'Old Weaky' - Original 1970 383 Trouble Shoot - PART 2 

It’s kinda entertaining when things don’t go to plan and Nick gets flustered 🤣 it’s like watching my dad but without all the cussing and throwing stuff!

Tips >>> Back in 1973 Hot Rod magazine published a hot rod article on a 383 build which we copied. You need to get the compression up and the article said to mill the head .060" and take .073" off the intake side of the head. The head and intake matched up near perfect. A small carb spacer and a bell intake horn on top of the carb will help a ton. The carb should be flow tested with a emphasis on matching the flow. The distributer rotor should be tested for phasing. Dissect a cap to show rotor and post and see if the arc centers on the post when fully advanced. Grind flat spots on the weights so the distributer locks in at speed. Recommend a carb in the 700 to 780cfm range. The choke horn should not be milled off. Defiantly CC the heads as I remember our heads had a lot of variation. Just watching your video shows the back barrels dumping fuel 23:15 . Rear seal leak >>> had a terrible leak on a motor I couldn't fix. Cure>>> I put a dial indicator on the seal area of the crank and found it to be .008" out of round from the main journals.

Nick will get it right.... He's "OLD SNEAKY"!!

I have full confidence that Nick and friends will solve this even if it takes a total rebuild.

Finding new valve cover gaskets in the dark! Nick knows his way around the shop for sure!! Hang in there guys! 😺

Nothing better then Nick's garage that's for sure

We've all had those types of days where you gotta step back then come back fresh with new ideas. Nick's got something that should work better. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

This is why I watch Nick, not when things are easy but when they are not. I learn more in ten minutes from Nick and friends than anybody else

Ole weakly is gonna get some tweaky. Nicks determination to figure this problem out will prevail, ready for part 3 !

Dr. Nick, never gives up, never.

Valves are bouncing because springs are shallow. I have built racing engines 60+ years. During this time dyno numbers don't lie. Either shim for the valve seat and face being off or run stronger springs with enough spacers to pick up the spring pressures. Also rocker angles will be a problem because valve stems will be to high and angles will be wrong. Put on a set of adjustable 1.5 rockers, run them loose and you will see I'm right. Do that to just confirm what I'm telling you. Proper fix is a set of seats and valves with stronger springs. You are on the right track hound dog, just keep going! Don't coil bind the springs. Putting to much shim can be bad also, to much spring will run good but not long. To much spring will wear out the can lobes.

Nick, to prove your theory that sunk valves are the issue, you may want to consider flow bench testing the heads. If they flow poorly, then you found the problem. However, if they flow well, then the issue is somewhere else. This could save you a lot of time and customer expense searching for heads that may not be needed. Another option to consider if it is the heads, is to install oversize valves and cut new new seats. Much cheaper than installing new seats. Good luck, and we're anxious to hear / see what you find!

Dana "60" Glass. Nick, you're simply "The Best". You give your Customers, and us the Viewers everything you've got. I'm glad you're not giving up on the 383. Powerplants for Police cars, everyday dependability, and made the Road Runner the low cost street killer of its day. Looking forward to more torque. Maybe try a factory grind cam from 1968.

I have faith Nick will handle it. This is real life & Nick is such a wonderful person. Pleasure to watch him work.

Part three will be epic. A new aluminum heads with bigger valves ,YES 😊

I knew Nick wouldn’t let this rest - I can’t wait to see where he takes this. I’m not sure if it’s possible but if you’re able to show flow numbers on these heads versus a replacement set I’d love to see that (I’ve never seen flow bench testing). I’m all ears on this one - thank you!

Hi Nick, the Ford guys send best wishes to you and all the crew

Working on my 67 cougar 289 this weekend, put in new fuel pump, junk! Had to put another one in, put on new alternator, junk had to get another one! Its getting hander as i get closer to 70

Get mad Nick! Found out what's wrong with this 383. Every body a Hero! When things work out! But, The real Hero's fix the problems. That's you Nick! Our Muscle car. HERO! 😊 SHAWN.

Hi Nick, George & Manny, This 383 is named correctly! I'm anxious to see why this engine will not make torque. Happy to be here for another Monday video. Here We Go!!!

