket . there's another hole but not right through yet in another cylinder . i'm at .040" over now if i sleeve the two now then bore to +.060" who knows what i'll find .there was no water in the bores or oil but i'm sure it's cause the piston was covering it & being a short stroke it covered it always . maybe ? & i just sold a very good std bore 440 block 3 months ago for $1000 au & do you think i'm gonna be able to find a good b block over here NO CHANCE . by the time i re sleeve all 8 bores & machine the block & balance the rotating assembly ect ect i'll wanta top me self :D . so i think the best bet is to buy a short motor from the good ol US OF A . I've been in contact with muscle motors & trying to sort out the best deal i can . seems like a 400 block now with ground down 440 crank , h beam rods , forged pistons & comp cams XS290S solid cam & lifters assembled ready for my Indy heads for $3999us that's about as good as it's gonna be i think + shipping . i already bought all my bits to rebuild the 383 bar rods & pistons .WELL I'VE BEEN KICKED IN THE TEETH KICKED IN THE TEETH AGAIN :p . chasing my tail again & again & again YEAH i love it . well there ya have it folks zed's dead baby .;)

That 400 will be a great step up for you though. It sucks that you have to do it this way though.

i wouldn't want it any other way :D . you know what i hate ! there's always something a little bit better & a few hundred dollars more for every item . i'm sure 511 cubes is only $200-300 more for the crank , but then ya need better fuel pumps bigger lines , brakes , chassis connectors , wheel tubs big $ tyres that will fry too easily ;) . oh well it will suit me to a tee . just drains me of cash :( the only down side , it's only money though .:rolleyes:

Is there no other option than $4000 + shipping? Here are a few ads from the local Craigslist from Portland, OR.

Complete 68 383 mopar/dodge engine no inake or carb - $200

1967 440 short block rebuildable .030 over. forged steel crankshaft 7 good steel rods 1 bad bent. $200 can make up long block with extra parts. $300 call 503 761 4186

mopar 400 big block core all standard nice clean core engin not all greasy no cracks or problems 1977 casting short block with internals crank rods ect less pistons $200 with core 452 heads 4 barrel intake and tin $300 all parts are original to this block block only $200 head cores $100 rest of parts are free with block and heads purchase. call 503 761 4186

1978 mopar 440 with a torque flight trans with about 40,000 miles asking 500.00 0b0 call bob at 360 903 3218

For 4k we should be able to send you a container full of 400 blocks!

lol, i wish i had 4k

That 400 block and crank kit, what cid are we talking. BTW when I was in aus, the cars were rated in Kw in the ads. Do the rest of you blokes talk like that or do you still use hp #'s. I'm in the piss tonight, expect the filter to come off! haha Cant wait till Im 60 and can say anything I want and the family will just think I'm senile. No, I'm not senile I'M JUST A DICK!!!! HAHA! All shite aside, how'd you get that hole? And if you need a go-between for the muscle motors thing, just to check-up on, or look in, or anything, they are only an hour down the road from me. Feel free to ask.

how did this happen?

hahaha i know it's mopar paradise over there
 

i'm sure but it's the shipping that costs $$$$ . the problem is i bought that motor as a rebuilt engine . it just had a hole in the worn out bore that's what happens ya putting trust into a strangers hands , it's all a gamble . i'm not prepared to take that chance again . my ex mate ( bottlefed off yellow bullet ) bought a 633 cid chev from some NFL player over there he payed $18000 us + $2000 us to ship it from maryland , & it was missing rockers & valve springs & a few other bits & pieces . ( lucky for him other racers over there " good on em " chipped in & sent him over used but good parts to help him out . i can't see the point in getting another 383 or 400 block from over there paying heaps to send it here then sonic test it machine it ect ect then order pistons & h beam rods then send them if ya know what i mean . bang do it all at once & be done with it , i'm using muscle motors because there always in the amsoil challenge & the bloke who owns it wrote the blue mopar performance book i have so that's good enough for me . ;) thanks ol mate who posted the craigslist items :) .
btw $400 extra for the 511 cid i'll get it just because ...:D & young polara i don't really have the money to do it ether but i don't have a anchor holding me back ether ( girl friend )(. you should look into construction brother , even if you have to travel for the big dollars . there's heaps of irish & pommy backpackers down here in Brisbane Australia doing construction labouring , they travel the world following the construction jobs you only need to be keen m8 , there's 20 new coal mines opening soon & we just signed a huge gas deal with china it kicks off next year 19000 jobs starting . $1000+ a week that's just at the gas plant . k guy cya's

i only pulled it down to port the heads & put a 496 cid crank in it .

i bought it like that it ran ok though . i just got the block sonic tested before i ordered the forged pistons & h beam rods , the hole must of been smaller & the guy's at the machine shop must have probed it . then when we got it home we reamed it out with some wire , it won't seal now :D .

and if he works all day at the blue sky mine - there'll be food on the table tonight...

