I'm looking at a 1957 283 (3731548 block and 3731554 heads, respectively) and I'm admittedly NOT knowledgeable about SBCs. What I do know from a little research is that the 1957 283s were punched out 265s. The later 283 was recast. That alone has me wondering if I should pull the trigger or look for a later 283? Like any hot rodder, I'd like to put upgrade the output, you know - cam, carbs (I'd love a 2x4 intake), and such. But the heads are pretty mild and again from what I read if I wanted to up the power, these would need to be changed. I've never built an SBC. I have been researching and reading a bunch but I am conflicted. I love the earlier stuff and I'd love to stick to a late 50s early 60s build on this A. The more I learn, the more I am interested in this 283. But I don't know what I could do to go from the 185 to say 210-225, nothing crazy but a fun, mild street car. I'd love some advice. Thanks, Brent
power pack 283 was rated 230 hp in 58, seems to me all you need is a mild cam and a 4bbl and you'll exceed your power goal.
Looks like someone has already been playing mix and match on that one. It does have the cast in oil filter boss so you are good there. Worst thing is that it doesn't have provisions for side mounts so you have to run front mounts and preferably mounts on the bellhousing. Meaning for some applications it won't work. The engine in my old T bucket was a 61 283 with power pack heads a 30-30 solid lifter cam (way too frigging much valve adjusting to keep it going right with a used cam and lifters) and a Corvette 2-4 intake with the correct small Carters that I traded for. Nothing fancy nor expensive in 1975 dollars but it ran great and after I put the same engine in my 48 with a 4 barrel it ran a lot of miles and that truck cruised for miles on end at 80 mph at 3000 rpm geared as it was. You have to remember that up into the late 70's it was normal to build a mild to hot 283 to run on the street or at the drags or at the circle track. Find an old pre 1975 how to build your small block chevy engine book and the tech of the time is there. You will need hard seats in the old heads to handle today's crap gas and there may be better cam choices but That engine has a lot of potential if you are willing to spend the money and time and then it is "it runs a 57 283" bragging rights time.
Jim, even with these heads? From what I've read (by some of our reputable HAMBers and others on Tri-5 and such) say these are more MPG type heads, low compression, low flow.
Yes, Mr48, this is a front mount, which I am fine with (it would be going between Model A rails). As well, mild is fine, too. 225 hp in an A would be plenty. Considering my roadster has 40! Haha. The age had me excited, until I started reading. I like everything HD and this aint it! I just don't know enough to make any type of good decision.
Not, yet. I don't have it in my possession. The Internet tells me these 3731554 [2 bbl.] heads are 69.8119 cc the came with with a 2bbl intake and carb with a 194 intake and 203 exh. @.050 with .3987 lift at 8.5:1 compression
That's pretty much it. ^^^ easy peezy. If you want to go .125over you want a '58 or newer block but if all you want to do is give it a little bump the five-seven motor is a fine platform to build on.
If these heads are the ones with the tiny ports, then you'd probably be better off with a different set of heads...but we'd be guessing at how much money you have to spend, how much performance you really want, how old timey you want it to look, etc. You could probably do ok with a mild cam and the heads you have. You'd probably do better if you got a set of 58 power pack heads, but they can be a bit expensive if you're not lucky.
I may get corrected here but I'm thinking there was one 283 motor that had 283 h.p.. Maybe in a vette?
Also a 270 hp, dual 4 barrels, Duntov solid lifter cam. I had one in a '57 Bel Air hardtop. I guess I didn't know better, but several years ago I punched a '56 block out .125 and ran stock 283 pistons, with a single 4-barrel - awesome engine that would rev forever. It was my daily driver for several years.
That's pretty much it, Beaner. If I could get it to handle a mild CFM 4 barrel (I'd likely go back to a stock '57 4bbl intake) and a cam to match, I guess I don't care all that much about how much power there is. A little more oomph would be great, obviously. I've had a very OT drag car and I know how fast you can go down the rabbit hole. I want a 100k mile engine. Something fun to drive. Something that sounds good. Obviously, I want it reliable. I'm thinking I'll have the heads gone through, upgrade to hardened seats and maybe do roller rockers if they'll fit under the original covers. I will keep on the lookout for some "better" heads. But for now, I feel pretty good about getting this. I just wish I could peak in the cylinders before I give him the $.