Very similar build to my 68, 383 out of our D 200 truck that Nick built that engine makes 401 hp and 425 pounds of torque took a little bit of tuning from Nick but this engine should be making close to that. There’s gotta be something holding it back ? But every engine has its own quirks, and is its own animal! Our engine loves 36 (Edit Total) that is where it’s happy which is where Nick set it up in his final tune and it still is today. I tried a couple different timing set ups. Once it was in the truck and hooked the transmission etc.. Ended up back on 36 because that’s where she’s happy:) Nick you’ll get it this 383 dialled in too👌

Cant wait for part 3. Nick won't be sleeping until this gets resolved....:)

I thought we already knew this. Wake me up when you really get to the teardown.

Know Nick for a long time, he's a master and never gives up, does the absolute best for his customers to make them happy. His passion is unmatched No doubt He will get to the goal of 425

I know you won't give up until you are satisfied and that's a good builder

Nick, Manny, Maverick and George. Great to see you guys persevere. You will get it. Great video!

DETERMINATION! You go, Nick😊

A pair of mule-heads would come in handy, just like Nick's collection of mule-carbs. Swap in a known-good assembly that's been characterized and see what happens.

Now that's dedication and professionalism!!!👍💯% Awesome to see it!👍

A wise man once said, well, nothing. He just rolled up his sleeves and did it.

Evenin Mr George an Mr Nick! Have a Great week!!

Sure is a great LOOKING engine. I'm rootin' for ya, Nick

It was like watching three Flashes building an engine! A blur of mechanical excellence!

My friend has one and it's one of the best running engines I have ridden in and I have ridden in a lot of Chrysler products over my 40+ years in the business.

19:35 voice over " Nick has said it a thousand times, just do it your self

Awesome!! A part 3. Hopefully you'll fix it Nick

Maybe it's cam timing... I've had camshafts that when installed straight up didn't run right. You'll get it figured out Nick, you're the man! Much respect to you and your team. Cheers!

Nobody on the planet id trust more to build me an engine than Nick"s garage!!!

Hey guys!!!! It’s ol’ retiree JJ here 😅😅😅 This is an interesting challenge on the 383: I heard Nick and Manny talking about sunken valves: maybe Nick could explain to the viewers what that is and how performance could be affected. Great content as always and great week, all!!!!

God bless nick. It leaves the shop correct. Thats why u have a great world wide view. God bless nick and friends) Mick Australia 🇦🇺

I definitely GUARANTEE you that 383 is going to be woken up by Nick!

One thing I like about these segments is the camera being left on for what appears to be throughout the process. Such as in this camshaft change. I couldn’t be wrong in the previous statement digital cinematography and editing is way more advanced than I can imagine. I noticed a couple of details that I think could add up to loss like this. First thing is the same timing set appeared to have been used on both cams. Second the intake centerline references were not verified by the footage of this video. I’ve built a few performance engines in my days and here lately it seems to be that there are more and more timing assemblies that have poor timing references on them. A few have been to the point of detrimental. Even that cam manufacturer can be capable of slightly misaligning the cam gear dowel pin. Either way the 175 lbs of cranking compression is a questionable metric due to sheer starter speed cranking the engine over. With that battery charger sitting in the dyno room I’m betting there is absolutely no chance of falling short on cranking amps. The starters always seem to work well in these video footages. In conjunction with what I’ve stated the next question is pushrod length. More directly lifter preload. Milling those heads .020” will get you more lifter preload. Especially if the valve stem tips were not adjusted. Directly speaking towards the last 383 Chrysler engine I machined. I found that the two heads had a 10cc difference between the two straight off the engine. The particular chamber size on that engine required .006” of milling to remove 1cc of chamber volume. It was verified with a burrette. So obviously one head had been taken off and milled .060” more than the other this was a numbers matching engine with matching casting numbers and dates and by all metrics we could obtain it was the original set of heads. Either way the valve stems were the same length on both heads. Not to say the lifter preload was the same it was vastly different when checked closer. When we do not take care in adjusting our valve stem lengths on these heads with non adjustable rocker arms we introduce all kinds of inconsistencies to our valve seat timing and it can flat work to squish out the performance of an engine just like this. I’d be for scrutinizing the timing assembly as well as the valve stem lengths. Not the lengths on just each head but cross verifying valve stem length with the same intake valve measure in both heads to make sure we understand that valve spring heights and seat depths are somewhat consistent. The fact is we’re dealing with an engine that doesn’t flow much air especially with the stock manifold. There isn’t a ton of compression to play with. The cubic inches aren’t huge by large. So this makes valve timing events that much more critical to scrutinize. A few degrees here a couple of inconsistent valves tips there. It can all be seemingly innocent to the point of permissible and give results just like this. That engine sounds nice. It’s just being verified in the overall without details being verified from what I can see. I enjoy the content and I hope this advice is taken positively and further I hope it helps out.

