What Makes The 383 Stroker Engine So Special & How Much HP Can It Produce?

The difference between a stroker engine and a regular engine lies primarily in the choice of crankshaft. In the case of the 383-cubic inch stroker, engine builders would modify crankshafts designed for the 400-cubic inch small block Chevrolet V8 and place them into modified 350-cubic inch Chevy blocks. Since both of these engines belonged to the class of engines collectively known by the name small block Chevy, or SBC for short, the modifications required to make them work together were minimal.

The 383 stroker was special because the parts required to build one from scratch were plentiful in nearly any local junkyard from its inception in the 1970s and continuing well into the 2000s. The donor-350 engine block didn't have to be perfect. In fact, without boring the 350's 4.00-inch cylinders 0.030-inch oversize, the resulting displacement would be less than 383 cubic inches, so a little cylinder wear was fine. The key ingredient is the crankshaft of the 400 SBC with its 3.75-inch stroke replacing the stock 350 crank with its 3.48 inches of stroke.

There's no question that increased displacement is one of the most significant advantages the 383 stroker has over the standard 350 SBC. However, if the only goal is more cubic inches, why bother with modifying an old 400 crankshaft to fit into a 350 block? Why not just rebuild a junkyard 400, one of the biggest small-block engines of its time? The problem with the first-generation 400-cubic inch SBC was its reputation for overheating issues due to the siamese-bore design of its larger diameter cylinders, especially when modified to increase its power output.

In addition to more cubic inches, the longer stroke, higher piston velocities, and quicker fuel mixture burn times allow the 383 stroker to make more power than the 350 small block. There's a lot of debate around the torque advantage gained by increasing an engine's stroke length. While there's obviously a point of diminishing returns at higher rpm, the benefit is more widely accepted at lower rpm ranges. 

However, a longer stroke also increases piston velocities, which could limit maximum rpm in some applications. That said, for most scenarios, the higher velocity increases the turbulence inside the cylinder. This turbulence aids the air-fuel mixture and allows faster, more complete combustion. Finally, the increased velocity allows the 383 to pump more air/fuel in and more exhaust out of the 383 stroker engine.

Depending on the performance of the components, such as cylinder heads, camshaft, piston compression ratio, ignition system, and fuel delivery, a well-built 383 stroker could produce upwards of 600 horsepower. You don't even have to source any parts from the local junkyard these days. The BluePrint Engines 383 stroker long block is one of the cheapest V8 crate engines you can buy, and it's rated at 436 horsepower and up to 443 lb-ft of torque. This 383 stroker features BluePrint Engines custom aluminum cylinder heads, 10:1 compression ratio, and hydraulic roller camshaft for $5,749. A complete version, including air cleaner, carburetor, plug wires, and spark plugs costs $6,649.

If you have a larger budget, consider the supercharged 383 Chevy stroker from Prestige Motorsports. This 600-horsepower model delivers 550 lb-ft of torque, is advertised as drop-in ready, and is priced at $24,999. A polished Weiand 6-71 blower sits atop dual carburetors complete throttle linkages and fuel lines, and an MSD ignition system to light it up. Cast aluminum cylinder heads, forged aluminum 9.0:1 compression ratio pistons, and a hydraulic roller camshaft are all included in the complete engine build. On the other hand, there's something to be said for gathering the required parts to build an old-school custom 383 stroker on your own.