I just have a few questions about it, i have been getting help from my older brother who knows quite a bit more about cars than I do. however he is used to working on a 350 not the 383 stroker motor i have, curious about how much difference there is between them. i got most of the car at a decent price, i just got back from iraq a couple months ago and this wonderful piece of machinery is what i decided to spend my money on. there are a few major issues that i am having before i can put the engine in, most of them i have solved by looking through the car craft tech articles but i still have a couple questions. first off i bought the gm hot cam kit with the 1.6 rockers, will the standard valve covers fit over these or will i have to go with tall valve covers, because thats a vast difference in price and im tryin to keep it as cheap as possible. next i am also needing to get an oil pan and i want to know if anyone has any suggestions on one for a high power motor, i was told to go with a pan that has the middle plate to keep oil from splashing up, and any suggestions on good cheap headers. and any place for some decent priced iroc wheels, a buddy had them on is old 83 camaro and they looked good so i thought to go with the 16x8's on this one. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Is this motor already assembled and/or is it a crate engine? Is the HOT cam and rockers you got for the engine the one for the LT1? Is your stroker engine based on the LT1 block? We need more info.  

i bought the block from a local machine shop, so no it is not a crate motor, it is a late model block(after 87) it has been assembled except for the valve covers, oil pan, and my older brother is putting in the lifters, dogbone, and tie down spiders(im in louisiana right now helpin out so i cant work on it but can get parts). its not an LT1 nor is the hot cam kit for the LT1 motor. its runnning vortec heads which means that it is going to be center bolt valve covers, in one of the car craft articles, i do believe for the 350 HO it looks like they use the regular valve covers am i correct in assuming this? if there is anything else you need to know please let me know.

I don't believe you will have rocker interference with the stock covers, but the only way to know is to check...

If this is a low RPM machine I wouldn't be scared of using a good condition stock pan. Only on high RPM machines above 6000 RPM that your gonna see some gains from a aftermarket pan and usually the gains are for quite a bit of dough. But if your set on something good of course Moroso is the best on the market.

for headers, try this PN- HED-68460 @ www.summitracing.com and see what you think

i appreciate the help, fortunately i was able to find some cheap heddman headers, starting small for now i am on a budget. i will be looking into moroso later when i have the money. as for the oil pans, i will be using a motor at about 6500 rpm, so i dont want to steal any hp from oil splash, what kind of oil pan would be recommended for this, i appreciate all the help i can get. still workin my way up to be a true gearhead.

Even though possible, to get a 383 to make power at 6500 RPM's it's gonna require a fairly large cam and good cylinder heads, and as RPM's get lower so do windage losses. If you wanna pay $200-$300 for maybe 10 peak Hp I guess you can, but you can get this same effect with good quality racing synthetic oil and a dirt-cheap crank scraper and windage tray with a stock pan. But If your dead-set on a aftermarket pan take a look at Hamburgers as well, they should be a little cheaper than Moroso stuff.

i was unaware of the crank scraper and windage tray idea, i am definitely gonna look into that first. not trying to spend any more money than i need to, tryin to stay on a pretty low budget. thanks again for the ideas.  

A 383 is simply a 350 with a 400 crank, no more complicated than that.  There is a little internal clearancing necessary but I will assume the machine shop has already done that.

To make a stroker motor turn that kind of R's, you're gonna need to run a big cam.  My guess is you'll probably need the taller valve covers, but you can get them cheap (around $30) from a dirt track supplier like Midwest Motorsports or Speedway motors.  A lot of people have no clue just what kind of stuff you can get from these places or how much cheaper it is that dealing with high-end drag race suppliers.

If you're planning on running this thing on the street, you're gonna have to be really careful about what you choose to do to the top end.  A vacuum reserve canister will be necessary to retain your power brakes. Crane Cams makes them, and I think Summit sells their own house brand.  Look into a newer computer-designed grind like a Comp Xtreme Energy or a Lunati Voodoo.  With Vortec heads you will need stronger valvesprings and you will also need to have your valve guides machined.

If you haven't done so, install frame ties.  Big torque + Unibody car = twisted unibody car = cracked widshield = car that won't go straight.  I prefer the welded-in types just because they're capable of doing more bracing.

i have done the valve springs, the springs that come with the gm hot cam kit are quite a bit stronger, 6500 is a rough estimate for now, but as i look at it 6000 seems a little better maybe even 5500. but thats to be determined upon my return. the valve guides were cut at a machine shop as was the clearancing issue taken into account. i have found out that there is a good chance the normal vlave covers will work but i am going to look into midwest motorsports and check prices just in case. i am going to keep updates on how everything is going just to see if i get any other good ideas to use on it. thanks again for the ideas