I had a 69 383 that gave me a very similar issue after a rebuild. Turned out to be a crank/ cam gear indexing issue. Changed over to an indexable/ adjustable timing gear set.I forgot what Isky cam I put in it. It ended with an increased to 507/horse 517 torque. Tuned Thermoquad, Iron heads with new valves and cleanup porting in both pockets. A set of long tube Hedmans modified from the 90s with 3 1/2" diameter collector with 2" deeper barrel added to collector( cut and weld) kind of like what TTI does now.

Don't worry Manny is here

Good times 🎉 I liked the teamwork. Working together in perfect unison 🎉

My brother had for a while as one of his many horse traded cars back in the 70's a 383 road runner with 4.10 and automatic. The thing would rock, gapping most cars in the Woodward stoplight grand prixs, except things like 440 six packs, hemi's, and solid lifter BBC's. It would routinely rip motor mounts out, and finally had to be chained down. One thing he said he had to do though, was keep the thermoquad carb. For some reason, the power just plain died when he tried to go to a holley carb for more power, no matter what tuning and adjustment. Put the thermo back on and it was back to being a hooligan. As far as I know, the rest of the engine, cam and all, was stock.

My 340 6 pack Dart Swinger had polyurethane bushings throughout.And they all squeaked. I called it old "squeaky" LOL😅

The music and suspense in Ni c k's garage deserve recognition, and a new category of show biz award.... Where's Leo?

Hey Nick thanks for sharing. I couldn't remember if you milled the head or the block. But if the piston is still .050 in the hole, not really that good...But you know that..Hope you figure it out!

Looking forward to part 3. I am surprised that Nick didn't look over the valves/seats while the heads were off the engine. If the other shop who built the engine was supposed to be a performance builder, then I hope that Nicks passes along the problem and the fix. Having the right seat angle and valve angles and valve setup is an important part of building power. A tiny amount of bowl and short radius cleanup will go a long way toward Nicks goal of 425+ torque.

Insightful..Awesome..So MUCH KNOWLEDGE!!!

Nick is the Wedge Whisperer 😊

Very exciting. I love a mystery and can't wait to see this engine on its way back to another Nicks Garage proper running engine. Incredible to follow this. Thank you Nick and crew

I have owned and driven three 383 powered 1968 Mopars. Absolutely loved all of them.

Maybe you could buy a set of oversized valves which would raise them up on the existing seats

.. I believe ,from what i've seen, it's ignition (cap/rotor/plug wires) also that's not nearly enough cam for the 383. Just my opinion.PEACE GRD Thanks for airing the videos, they're fun. You're common sense is quite refreshing, (watch the aggravation, it's a peice of metal , it'll do what you tell it, no more!) again PEACE

Although it is frustrating and a lot of extra time X 3 or 4 guys, the 383 was always a good torquey engine and high revving. If it wasn't, tens of thousands of guys would not have had them in their Mopars. It has gotta be the valve train that is not up to snuff. Thank you for two very insightful videos George.😊

I'm not an engine builder but on all the TV engine shows they make a big deal out of degreeing the cam, never saw them do that

Last week Nick was not happy with the result of his toil "Old Weaky" started to make his blood boil and was leaking oil Nick hasn't got time to frown and he's not gonna let any engine treat him like a clown So it's all hands on deck for a dyno room tear down To identify the loss in torque Nick's Garage walks the walk Why and how? Hes shaved the head down 20 thou Formulating a brand new plan Nick is installing the clients original competition cam Manny and Maverick are on hand Nick's Garage is skillfully manned They've finally found the leak from last week Nick has gaskets in stock for rocker covers and head or block so he can do quick changes when there are horses to seek Nick speaks from his heart he can't hide his dissapointment that's why he's respected by clients and fans alike and so popular you gotta book an appointment Nick's Garage is flexible They'll do further research and development cuz giving clients what they need pays the rent Minor setbacks Nick's confidence will never dent Thanks Nick George Manny and Mav All fantastic friends to have

As a Mopar guy, you do not have to pull the intake manifold to pull the lifter out and put them back in, remove the rocker shafts and they will come out through the push rods hole. Especially on 906 or 452 heads.

