There were also 2 Dodge 413s, the RB V8, and an industrial/ truck twin carb flathead six. I have a rarity, a 2bbl RB intake from an RB 383. It would have been cool to see dyno results between the two of them. P.S. your picture of the red "361" is an A series poly, not a big block.
One thing I remember about the 383 was most of them were quite easy on a gallon of gas despite their size. It wasn't unusual to come across customers with a four-barrel dual exhaust 383 getting 20 mi per gallon on the highway.
My dad was a supervisor in the bb crank dept. After they switched to 4 cyls, my dad brought home the last cast crankshaft, it wasn't machined, but was painted pinkish,purple with the workers signatures oll over. It sat in the shed for awhile, then he ended up giving it to someone else that wanted it.
My first car was in 1975. I bought a 1965 Dodge Polara automatic with almost 90,000 miles on it. Just the standard Polara. But it did 0-60 in just over four seconds. I paid $100 for it. I'm here to say that my 19 year old self lived through it. Good times.
My Cousin inherited our Grandparents 1959 DeSoto with the 383. The engine needed a rebuild, so he bought a rebuild kit for a 383 we had grown up with in the 60/70's. When he tore the DeSoto engine down, he found that the new pistons were much bigger than the ones that came out. WTF? That's how we learned about the RB 383....
I read about the RB383 25 years ago, and nobody believed me when I talked about it. Kinda similar to Ford's 351 mess in the 70's. The Windsor plant couldn't produce enough 351 engines to meet demand so they had the Cleveland plant destroke (Modify) thier 400 down to 351cid. A lucky buyer got a 351W, while others got a 351M lol
Engine masters took a B engine 383 and put it up against the 350 Stroker 383. They used the same cam specs, compression etc to make them as identical as possible. When Dyno tested the two engines made the same torque and horsepower. The rpm at which the peaks were reached for HP and torque were the same, if I remember correctly. It was a surprising result to the test. Every ne there thought the Chevybwould make more power at low RPM while the aB engine would rev higher.
Chrysler didn’t think very far ahead in regards of having 2 engines with the same displacement! It’s not like GM would make the same boneheaded mistake with the Chevy 350 Pontiac 350 Olds 350 Buick 350 Or the Chevy 400 Pontiac 400 Or Pontiac 455 Olds 455 Buick 455 With the exception of the distributor cap, I can’t think of any part that will interchange between all the different engines.
I heard stories ov er 45 years ago that Chrysler made both a B and RB 383, but I didnt know until now that they actually had different bore and stroke. Ive never actually seen a raised block 383, Ive heard they were only installed in one model of Chrysler, I cant remember if it was the Windsor or Saratoga. Ford did something similar with their 351 Cleveland and the tall block 351 M, but both had the same bore and stroke. Unlike Chrysler, they were not made concurrently, the 351 M replaced the Cleveland in 1975
Companies made funny engines or shall i say why they picked this version over the other? this makes me think about the famous 350 Chevrolet. The 400 block and 327 crank would have made a better version of the 350 than what we know of them today and use in millions of cars we love to play or drive. Not going to touch the 400 small block or the "400" 402 big block confusion. Do not forget the 351 versions as well as the 351/400Modified version boat anchor. I knew about the 383B/RB freak show and i like this video for it's explanation and clear up about them.
The 71 383 was lower compression,basically a smog engine..so the older 383's had more power than 71 version..You notice when you drive them when they were bone stock.I had a 69 Newport Custom 2 door with 383 4bbl,3.23 gears,duel exhaust all factory all stock..it destroyed my lower mileage mint 71 Newport Custom with 3.23 gears,383 4bbl and duel exhaust and I checked both engines out,compression etc..Both ran smooth,quiet,no oil usage etc..(Newport Custom was the top line Newport)
I do not know why a dealer should have a big problem identifying the different engines. There is a really obvious difference that can be readily seen between B and RB blocks.
There were also 2 Dodge 413s, the RB V8, and an industrial/ truck twin carb flathead six. I have a rarity, a 2bbl RB intake from an RB 383. It would have been cool to see dyno results between the two of them.
P.S. your picture of the red "361" is an A series poly, not a big block.
You're right about the 361! Thanks for letting me know. Wish I could change that! Would have been handy for the “Hemi to LA” video.
My Dad worked for Chrysler.
He owned a 1968 Chrysler Newport Custom it had 383 CID.
One thing I remember about the 383 was most of them were quite easy on a gallon of gas despite their size. It wasn't unusual to come across customers with a four-barrel dual exhaust 383 getting 20 mi per gallon on the highway.
My dad was a supervisor in the bb crank dept.