Here we go again! The BASE V-8 engine that came in 1957 Chevrolet passenger cars, with a 2 barrel carburetor, and a 3 speed stick transmission, was the 265; a 2 barrel 283 was an OPTION, and BOTH of those 2 barrel engines had the SAME casting number. So, are you absolutely certain your engine is a 283, because it could be a 265? Any 4 barrel, dual 4 barrel, fuel injection engine was a 283, or any car with an automatic transmission (with a 2 barrel, 4 barrel, dual 4 barrel, fuel injection) was also a 283. The reason ALL 1957 265/283 blocks have a drilled pad for a block mounted starter, was because of the optional Turboglide automatic transmission; Chevrolet's first aluminum automatic transmission, and the transmission bellhousing was't strong enough to support a bellhousing mounted starter motor, and so a block mounted starter motor was needed. So, dig deeper to make sure your engine is a 283 and not a 265. The bellhousing mounted starter motors were used until 1962 in passenger cars with manual transmissions or cast iron Powerglide transmissions, and into the 70's for trucks with manual transmissions. Confusing? YES!!! I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I have been reading for a solid week and this is the first I've heard of this. The engine came out of a truck and that's as far as I know. Obviously, the only way I'm going to find out anything more is to pull a head and measure the cylinder. Here's another question. What do I offer for something like this? It's got some things I do like, like it's an early style, front mount, truck ram horns BUT there are unknown variables like if it needs work and there are drawbacks like the heads not being power pack. So, he's at $400, now, and it's a bit of a drive… Thanks, fellas! I really appreciate you all.
Ah, in looking up what you mentioned @56sedandelivery I need to find the suffix code on the block… not sure what codes they are, yet, though.
can you get a picture of the stamped numbers on the front of the block? 400 bucks is ok if it's all in good condition, and it's what you want. If it has rusty bores, missing stuff, or heads that look like the ports are tiny then maybe it's not worth it. But if you can't find another one that is close to what you want for less money, maybe that's what it will cost you.
In HS a friend had a 57 2 dr wagon 2 barrel stick and it was a 265. Info on the starter is correct because of the offered turbo glide. One other odd thing the turbo glide crank required a different pilot bushing which was larger if you wanted to use it in a stick car and yes they were available. Back then 1.87" intakes were the norm for Chevrolets. Not positive on the first year for 1.94's but I think it was 62. Funny, Ford Y-blocks had 1.94's in 1957. I still love 283 dual quad engines..
The valve sizes are 1.72 on intakes and 1.5 on exhaust on the Chevy heads. And yes the Y blocks had 1.92 intakes in 57.
If you want a nice running mild little 283, find some Power Pak heads, and run the Duntov 3736098 cam, the .012 .018 cam, not the 30 30 cam. The engine will make good power and not to bad for economy either. You can find the heads out there that aren't in to bad of shape, just search around. You will find some worn out ones with sunken seats and worn out guides, just past them up. And if you wish to spend the money you can put 1.94 intakes and 1.60 exhaust valves in them. The 283's like the smaller runners and combustion chambers on the Power Pak heads than the camel hump heads. And for the guys that say you can't put big vales in Power Pak here are a couple of photos of 520 heads with 2.02 and 1.6 valves.
Another little "tid bit", to help steer you in the direction of, or away from a 265, is that ALL the 265's in 1957 were painted an awful chartreuse color (think about halfway between yellow and green). The same engine color was also used in 1956, but ONLY in the truck 265's. The 1957 265 can safely go a .125 overbore to make it into a 283. And, being a 1957 engine, it has the improved oiling the 55-56 265's did't have. Stay away from the big valve/big valve cylinder head setups; biggest for a street engine would be 1.84 intakes (JMO). Any larger sized valves and you start getting into shrouding of the valves/cylinders/chambers, and you don't need them anyway unless you plan on serious racing (???). With such small runners/ports, big valves add nothing, unless those are also addressed ($$$). Casting number 601, 305 HO heads, with 1.84 intake valves and 53 CC chambers is a good upgrade, if you can live with the accessory holes in the heads. 265's had combustion chambers in the 55-ish to 58 CC range, while most 283's were in the 60 CC range (some truck "Power Pack" 283 heads have 70 CC's and you don't want those). You've already heard about the small runners of both the 265 and 283, but even MORESO with the 265, they are TINY, especially when compared to 327-350 performance heads. It's really hard to build any kind of CR in these small bore/short stroke engines; a 2 barrel 265 had only 8:1 CR. I play around with the little engines myself, and have more $$$ wrapped up in them than I care to admit to. I also have a 1957, 265 block and crank for a future, Pseudo-Junior Stocker style engine build, and it took me a L-O-N-G time to find it. Virtually ALL the 265 blocks I looked at were rusted or busted! The disassembled engine had sat underneath a guy's work bench for 40 plus years! All I bought was the block and crank; everything else would't work for what I needed. I paid $75.00 for the block and crank, and he delivered it (I paid what he asked for). To start with a $400.00, unknown, and unknown condition engine is a stretch; IF you knew for sure what it was, and that it's in sound shape, then $400.00 "might" be worth it, but it would have to have ALL the extra parts, such as flywheel/clutch/bellhousing/water pump/fan/generator included in the deal, but your needs are probably different than mine. If you need parts, holler I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Bought a 57 Nomad back in 68 that had factory 2x 4 setup with a powerglide . It had hydraulic lifters and was rated at 245 h.p. It was kind of a turd up to about 30 miles an hour and then pulled pretty good. I know the car was all original because I got it from the original owner and all the paperwork was in the car. It was my daily driver and ran on Sunoco 190 at 19 cents a gallon at the station I worked at in south Florida.
