That's very interesting to hear actually.
I added CMI's but didn't net any speed gains. (Yes I tried a bunch of different props)
Looks & sounds great, but I was very disappointed that I didn't pick anything up performance wise.

Now I'm looking to take advantage of the less restrictive exhaust and was guessing head and intake work would be way less than the cost of a Whipple

Look up my 383 build thread. There's just a ton that goes in to a good build. Things you wouldn't expect. You having exhaust saves you a lot, so yes you might be able to get a lot more in your budget.

In doing some reseach I came across Raytek Marine who has a 400 HP Vortec for $3000, a 383 stroker for $5000 and a 500HP hotrod called the Barracuda for $5600. With the Vortek and a ECM re-flash I'd be under $4000...BUT does anyone have any experiance with Raytek?
I did a search on here and there are NO topics mentioning them...I just at that point a guy could simply buy a create engine and swap everything over, thoughts???

There is a difference between 400 hp advertised (crank) and 400 hp with accessories on the dyno. Where things got expensive for me was buying the best internals to make the power and insure it would keep living. Going cheap gets expensive.

Your from Milwaukeish, have Mell from C&S build you the motor you want. Before you do any mods, put a A/F gauge in and take a video of your tach and A/F gauge to get your current tune. Plan on buying MEFIBurn and spend a few days playing.

If you are serious-
383 H-beam, forged piston and crank kit - $1800
Big aluminum heads - $1200 (more if you get anodized)
Roller cam - $300 (should be able to reuse your roller lifters)
misc - $600
balance, assemble and machine -? $1200??
Mefiburn - $600

Total $5700.

You ABSOLUTELY need a new intake if you want to make power. My next mod is probably a bigger throttle body too, losing at least 15 HP and a few hundred RPM with the stock one.

All this said, I love my 383s, they pull like crazy up to red line. Totally new boat after the build. I would do it again in the same situation. Unless someone had some semi-fresh 496 HOs sitting around for 20k.

osur866 - What brand is your 7 quart pan for your 6.2? Source?