After they switched to 4 cyls, my dad brought home the last cast crankshaft, it wasn't machined, but was painted pinkish,purple with the workers signatures oll over.
It sat in the shed for awhile, then he ended up giving it to someone else that wanted it.
Awesome video I have seen the RB 383 in the wild in my buddy's junkyard... Had to sub.
My first car was in 1975. I bought a 1965 Dodge Polara automatic with almost 90,000 miles on it. Just the standard Polara. But it did 0-60 in just over four seconds. I paid $100 for it. I'm here to say that my 19 year old self lived through it. Good times.
My Cousin inherited our Grandparents 1959 DeSoto with the 383. The engine needed a rebuild, so he bought a rebuild kit for a 383 we had grown up with in the 60/70's.
When he tore the DeSoto engine down, he found that the new pistons were much bigger than the ones that came out.
WTF?
That's how we learned about the RB 383....
I had a 1968 Plymouth with the 383 cu in motor. That was a very strong motor.
I read about the RB383 25 years ago, and nobody believed me when I talked about it.
Kinda similar to Ford's 351 mess in the 70's. The Windsor plant couldn't produce enough 351 engines to meet demand so they had the Cleveland plant destroke (Modify) thier 400 down to 351cid. A lucky buyer got a 351W, while others got a 351M lol
Chrysler did the same old deck height switcheroo with the Slant 6 engine lineup too.
Thanks never knew that. Have 2 Dodges both with 383 4 barrels. Great engines!
My very first car was a 1970 Chrysler Newport with a 383 engine
Mine too! I paid $300 for it! Best car I ever owned. Named her "Marge" after Richard Bong's P-38 lightning.
Now that is some obscure content! I and I guarantee you, not many car guys know.
Engine masters took a B engine 383 and put it up against the 350 Stroker 383. They used the same cam specs, compression etc to make them as identical as possible. When Dyno tested the two engines made the same torque and horsepower. The rpm at which the peaks were reached for HP and torque were the same, if I remember correctly. It was a surprising result to the test. Every ne there thought the Chevybwould make more power at low RPM while the aB engine would rev higher.
Never knew about a 383 RB engine, l wonder if any are still around?
The 350 was the commando that you could get in the 58 fury, right?
One of the best motors
The 383 RB was very torquey. Reminds me of a Harley
Chrysler didn’t think very far ahead in regards of having 2 engines with the same displacement! It’s not like GM would make the same boneheaded mistake with the
Chevy 350
Pontiac 350
Olds 350
Buick 350
Or the Chevy 400
Pontiac 400
Or
Pontiac 455
Olds 455
Buick 455
With the exception of the distributor cap, I can’t think of any part that will interchange between all the different engines.
Awesome..thank's for the laugh..
I heard stories ov er 45 years ago that Chrysler made both a B and RB 383, but I didnt know until now that they actually had different bore and stroke. Ive never actually seen a raised block 383, Ive heard they were only installed in one model of Chrysler, I cant remember if it was the Windsor or Saratoga.
Ford did something similar with their 351 Cleveland and the tall block 351 M, but both had the same bore and stroke. Unlike Chrysler, they were not made concurrently, the 351 M replaced the Cleveland in 1975
Companies made funny engines or shall i say why they picked this version over the other? this makes me think about the famous 350 Chevrolet. The 400 block and 327 crank would have made a better version of the 350 than what we know of them today and use in millions of cars we love to play or drive. Not going to touch the 400 small block or the "400" 402 big block confusion. Do not forget the 351 versions as well as the 351/400Modified version boat anchor. I knew about the 383B/RB freak show and i like this video for it's explanation and clear up about them.
The 71 383 was lower compression,basically a smog engine..so the older 383's had more power than 71 version..You notice when you drive them when they were bone stock.I had a 69 Newport Custom 2 door with 383 4bbl,3.23 gears,duel exhaust all factory all stock..it destroyed my lower mileage mint 71 Newport Custom with 3.23 gears,383 4bbl and duel exhaust and I checked both engines out,compression etc..Both ran smooth,quiet,no oil usage etc..(Newport Custom was the top line Newport)
Gteay info! Thanks.
The RB version may have been torquey but would struggle to rev. The short stroke would be a LOT better
I do not know why a dealer should have a big problem identifying the different engines. There is a really obvious difference that can be readily seen between B and RB blocks.
I wish I could find an RB 383 and put it in a 60 DeSoto, just to be ornery and different.
Horse Power is torque times RPM divided by 5250. The only difference between back then and today is, back then they lied about Horse Power!
Those were the days though when Chrysler was Chrysler and not owned by some foreign company
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