Heres the scoop. I had a pair of new 383s built from a local very reputable engine builder, they have been ran and broken in in his shop. Last night I drained the break in oil and there was only 3.5 qts in one and a tinge over 3 qts of oil in the other. Is there a logical reason for not completely filling theese things for break in?

None whatsoever. I would be on the phone to him immediately.

What do the plugs look like?

Maybe the wrong dipsticks?

Let's assume the engine builder can count higher than three. You'd expect the guy to notice that the number of bottles on the floor wasn't enough. The oil went somewhere- and even new bores shouldn't use several quarts on the test stand. way loose intake valve stems with no seals installed would gobble up a bunch of oil.

I talked to him about it and he said he originally filled both engines with 4 qts+12oz cam break in lube. He said he lost some during initial priming, and a little run time with the valve covers removed. He says the rest is in the filter....

If they are standard pans, the motors prob. only hold 5 qts. The filter will hold almost a quart, depending on what filter it is. I would not make such a big fuss over it myself. Just make sure you fill them to the proper level and run them!!

and it doesn't matter anyway... no side loads on the test stand so oil pick up was plenty deep enough in the oil... no sweat