Hello Brent, My friend in HS had a 57 Chevy Bel Air with a single 4 barrel on his 283. It was ok, but not terribly fast. We changed the 4 barrel for a 2x4 manifold and carbs from a Corvette. The Corvette owner could not stand the 2x4 unit on his car and it used up a ton of gas (even though gas was very cheap) The Corvette guy wanted to have a mild street running motor that if pushed, be fairly quick. His 2x4 set up ran 4 barrels all of the time with another 4 kicking in at a certain rpm or angle of his pedal. (progressive linkage) He really wanted to buy a stock 4 barrel Corvette, but the only one on the lot in his color (we called it sea foam green) was a 2x4 model. So, an exchange was made only if we did the work for the Corvette owner. Once the change was made, my friend’s 57 Chevy was so much faster and it did not have any problems being his daily driver to high school. Later on, we put in a Duntov cam and lifter kit. That made the car really fast, but still street drivable anywhere. Back then, very few, if any, people cared about keeping any car original. Hop ups and modifications were the norm. (even my original 58 Impala 348/280hp got a Racer Brown cam/lifter kit and we added the C&O stick hydro.) The Corvette owner did not care if his car was OEM. I am sure if he had kept the Corvette many years later, he would have wished it was the way it came from the factory. But, hot rodding in the 60’s changed everything for us. It was a fun time. Jnaki So, a mild cam, 2x4 carbs, good tune and it becomes a good daily driver with a lot of power on hand. But, buy the motor, check it out, install it and make it run well first, then start adding stuff that meets your needs. Looks can come later, get it running smoothly first and enjoy it. Maybe a single 4 barrel is all that you need, for now…
I stand corrected. I knew the early Chev was small but they seemed to like them after you pined the rocker studs. Your selection of cam and carbs fit perfect with me.
The earlier 283s have better metal content and can be punched out to 301 because of the thickness of the cylinder walls Sent from my LGLS740 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Lot of good info here from Squirrel and 56 sedan delivery. Had my 57 fuely(283/283) for 37 years. It was built as stock except .060 over. 3spd with a 3:70 posi. Had the 12 and 18 cam and was very reliable-wife drove it as her daily in the late 70's. It was surprising as a 283-would hang with my son's 40 coupe with a 350 til about 60 MPH-just had to wing it up. The 12 and 18 solid cam works very well in a 283 and doesn't require constant valve lash unless you wing it up a bit-idled about 650-700 and 14 inches of vacuum.. It now lives in a collection back east. Some years ago (15 years) a guy gave me several 57 blocks and several sets of heads (most were 539's). One block had an EL stamp which is 57 FI but was a 265!!-go figure-restamp?. I gave it away to another guy who had it rebuilt and put in a 56 convert.. Lots of low HP 57's were 265's but still had the 548 casting. The early stuff is not in demand as it once was so it should be easy to find some 539 heads. I gave away several sets a few years ago. It is in my album.
The 1957 265, 2 bbl,. stick was also denoted by its Chartreuse color. https://www.google.com/search?q=195...=LjiNWMniM8TgmwHsnZaIBw#imgrc=qKRBK-PeFQUeVM:
This is something that I see some confliction on. I've read that most of the 1957 283 were punched-out 265s and that was cause for the walls to be thinner. And, that in 1958 the 283s were cast differently. Is there any reason for me to be concerned with this, being that what I am looking at is most likely a 283? And, if I were to go to a 301/302, I'd just go with the 327 block and 283 crank. I don't think I am knowledgeable enough to build/tune one of those at this point.
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