blueprint 383 TBI

[whitelightnin92]

i was looking at the 383 by sneding and it has no warranty. it also doesnt include a chip so theres no base tune. it is also the old style HEI and has a pre 86 style block.

[whitelightnin92]

wich 383 do guys think. the blueprint, the jasper 383 or smeding, or build my own. what would serve me best

[the_target]

Well I have one of these and its running great

http://motorworksengines.com/CH383DDHR.php

comes with a 5 year I think

[GreaseDog]

build your own (or have a local machine shop do it) with a mail order engine, warranty issues can be a real pain. Jasper engines are junk.

[dromero5]

I have been researching this setup after I grenaded my previous 350 I built as a result of the threaded insert that extended the wing nut on the air cleaner made its way into cylinder #3. It seems to be the most solid build for a 383 TBI setup. Even Brian at TBI chips recommends them however he does not program the custom chip as they refuse to tell customers to run higher fuel pressure than stock and Brian attests that you need at least 15-18 lbs of fuel to correctly fuel that motor with 454 injectors. That aside they dyno every motor before they ship it and they get 315 hp with 350 injectors. Surely with a bored out Edelbrock TBI intake and 454 injectors it will probably squeeze 10-15 more ponies out of the engine. The cam is a mild cam but should be good for low end torque. It also has impressive parts like the Scat crankshaft and presice machining. I think I will be purchasing it in the next few weeks myself.

[the_target]

On mine I have a CFI-TEC bored TB with 68# injectors, bored out edelbrock TBI. running at 15# of pressue. I chose not to go with the 454 injectors due to having to pass emision and it tunning to rich. and is soon to be whippled, I will have to say the motor jumps and scoots very nicely, But bigger injectors are a must

[dromero5]

Just ordered my Blueprint 383 with the aftermarket heads. Scored a great deal on it. RockAuto.com had the engine for $4088 and I had Summit match the price and even got an additional $50 for a Christmas special. Should be here next week. Can't wait to see how it runs

[whitelightnin92]

let us know what you think of it

[dromero5]

So got the engine in and got it fired up and broke in. The Westers Chip that I got proved to be way too rich for this altitude and have some major bogs off idle and everytime you accelerate. Lyndon is working on correcting it. Initial impressions is that it is definitely not as strong as the 350 TBI that it is replacing. Seems like the Trick Flow heads, 12-256-4 Comp Cam, 1.6:1 roller tipped rockers on the 350 really made that engine perform. The 383 has as much torque but not the mid-top end power the 350 had. In retrospect I should have re-used the trick flow heads, used the same cam and ordered a 383 shortblock. Hopefully a change to 4.56 gear will rejuvinate some of the power I am craving

[whitelightnin92]

you can always swap the heads and cam later on

[dromero5]

Yeah, I just hate having to go through the nightmare of mail order computer chip burns. Even with datalogging it can take 3-5tries to get the chip close. I don't know why Blueprint doesn't us a more friendly computer cam. Lyndon states that it is a carburetor cam that is somewhat tuneable but they could have used a more aggressive cam( more lift )with a LSA closer to 112 degrees and made better power that way. I am almost convinced I need to learn how to start doing my own computer programming, although it is a steep learning curve. I think the heads are okay they don't flow as good as the Trick Flow heads but they are real close.

[va454ss]

The tune will make or break the performance.

I installed a 496 after the original 454 in my 90 spun a bearing. Even after quite a bit of street tuning, I wasn't impressed.

I finally got it to the track. First pass was a 13.30. The 454 had gone a 13.34, so it was a big let down. Eight passes later I laid down a 12.43 and the tune is far from perfect.

It is a steep learning curve and somewhat frustrating but DIY tuning will yield the best results.

[dromero5]

Updated chip installed and bog issues are gone however, the engine struggles to idle in open loop and surges really hard in closed loop with no load on engine. I also noted WOT is now leaner than i would like and you can feel lagging in acceleration. I found a superflow dyno 60 miles away where they can real time tune the engine. For $500 bucks i am thinking it is worth the trip. I agree with others who said it is almost impossible for mail order tuners to get it spot on. I think I am going to do one more datalog with Westers then make the trip for the dyno tune. What do you all think?

[whitelightnin92]

sounds like your lean everywhere. try raising FP a couple psi?
in person tune is the only way

[dromero5]

That's funny you said that because that is exactly what I did. I raised the pressure to 15 lbs and Lyndon then told me he wanted the logs of the fuel pressure at 13PSI. I reduced fuel pressure and did another datalog. It is running rich in the 2400 rpm range but note there is a flat(lean) spot around 1800-2000rpms.

[whitelightnin92]

yup that the only bad part about raising fuel pressure. its linear so you cant go too far without tuning for it or youll be rich. did the added fuel make it run any better?

[dromero5]

yeah I lowered the fuel pressure and Lyndon said it was perfect for closed loop, but the darn thing bucks and surges and the onboard A/f ratio gauge indicates lean. I am bumping up the fuel pressure to where it was that is too dangerous to be running it that way. Think I might have Brian take a spin at burning me a chip as I never had much if any driveablility issues other than his chips being rich in open loop, but at least it would cold start in the morning.

[dromero5]

UPDATE
4200 miles on engine. It burns a 1/2 quart every 150 miles. Blueprint has been great at calling me every week wanting an update and wanting me to do all of the work, when really the rings never set up and they aren't being realistic about me sending the engine back. They think it is a valve stem issue but engine does not burn or smoke upon start up. Plus it is blowing by and oil is going all over the valve covers from the breathers. Ugh! Should have went local!!

[GreaseDog]

told ya so...

[93V8S10]

Originally Posted by dromero5

UPDATE
4200 miles on engine. It burns a 1/2 quart every 150 miles. Blueprint has been great at calling me every week wanting an update and wanting me to do all of the work, when really the rings never set up and they aren't being realistic about me sending the engine back. They think it is a valve stem issue but engine does not burn or smoke upon start up. Plus it is blowing by and oil is going all over the valve covers from the breathers. Ugh! Should have went local!!

Thanks for giving us the low down, I had wondered if those engines were any good or not.