Hi guys! I just joined i have followed the forums here for quite a while and see there is a wealth of knowledge here so only made sense to join! Looking to pick the veterans brains on my first full rebuild on my 283 in my 64impala. I've done plenty of top end /cams but never a full rebiuld or anything other then stock. I decided to rebiuld the engine after pulling it to replace motor mounts. I know it was rebiult in the 80s by my father who I inherited it from( been in family since new originally purchased by my gr. Grandfather! I still need to start tearing it down to see what/if its been bored to ect. My starting questions( sure ill have many) is whats a good route to go...I want to pep it up some but nothing crazy as obviously it's only a 283. Right now it's stock far as I know. With 2bbl carb and the power pack heads. I was thinking.. bore out a little , aftermarket edelbrock 4bbl intake/carb. Headers, mild cam and hei ignition. I've heard possibly 461 cammel hump heads or 305 ho heads..for slightly bigger valves/flow? I was thinking one of those rebiild kits from Northern auto parts with an upgraded cam? What do you guys think? Sorry for the long post! Has a 4 spd munci open diff dont know the rear end ratio yet. Mostly just cruising with an occasional burn out...bout it lol.
Glad you're here and welcome from East Tennessee. Nothing wrong with a 283. Have you checked the compression on your mouse motor? Does it run alright? Got pictures bigger than your avatar?
I like a 283. I’m keeping my PP heads. Have a set of double humps. The PPs have a smaller CCs. 305s have 2 many holes. Keeping the points, kinda need to to fit the 3 2s.
Welcome to the Shit Show!!! It's the best place on Earth! If you want to stay with the '60's vibe, build yourself a Fuelie Spec shortblock with an 097 Duntov cam. The head's are where thing's get slightly complicated and costly. Small chamber Power Pac head's can have bigger valve's installed, and with porting can be decent on the street with a good compression ratio. Camel Hump 461's have bigger valve's and also a larger chamber, which lowers compression that a 283 despirately need's. 305 head's are the best of both world's performance wise, but ruin the look of a '60's style engine compartment. Top it off with a Tri-Power or Dual Quad manifold and you'll have the perfect "Look", but a good dual plane, single 4 barrel set-up will most likely be more friendly on the street. JMO Please tell us more about the car. Stick or auto, and gear ratio. Also PLEASE stay with the point's style distributor, it's the most reliable, always get you home set-up there is... Again, this is JMO.
I bought a '64 283 at an auction last summer and the block is now waiting in line at the machine shop, along with a 327 crank and a set of rods. When I took the pan off, I found 1 of the rods had lost a nut and the cap was bent away from the journal. Since the crank had been hammered pretty good in the process, I decided to build a "stroker motor" with a 327 crank. I should gain almost 30 cubes and a little more torque. I have several parts on my shelves I plan to use including a slightly used Comp Cams High Energy cam, Edelbrock Performer EPS manifold with fill tube, A Holley 570 cfm Street Avenger carb, Cal Custom no-hole valve covers and power pak heads. Gary
If you think you will need the services of a machine shop for boring , and are thin on knowledge,pick one with a solid reputation, don't shop price, tell them what you have, and what level of performance you desire, what your real budget is, let them inspect what you have and let them assist you with their experience before you buy any parts.On the internet you will get a thousand opinions that may or may not be of use for your particular project.
On a 283 your looking at 1.94 valves if you do a head up grade. Dont spring for 2.02 heads.The bore wont allow them.The cam is up to you,but Ive given up on flat tappet cams. They dont all fail,but if your the unlucky one you will wish you gave up on them too.You can put a roller cam conversion in it,and have fewer worries at the break in start up.For a carb stay around 600 cfm. Anything bigger on a 283 is a dog at street speeds. Good dual exhaust is a must.Check you rear gear ratio.With a 4 speed go 3:55- 4:11. if the car has 3.08 -3:36 change them.Think about front disc brakes too.
I would agree with jagmech, take the appropriate amount of time to look for a reputable machine shop. Careless or rushed machine work can cost you money and time. Most shops do a good job but the more you lean towards a performance setup it requires thought and planning to make sure everything fits correctly and has the correct tolerances. I’ve worked as a machinist (not automotive) for almost 40 years and even good machinists have bad days. You want someone who is dedicated to doing things right and cares about getting your project done correctly as much as you do. Once you find a good machine shop stick with them.
Most shops have a "standard" service rebuild package, then it goes cafeteria style for add-ons. Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go? I have all totaled up around $5k into my 355 build, HP is around 425. This is in 2015 currency value. A roller cam option is easily 2-3x what a FT cam is.
It comes down to how much do you want to spend and how much are you capable of doing yourself? If you've never put a short block together, then either have the machine shop do it or saddle up with a friend/partner to work with you on it. It is all about clearances and details - once you've done it with a mentor, then you'll know how best to go about it. Other things to think about --> have it balanced (flywheel and clutch included). If you're running a 283 crank that isn't drilled/tapped for harmonic balancer bolt - have them do this or get another crank. Stock GM cranks are cheap, you can probably find a good small-journal forged 327 crankshaft if you need a new crank - gives you 307 cubic inches. I'd stick with a 1.94" intake valve head - maybe some camel-hump ones (for the right look). There is really no great reason to run a flat-tappet cam these days (other than budget) - so I'd go with a hydraulic retro-roller. Cam Recommendation: You might contact Chris Straub at Straub Technologies - he will work with exactly what you have and really help you with cam and top-end parts selection. Great guy to deal with - really knows his stuff. I built a 383 a couple years ago and given the total package he said it would make 520 HP - and it came in at exactly that (I put it on a dyno - made 20 pulls, fantastic results).
