When I bought the car, it wasn't for originality. I bought it because I love 68 Chargers and this one had a body that I'd call 90%. I knew I had mechanical work ahead of me, but I prefer that to body work. The engine, trans and rear in this car supposedly came from a 1970 Road Runner. This somewhat checks out because the stamping on the block reports a 1970 383 HP. But the motor was rough. It was running on 6 cylinders as it had 3 cracked valves in two different cylinders. So I changed the heads. While I was in there I swapped out the intake, cam, lifters, timing chain, carb, fuel filter, air cleaner, plugs, gaskets, thermostat, bolts and water pump. So basically I have a fresh top end and a largely unknown bottom end. But since the motor feels so strong, I saw no reason to do a full rebuild. It doesn't leak or smoke. If it ever dies, I might end up with a crate motor (500), or maybe I'll build a 440 for simplicity. Although I must say, I've been impressed with this 383. People seem to think the 440 (or 426 Hemi) was the only hot motor you could get. I might keep the 383 just to be different. Or maybe I'll stroke it and make a 431. That might be pretty sweet, and I could re-use a fair amount of what I already have.
| What | Description | Part number | Approximate price |
| BLOCK | 1970 383 HP (factory 335hp/425lb-ft) B-block | --- | came with car |
| CRANK | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| CONNECTING RODS | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| OIL PUMP | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| OIL PUMP SHAFT | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| PISTONS | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| CAM | Summit cam/lifters (224/234 .465/.488 114 centerline) | --- | --- |
| PUSHRODS | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| TIMING CHAIN | Cloyes true double roller | --- | --- |
| HARMONIC DAMPER | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| WATER PUMP | Milodon aluminum in factory original housing | --- | --- |
| OIL PAN | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| HEADS | remanufactured Mopar 452 castings | --- | $500 |
| ROCKERS | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| VALVE COVERS | factory steel 383, have die-cast Aluminum Mopar covers | --- | --- |
| INTAKE | Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum | --- | --- |
| CARB | Carter AFB 750cfm mechanical secondaries, manual choke | --- | --- |
| FUEL PUMP | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| HOSES | all new from Mopar | --- | --- |
| TIMING COVER | factory original 383 | --- | --- |
| SPARK PLUGS | Bosch Platinum | #4236 | $2 each * 8 = $16 |
| THERMOSTAT | Stant 180 degree heavy duty | --- | --- |
| OIL | Pennzoil 10W-40 summer and 10W-30 winter | --- | --- |
| BOLTS | mostly stainless | --- | --- |
| GASKETS | all Fel Pro | --- | --- |