Im sorry to hear about your engine problems as i wish i new about this 4 months ago as i just gave a 440 block to a friend and if i only new i would of sent it to u if u could pick up the shipping but i do come across them time to time so if i get another ill make u the same offer as you just pay the shipping and dont worry i wouldn't shipp you a dud >>> <<< so keep me informed on what you do and if i get another 440 or even a 383 to 400 ill keep you in mind K :D

thank you mate
 

;) thanks what a wonderfull world .
i got great news today our indy dealer is gonna put my short motor in his container mid next month for $250 au that is wickedly cheap :cool: . i was expecting over $1000 at leased , i might get em to chuck a stud gurdle on now as well just for the hell of it . lifes good expensive but good :D hell yeah . i oh i oh it's off to work i go :D good night & god bless .

well well
 

another back flip as some of you may know i lost me job 5 weeks ago still no work yet . so i might have to take a S#$t paying job till i get a start back in construction . anyway i bought a set of aries ? spelling ?? forged dome top pistons off e bay 4 $326 us ( thats $520 au landed here ) in std 383 bore . so i'm resleeving all 8 cylinders in my block now & using my cast ported heads with the 545 lift / 262 @ 50 hyd cam that i have . it will run fine with the dome tops i will mill the domes to suit . i'm sure i'll still make around the 500 hp mark or there abouts . the plan is to just get it going again & take it from there . well thats all folks bye bye .

tried getting one from the UK? Google Duncan 'Cannonball' watts. He had some good used and refreshed Big Block motors for sale, much cheaper than your quoting in your posts.

sorry to hear about the job kelly. were goin through it over here too. just tryinto make it day to day now,.hopefully that motor`l hold together for you.

yeeha
 

ok i took my block , crank , rods ect ect to a diferent machine shop today & old mate knows about b motors . where gonna grout fill the block 2inches , he says that will ad strength 2 the bottoms of the sleeves ect and he also says i should go with 10.6 - 10.7:1 compression even with iron heads . he said all of his motors run that compression ( i have heard our fuel is better then yours over there ??) for $120 he'll flow 2 cylinders with inlet manifold & headers & with my lift :) so now we'll see weather i can port or weather i'm all talk . ( i don't think i'm good just having a go , these were the first 4 stroke heads i've done :rolleyes: ) also if i preload my lifters i should get over 6500 rpm . well he seems to think it will make 550 -600 hp maybe depending on the heads & should make very good torque . yeah i can't wait bring it on .;)

LOL, just dont get to happy w/ the drill you`ll do ok. I caught a guy mixing gas at a local station here. he told me he was mixing the fuel to make it a 20% ethonal ration. It wsa 5% a few years ago. the e-85 here for the price and milage wasnt selling no body`s using it, so they bumped up the mix to 20%, And you can tell the diff. my 440 wont run on 93 anymore, smokes like hell. real black. I have to run half 93 and half 114 racing fuel or it wont run.

93!!!!!!

Blimey our lowest grade is like 95/96 here usually. Most normal stuff is like 97 and you can buy 102 as road fuel here in some places.

None of my cars/bikes would run on 93, id rather not run them on it either.

wow. 97. we start at 86, then 89, then 93, thats all . and theyre all loaded with the ethonal. are you guys doing the e-85 over there?

Yeah a few places have that e-85 crap, but i know in some very modern cars with state of the art management really dont like it and have refused to work on it.

You can actually still buy proper 98 Leaded here in a very few outlets (although they are rare, they have given some stations licence to still sell it for 'historic' vehicles and some old race machinery )

Also, fuel in general, its expensive, you all know we pay about 5 UK pounds per gallon here now. That a LOT. robbing damn government putting so much duty on it.

Actually I think aussie gas is piss. Had my Harley there in 01 and it wouldnt runright unless I used the premium plus octane boost. It runs fine here on our 87. the octane formula is (R+M)/2. R= research, M=motor octane methods. The Poms and aussies use a differnt method for calculating the ROM, research octane method. This skews the formula comparison between octane #'s. I learned this years ago and never thought I'd use it again! Now I can forget it and have more room in my brain!

well thats wicked if our fuel is piss i'll go to the pub to fill up then (everybody piss in here .) well anyway my mate sent me a pick of my crank he spun it up in his lathe & deburred it rounded the webs & lightened it . he took it up the road to the machine shop & ol mate said thats great . it's getting fully balanced anyway . i need a 1/2" oil pick up now . and thats about it . hey what'd ya think about the heavyer diff / loss of 2mph & .2 of a second et ect ???