Hey guys, I may be getting my hands on a '71 Challenger R/T with a 383. My question is, that I noticed from '70 to '71 the 383 was detuned is there anyway to add the power back? or can anyone suggest any decently cheap power adders?

 

is it a 2 or 4 bbl engine? if its a 2 bbl, the easiest way to get more power out of it is to get a nice 4 barrel intake and carb. as for the drop from 330/335 down to 300, with the 4 barrel models, and that was due to a drop in compression. i cannot find exactly What the compression drop was, but "a drop in compression" was the listed culprit for that decline in power.

If you got a 383 2bbl car which was rated at 275 in 1971, a set of headers, a 4bbl manifold and carb, a cam, and possibly a different set of heads would easily overcome that drop in power.

 

R/T's were only available in Magnum (4 barrel) configuration. The compression ratio was lowered in '71, and a more restrictive exhaust was used.... all thanks to the then-fledgling EPA and its regulations. They also used a different head casting in '71 from the previous years. That's probably where the lower CR comes from. The best single thing you could do is get a set of the 906 casting heads (70 & earlier) and install them.