Okay, I know I've been asking questions about this for some time now, and I must seem like the boy who cried wolf, but this time it's for real. My boss just took his '70, convertible, SS, Chevelle to the shop today to begin it's frame-off restoration. The fact that he's putting a C6 drive train in it makes it hard enough to like him, the fact that he's doing this to an already pristine, nearly stock Chevelle makes it nearly impossible. The saving grace is the fact that he told me I could have the built 383 with 26,000 miles that is in it now to put in my '79 Camaro. CAN I DO THIS? What do I need to look for to make sure I'll get past smog? Is it possible to get past smog if I put all the smog equipment on it? Is there anything externally that will expose it as a 383 and not just a crate, replacement 350? I would rather have a free 383 than a $1500 crate 350 with 250 horsepower like I've been planning on just so I could drive my friggin car again.

Just remember, it's a 350. If the smog guy asks, it's a rebuilt 350, nothing special. Make sure you have all the emissions equipment for the 350 and it will pass the visual. It's not exactly legal but you can get away with it.

the only thing that might hurt you is the cam. what I would do is to put all the stuff on it & take it down to a shop & have them do a run on it & see how its doing. make sure that they DONT put the vin of the car into the computer or your dead meat. if it passes, then your golden if not, then you might have to replace the cam or adjust the carb or maybe replace the cat(s). either way you should be able to dial it in, if its mild enough. as Dave said............. "its just a replacement 350". If you get a smart one, he will know to check the dampener to see if its external or internal, just hope he does not stick his hand down there.

Bob

If you're up for the drive I can run the pre-test for you. ;)

Just remember, it's a 350. If the smog guy asks, it's a rebuilt 350, nothing special. Make sure you have all the emissions equipment for the 350 and it will pass the visual. It's not exactly legal but you can get away with it.

So I should avoid the temptation to put the "383" badges on the fenders? Damn, that would be so cool. Dave I will definately make the drive to take you up on that. I might need some help with the swap also, if I could talk you into that. Just name your price.
Aside from the balancer being a possible give away, is there anything else I need to worry about? Aren't there rules about casting #'s even on replacements?

If its a rebuilt motor odds are there are no numbers left on the pad on the block to give away year, so thats not a biggie. if its not a 400 then the freeze plugs will not give away the big CI block. I suppose they could lift the valve covers & check the numbers on the heads, but.......... I doubt they will bother (especially if there is all kind of smog stuff run not so cleanly across the valve covers).

So..... make sure that the manifold is "smog exempt" & you have the right carb & you should be all set.

I say put 502 badges on it & make him think your just some numbskull & then smokem as your leaving with your smog cert in hand ;) LOL.

Bob

What's your time frame Ryan? Hopefully early next month I'll be helping Batman to finally get his engine and trans in, and if we're luck it might even run. Now that would be different. ;) But I'm willing to help if we can work out the schedule. No charge of course.

I have never seen a smog guy even try to check engine numbers. Even when I went to the referee he didn't check the numbers. This is definitely do-able.

I installed a 383 in an 85ish buick regal once and it passed smog with no problems, it had a 305 in it stock and the owner bought all CARB legal performance parts (eddy intake, headers, rebuilt q-jet etc). The machine shop did a light port job on the heads and installed a smog freindly roller cam, she laid down around 300 hp to the rear wheels and idled like a kitten. The extra cubes help absorb a cam that might be a tad too radical to pass smog in a 350 or smaller engine. The trick is to keep the internals smog friendly, keep the cam duration below 225, use a vacuum producing 114 or above LSA and keep the compression below 9.5 to 1. If the compression is too high you will have a hard time getting NOx levels low enough even with a good egr system but HC and CO levels should be easy to control.

The heads on it right now are ported and are 10.1:1. Am I going to have to ditch those? Also, (my boss just got the blue print from the builder) it's not a 383, it's a 355? That displacement is new to me. Does that mean it has been bored but still has the 350 crank or the 400 crank and no bore or what? How do you get to 355? I haven't actually seen the sheet, I just passed him in the hall and he gave me this info. Also found out it's not the one in his Chevelle, it's in his buddy's Nomad and makes about 400hp. Don't know if that's flywheel or rear wheel, but I'll take it either way. It also has a built Street/Strip th350 behind it that I will have to pay for, but not much. Now I just need to find someone with a paint job they want to get rid of. ;)

30 over 350 = 355

put it on the smog machine & see what it does. dont look a gift motor in the mouth or write it off until you see the dyno sheet.

400 HP?????????? guestimate @ the crank.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. I was figuring as much on the horsepower. Still better than my stock 305 with a whopping 175! The 502 badging is a great idea. Do they make badges for the 572's yet?