I had the shop do my short block assembly, money well spent and freed me up to do other things. I gave him my flywheel (I reversed the ring gear first) and clutch plate. I don't recall if the damper came into play. Refurbishing heads can run into some coin. I went with a Dart top-end kit that came with everything but the intake bolts. Another instance where money was well spent. I opted for 7/16" rocker studs.
My local one man machine shop worked some 461s for $300. New guides, surfaced, cleaned and hardened exhaust seats. took him my PP heads and 283 block. he gave me a better set of PP heads he had Worked the valves and new guides, cleaned and bored the block, installed cam bearings and expansion plugs. (I provided plugs and bearings) pressed rods to new pistons. $400 I’ve put around 30k on the 461s. About to assemble a 283
Bryan, I went through last year where you are headed now. Simple 283 rebuild. There is a shop near me with a great rep plus they did a 324 olds engine for me. I told them what I was looking for performance wise. Provided them with my intake, carbs and headers. For me, a traditional looking build was important. Explain yourself completely including make of car, trans choice, everything. Understand you can do a 350 small block for less money. Make sure you fully understand before you start. I got what I wanted but could have bought a crate engine for less. How did it turn out ?
I was asked why I’m building a 283 instead of a 350. I really didn’t understand the question. I gave away a running 350 cause I didn’t really want it and a friend needed it.
At my local one-man machine shop it was $1500 to totally rebuild a set of heads. $3-400 for machining and assembly is a dream from 20 years ago here.
Dang No wonder you guys buy heads. New usually cost twice as much in my experience. Plus I like the old better as far as looks. I could care less about the HP differences.
Exactly! It is easy to spend $1500 - and the end-result won't touch a set of off the shelf AFR 195 heads. This is especially true if you're after flow and horsepower (which I know this build isn't really focused on). Back in the day, to make 500 HP out of a SBC took a lot of custom head work a big and nasty solid roller cam, lots of carb(s) and a result that was not terribly streetable. This is easy in today's world - with off the shelf parts (especially the whole top-end).
I just had these done. New valves, springs, screw in studs, guide plates,, valve guides, seals etc.. I asked about hardened seats but was advised against doing them as the machine shop said they've hit water passages too often. I did a bit of mild porting and bowl work to open them up a bit. The total cost is getting close to a set of Chinesium aluminum cast heads...but what fun is that? I wish I had Anthony's one man machine shop guy nearby. $300-400 to freshen a set of heads would be a dream come true!
A 64 Chevy is a pretty heavy car. A 283 with a 2 barrel carb isn't going to change much just by adding a camshaft and some better heads. Because of the small displacement, any changes you make will have minimal effect......and if you start getting higher compression and too much cam the car becomes less enjoyable to drive. The best engine for a driver is one with more displacement while keeping the compression ratio low enough to use regular gas. It will give better performance and still be docile when cruising. You have more room for cam choices and head choices to make it produce more torque and hp than the 283, better acceleration, but still streetable with that additional power. I understand the originality concept and the nostalgia concept, but when you are looking at some soccer mom's tail lights driving away from you it's more about nausea. Think about getting a 350 or even better a 383 to put in the car and you will enjoy it more. Pull the 283 and put it on an engine stand and save it for reinstallation if you ever want to restore the car to a numbers matching vehicle for showing rather than driving. Think about it this way. Engines can produce more than 1 hp per cu in, but a useable daily driver will most likely produce less than 1 hp. So if you make 283 hp, you will need to get it just right. Same thing with a 383 and you have 100 more usable hp for not much more (if any) money.......so a very easy 350 hp with plenty of torque in the low and midrange should make a great daily driver. Save the original engine.......