Beware of Northern if it's the same one I dealt with because I paid extra for an upgrade to Fel-Pro gaskets but got another brand that the seal was broken and the box had water damage. He replaced only the head gasket with a Fel-Pro.
Your car has been in your family for decades . . . don't cheap out on crappy parts. If it takes longer to save the money and do it right, then so be it. There are plenty of reputable parts sources (and manufacturers) especially for this type of engine. Heck, go to Jegs, Summit Racing, CNC Motorsports, etc.. Or, have a great machine shop spec out the whole package and they will stand by the parts, the work and the assembly. Consider the TIME you will have in all of this - in addition to just the budget. Also, if you do the job right, then the car will be running for many more years and you won't have regrets and have to do it all over again. And when you're contemplating your "budget" - most of us will tell you that for whatever number you come up with . . . put about a 3X in front of it! All the "small stuff" will add up - and you'll see this number is about right! LOL
Yes it ran great just burned oil a little. Compression was decent ranging from 131 to 146. Ill get some better pics..
Money is not a problem and I'm absolutely done intend on cheap stuff ( your saying no to the northern autoparts?) I realize it ain't cheap!
I do plan on having help . I want to do as much as I can myself assembly wise. There are a few machine shops around ..still trying to decide on that. How do they go about balancing with the flywheel and clutch as well with it all bolted to the crank? This does not have a balancer on it so im assuming its internally balanced?
Yeah I'm planning on checking ratio soon...and to answer a few other people..I'm not looking for a race car by any means just a little more pep in her step and just thought it would be cool and fun to do so while building it. I just cruise around like an old man mostly lol
I've heard about the duntov cam.. is it a good route? A slightly lopier idle would be nice as well as slightly better performance. Are they a solid lifter cam tho? I would have the PP heads reworked but have heard cost wise to just by some after market ones. I'm not so concerned about origional appearance. I still plan on saving all the original parts.
One of Chevrolets true “factory stroker” … not one made up of mismatching parts and not putting in factory cars.
Yes, the Duntov 097 (aka .012/.018) cam is a solid lifter grind with a nice idle and great performance. Is there a modern hydraulic profile that sounds and performs just as good or better... absolutely, but there again, you have to decide if you want to just get in and drive it and not worry about periodic valve adjustment's, or if you like to tinker, check the valve's every now and then. As far as the head's go, with the price's of everything these day's, you might want to do some comparison shopping with your machine shop reworking the original's vs. an aftermarket pair of head's and see what will work best for you.
If it was rebuilt in the 80s and not a daily driver I'd wager you can get away with rings and bearings. If the valves look good leave them - it may have gotten hard seats at the last build. Keep it period Chevy. Find an aluminum Z28 intake or something off a Vette (those will cost more and not get you much HP in return but it'll look good). But any aluminum dual plane intake and 600cfm Holley will work fine. Don't forget finned aluminum Corvette valve covers. As far as cam I've always loved the 30-30 Duntov but it's a lousy cruiser street cam. For practicality go with what we used to call a 3/4 cam - nice and lumpy idle and street friendly. A hydraulic roller will have the least maintenance and won't require zinc additive to your oil changes. Don't forget a set of headers and Magna Flows for the right sleeper sound. dual quad would be fine but 3x2s would have people stopping to look at the shows - https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Offe...vMjNpEKheSPj5Ye1YAXuZjCwsF_JGJYwaAg51EALw_wcB
You brought up something that is worth talking about. By the time you locate some good 1.94 heads and put new guides, probably new valves, new springs, screw in studs, pushrod guide plates, etc -- you'll be spending close to what a complete set of new aftermarket iron heads will cost. And the performance of the reworked stock heads will be less. Most aftermarket heads will outperform even a modified set of Camel Hump heads - out of the box. The cost for a complete head is about $900 - 1000 each - and you can get ones from Dart and World Products with 1.94" and 1.5" valves. Also, since you mentioned a 4-speed, would be nice to be able to spin it a bit (as 283's like RPM) - so having a good top-end is important. I would make sure the spring package is designed for the camshaft you choose - most of the manufacturers have "upgrades" for higher lift cams, higher RPMs, hydraulic rollers, etc.. I'd run a dual-plane manifold - like the Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap . . . they really run well with about a 600 CFM carb on top.
I used to run the Duntov 30-30 cam in a Corvette 327 I built . . . with 11-1 high-comp pistons, camel-hump heads, etc.. Was a decent cam, but truth be told, since that time camshafts, valve springs, manifolds and cylinder head designs have really progressed - big time. IMHO: Unless you want to go completely "vintage 60's", there is really no performance value in running 60's cams, 60's heads, 60's valve springs, etc.. You'll spend the money either way - might as well "upgrade" to the products built today. Technology has progressed a LOT since "back in the day".
Yup I completely agree with you on that . am saving all the old original takeoff stuff anyway so I definitely want to something modern that will perform just as good if not better
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