Nice video Nick and friends.

Love this...people need to understand that taking old cars and refurbishing them....

Old engines are like good women. Little stubborn every now an then )

Just a guess like everyone else. But I am thinking valve springs. I know Nick will find what the issue is. They will redo the heads and get the valves right and springs right. Then we shall see. The good feeling will come when you get the torque you are looking for. That is a good feeling you get when you accomplish your goal. Good luck Nick. I will be watching this with anticipation.

Awsome Monday dyno , this is why I had a 440 swapped in my old 69 roadrunner lol... Good job fellas 👍 ☕️

Other than being down on power that engine runs like a sewing machine. No ticks or strange noises and it looks as if it is very well balanced. I’m with Nick on the heads. Sunk valves equal shrouded valves. Either that or the wrong numbers were put in to the setup on the dyno program.

Good thing Manny is there..

Well Manny id rather see you backing up Nick than anyone. You and George are awesome msinstays to the team. And Manny was very patient!

A apologize for the delay in getting the numbers. They are a dished type piston sitting .014 below deck on this '68 block and it has never been decked. I have no idea if they are forged or not. Being a dished style I have no doubt you have no interest in them. I've held onto them for so long only because they are still good pistons and there will come a day when somebody will want put to their stuff back together in numbers matching fashion. These are just one more part in a list of oddball rarities, like the super commando cam this engine has. I hope that helps you reference whatever issue you are dealing with on this weak 383.

I don't know for as good as this guy is supposed to be he sure does like to do things over and over

It's a lot harder to get 9.5:1 compression with 906 heads on a 383 than most realize. With low compression, cam events have less effect on the overall HP and torque curves. You could advance the cam timing some to help the torque, but you'll lose HP in the process. Other than an intake swap, this engine is what it is. The only thing that can help it is more compression.

Nice video Nick. This is off topic, but I had to charge the battery in my show car the other day and I wanted to share. The clamp would not go over the positive clamp bolt because of a ring connector on it. I put a small pair of Vice Grips on the bolt and then the clamp on the pliers. Worked great without scratching the battery cable ends. Just following your tips.

There was a reason these engines came from the factory with thermoquad carbs. Heavy cars w/poorly designed motors needed small primary carb throttle bores to make low end torque. Short stroke and big bore needs camshaft, big carb, big heads and high rpm to make any power.

You guys are Litterly engine masters !!!!

From a Mopar engine builder on the other side of Canada. One option which would be much more effective. Cost and performance minded. Instead of completely redoing another set of heads. A set of larger valves would be a much better option. 2.14-1.81's wake up the old cast heads and will renew the seat height to factory spec. 28 degree back cut on intake for increased low lift flow. Along with the proper bowl blend of course. Don't forget to account for possible different pushrod length with the 0.020 milled heads. Or we can shim the rockers up. My first real engine I built decades ago was a pump gas street 383 which made 515hp using 906 heads I (fully) ported. Along with all the other goodies of the time. The larger valve size will also clear 4.25 bore especially with the moderate under .500 lift cam being used. Increasing the bowl size with the larger valves but still keeping the runner volume the same size will boost TQ and HP right from off idle and throughout the modest RPM range of this 383.

Simply like that attitude Nick and having that you will get your 425 plus toque I'm sure, have a beaut week ahead till next time Nick & Team.

Take an underwhelming 383, order a 489 stroker kit (4.280 x 4.250) and hang on to your socks! It's been a few years, but the last one I did was a drop in, no clearancing required to the block. The customer supplied the kit from 440 Source, Icon forged pistons/H beams/steel crank. It's cool that you're bound and determined to hit a goal with a relatively stock engine, manifolds included.

Wow ! You’ll get it mr nick!

The best nick meltdown is when he gets a ford motor that wont start. Ford motors are his nemesis and his phobia 😂

Ok gang.. Had A 1970 road runner 383.. 30 over TRWs.. Iski cam and all the best bolt on goodies.. Mallory racing dist with 40K volt coil. 855 holly. On a singelplane high rise man. And the topper is headman 2" promary tubes into a 4 inch collector.. And finaly ballanced and blued.. It made 425 hp and 450 fp tork.... These 383s will run with the right combo of parts.. Have fun...