If that 283 is running, do an old school valve lap, new o-rings on those heads and cruise that’s traditional
Since I'm a 'Ford-guy' I guess I don't have a dawg in this fight BUT..... IF you're the least bit concerned about flat-tappet lifter failure (in a 283) I WOULD spring for a newer 350 with the factory roller cam set-up. (I did that with my 289 swap for a 5.0) Rollers cost more but if you use the stock roller lifters then the cost gets closer to a FT set-up. I like World Product IRON heads for several reasons including cost. Balance the whole assembly is good advice. ARP rod bolts (having the stockers resized) is another smart choice. That alone will keep the Shivel-lay motor happy up to the 6000+ mark ! I had my cam custom ground for LESS money than an "off-the-shelf" pick some phone-talker recommended. (do a little home work on the duration@050...LSA...and lift. World Product headscame with good springs, retainers etc. Alum hi-rise intake and 600 CFM Edelbrock carb will look very 'Shivel-lay-ish'..(zata word?!) Playing with the counterweight on the carbs secondaries will make driving A LOT more fun. Light springs in the advance curve of the distributor will make life A LOT better on the street especially if you go with a snotty-ish camshaft. Remember...LOTSA initial timing with healthy cams.. A cam with 110*LSA will have a nice lope(with appropriate duration) A cam with 108*LSA will have a VERY healthy lope. A cam with 106*LSA will have a "I WANNA RIP THE HIDE OFF OF A HEMI AND FEED IT TO A FORD" idle !! (YOU PICK!) 6sally6
I'm putting a '67 283 in my Model A. This is the cam I'm going to go with for a bit of a lumpy idle but still not too wild. https://www.compcams.com/nostalgia-plus-211-218-hydraulic-flat-cam-for-chevrolet-small-block.html
Actually, the suggestion of pulling this engine and saving it is a good one. You can get a core 4-bolt main 350 for a decent price, bore it .030 over, put some 10-1 pistongs in it, then put some 195 AFR Street Eliminator heads on it, put a good hydrualic roller cam in it and Edelbrock Performer Air-Gap and a good 600 Holley and probably make 400 - 425 HP. It used to take a fairly stout 427 to make that horsepower. And it will probably cost you less than all the work on the 283. My 383 makes 520 HP - with basically the same thing as above, but with an 830 cfm carb. Just another route to go . . .
As long as we're spending someone else's money, why not just build a 409/425 and have the best of both world's... Performance and look's! It would look right at home, too!
4 Stromberg 97’s on a Weiand 4 deuce manifold. Rumor has it the intake and carbs were owned by a famous individual …..I got the entire intake and carbs from @Moriarity .
Took 2 minutes, Lazzaro Performance, your town, and Drake Engines in Rochester, Oswego speedway is in your area, they start racing in May, walk the pits and ask , can't wait, know any racers? Anyone who knows racers? Ask them for opinions,. Look up a few shops and pay them a visit .
I was toying with buying a crate motor from smedding performance out of texas..this one actually... https://smedingperformance.com/prod...2Glfphr0cdNvakAIOcY3hJXM0KAOYwlBoClrkQAvD_BwE With everything I wanted on it price tag cam to around 10k...they have the best warranty I've found..but then I wouldnt have biult it either...
Bryan, I went through the same process as you are planning on my/our 283 [I needed to keep the stock front mount 283 for our 57] I used a complete kit from Northern Auto Parts with a cam / valve spring option + I needed the early Rear Main seal, and early oil pick-up [55-57] I ditched the rope seal for a neoprene seal. This was all shipped to New Zealand and was still economical. One issue was, they sent the wrong cam bearings but they rectified it immediately [shipping at their expense] Also rebuilder pistons are further down the hole than OEM pistons , so I needed to deck the block. Machine work was a full clean out of all galleries, bore, decking, milling the head surfaces, and facing the valves and seats, valve guides, install cam bearings ,and freeze plugs [I lucked out on the crank] I upped the compression by decking to zero, and used a drop-in Melling cam [204° duration and 0.428" lift] Then I kept it 2 barrel so the engine had "diesel engine like manners" It is very responsive "off the throttle" as far as a 283 goes. Now do you want some advice???? Ditch the Muncie [but keep it 4 speed] Consider selling the Muncie and swapping for a Borg Warner Super T10 [which uses the same shifter, speedo drive, and rear mount] You will need a 26 spline clutch plate and 32 spline yoke on the driveshaft. but what I am suggesting is the "Z" ratio [6 grooves on the input] which gives you a wide 3.42:1 1st gear and will allow you to use a 3.08:1 or higher rear end ratio. This will help the baby 283 get off the line AND give it good cruising manners https://www.richmondgear.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/richmond/RG26.pdf This is the equivalent of having an M20 in 1st gear with 4.11 gears, and still cruise at 2600rpm at 65mph Stock 3 speed Impalas had a 2.95 1st gear and 3.55 rear end [2.95 x 3.55 = 10.47:1] vs [BW ST10 3.42 1st gear x 3.08 = 10.53:1] 64 Impala's have a "Drop-out" diff head ,so it is easy to install a 3.08:1
I'm aware of all these places..I ment what particular things do you guys look for in a good shop..I didn't want to just walk into any shop and say here ya go. I live right down the road from lazarro
Beautiful job! I was looking at that kit too...seemed very reasonable..someone else on here said to be leary of them...but I've heard a lot of people have used them too. Thats pretty much the route I was ganna take if I rebiuld this. Interesting about the tranny info..this car was originally power glide. I havnt checked rear end ratio yet..last time I had it on the highway the tach wasn't working...but she sounded like she was cranking pretty good at 65..I wouldn't push it any harder.
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