vk - where im at

[jessedevery]

ok, so ive wanted a vk since i was 14, im now 24 and my older brother wants to sell his to me, i dont really know much about the older ones...so anyway its a v8 383, im pretty sure im going to buy it regardless. Ive got it on very good authority that it needs a full rebuild with a new cam kit, now my questions are 1) ive been told that a new block will be needed cus if the old one is machined or whatever that it will cause heating problems, can anyone shed some light on this, essentially im led to believe that with a rebuild with new block and cam kit, it should be running close enough to a1 as i would like.... i dont know that much about the subject so please be kind

some things i know about it, its been blue printed, i think its got 750/850 quad pump carby (i dont even know if that sounds right) aparantly it was once a pretty mean machine but sat in a garage for a few years.... anything i should find out before buying...rough prices would be good, its costin me 1500 cus brother is desperate for cash

cheers

[mikee]

seems like a good buy..depending on whats wrong with it of course..
could be expensive to get rebuild if you cant do it yourself..

[ari666]

383 will cost you 5k+ so bargain.

dont worry about finding a new block, unless the old one is cracked or he has already oversized it to 60 thou and it needs a hone. i dont know what a "new cam kit" is, im guessing new cam and lifters, if you are going to do that, have a look at roller lifters, they are a fair bit pricey but will really open up a 383 (like you wouldnt believe)

just re-ring it. i.e. open it all up, check your tolerances, machine anything that may be out but otherwise throw new fileback rings in and new bearings and you will be laughing.

[VK SL 3800]

You would think you could get away with a hone unless its been run dry or had some sort of failure? Most heavily worked engines never get driven enough to get "worn out" so your bores should be ok after a quick hone provided they are not heavily scored. The go with the overheating is that when you bore your block out to far say anything past 60" as an example, the cylinder walls become to thin and lose their heat transfer ability, the walls are too thin to retain combustion heat effectively and get hot easier which makes your cooling system have to take more heat then it can handle out of the engine, thats basically what happens.