Is it possible that the engine had 1.6:1 rockers on it and when he had it rebuilt could they have put stock 1.5:1 rockers? That could be the torque difference.

Wallace compression calculator shows. 8.45 CR. With Negative 0.050 deck. 0.020 gasket. 84 CC Cylinder Head. Not sure of head cc on your engine. Worth checking out. Really enjoy watching your show

Drill a hole in the plug tower from old cap when you know where #1 is, advance distributor until the rotor end disappears. It will start happy if something else is not messed up.

and it's a shame that the engine doesn't work as it should...and it's so nicely painted orange 🤔🙂

It is good see these troubleshooting videos. I've had cars that felt like they had much less power than they should have. I usually found reasons as I tore them down. But all the usual suspects have been eliminated. If the valves are sunk, it lowers compression, but cranking compression was very good. Can sunken valves disrupt air flow? Disrupt the flow past the valves into the ports? I doubt it. If it were my engine, I would try some low cost aluminum heads before I would swap out one set of stock heads for a potentially better set. For a cruiser this engine seems fine to me.

We learn a lot from Nick keeping the classic muscle up and running. When those heads come off and an inspection of the valves should reveal something. There used to be 'towing' or 'torque' cams that had less duration but higher lift. Maybe one of those would help?

It seems that back in the old days some motors simply had "it" and some didn't. Most times you couldn't put a finger on the reason why. I can't wait to see what you find is behind this doggy 383.

This is why I watch Nick and why I have watched him since the beginning of the channel almost. Nick is the best thing since indoor plumbing, sliced bread, and the invention of electric. I don't understand why you are cursed by 383's. I hope you get the success that you want to get the matching #'s car and I will be patient for you to see you light up ol Weaky . I'm a Chrysler fan from way back but I like all old school muscle cars. But I wish you a good morning and enjoy your Wednesday today.

The short stroking Mopar 383 engines were NOT known for huge amounts of Torque... Mainly because of the short 3.375" stroke... The earlier long stroking (3.750") 383's did create higher torque because of the 0.1875" radius increase , which gave that engine crank higher leverage at lower rpm. even with the stock 4.030" cylinder bore diameter on this early RB engine that was introduced in 1959... But the later B Series engines (361 & 383) which were introduced in 1964, the stroke and deck height were reduced... This also reduced the maximum torque, but increased the maximum horsepower available that this displacement put out... BTW, Just about ALL of the naturally aspirated engines built during this era used MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure -.AKA: Manifold vacuum) to drive several Accessories including the brake boosters . There was a different kind of vacuum that was used to operate the distributor timing advancer units... It was known as 'Ported' vacuum (AKA as: Dustributor vacuum, Venturi Vacuum) which did the REVERSE OF WHAT MAP does... It increases with higher Throttle opening, where MAP decreases with higher throttle opening...Hooking this up correctly - could ensure higher numbers on the dyno testing process...

Nick, you are doing the same thing I would do keeping at it till it is where you want it Right on👍

Nice all hands on deck!

Back in the 80's when 60's when I could afford a good Chrysler product, one of the weakest 383 l owned was in a 69 Roadrunner, and the strongest was a 66 Belvedere and both were 4 speed Vehicles

Nice job Nick...good to see Manny....great content and thanks 🔧🔧👍

Hey Nick big fan just wanted to mention that a factory 383 only makes 335 horsepower that's what those engines were rated at by Chrysler for like 1966 to 1971

Timing in the cam might help 😄👌

Makes a guy feel good when you see an old pro having the same issues as us hobby garage guys. I have always dreaded getting the distributor right after a removal

Great tip for valve covers never would have thought the manifold would push the tabs over

I didn’t know Manny was a ford guy, should have known by the fantastic hair! 😂 does he have any old ford muscle cars? I could see him in an gt500 mustang 👍

For us civilians this is the most entertaining and informative. I've never rebuilt an engine so what if I got Ole Leaky and Weaky to try ? Yikes !

Years ago I had a 69 mk3. Rusty old Lincoln 460 used to blow the doors off those roadrunners 🥳 17 mpg hwy reg gas 😮