Hot Rods Are you a 283 engine guy or a 327 guy?

Saw Brian in concert in '04 that guy can play a guitar he had 7-8 different ones and he's got some cool hotrods to boot!

 

Like this would be fun on the street

 

A lot more fun in the dirt!

 

My first 283 came out of a broken down 55 chev. drag car down the street in oak lawn .ill. in the year of 1961 or 62 ? This was a two four barrel engine and yes a vett. 283 ! They blown the trans. and it sat in the drive way for a very long time . I bought it for around fifty bucks and took it to my high school auto shop ( Oak Lawn ) and they help me go through it. Still had the vett. valve covers and just a steal . Gave the body away to one my class mates and never got it in my 34 coupe . All is gone now but it was a good time in life .God has been good to me .

 

I love all of the small block chev. from the 265 283 327 and the way you could interchange that stuff . It also could be done with just very little cost ! EVEN DO SOME TRADING WITH YOUR BUDDIES ! Its hard to not to like those 327 chev. overall . My thoughts

 

Many here are looking at the Q,from looking back on the engine size. From before they even lived or too young to know yet about them.
Chevy did a smart move,came late to the party,,in waiting for a long time,too add a OHV V8. Looking at all those new OHV V8 designs that started coming out in the late 1940s an on..
Took a good look at things that were off just a little in each design,an try to not copy those parts. And make it so bigger Cubic-Inch could be added as needed.=Taking a Q from Studebakers built in limits. Plus many Q's off others,like Ford Y and others + GM V8s.
Still when the 265 hit market for 55 model year,my Dad got one in a brand new Nomad{ < super good looking wagon+ } but the 265,leaked oil,had way to much blow-by n low power= Dad took back to dealer 6 times,on the last try;Dealer put in a 283{ as 56 model year was out by then.= 265 was crap. { It's hard to find out about 265's probs. But if ya look into it enough,talk about factory poor cly wall finish n casting flaws/with piston an ring fit seem to come to the top of the mud. Now with 283{ no oil leaks or blow-by an pretty fair power { would almost stay with Granpa's 272 Ford V8( check NASCAR Wins up to 1958 ) ,then in 59 Mr Z.D. started making Chevy V8 cook n live. The Design 265 to 400 SBC are all the same with small,very good updates*.
As a Kid/teen in mid 50s,I was very into the OHV V8s. The big kick up HP was 327 n trick in most open wheel mods on shorter tracks{ under 1/2 mile}. What seemed much,later 350 became the go too. By then I was racing short oval track late models.

 

I am a 261 Chevy Guy!

 

I'm still trying to to figure out if I have a 283... or 327....???

pad #'s VK231800.... CAN'T FIND INFO ANYWHERE

 

You're getting chocolate in the peanut butter!

 

Is there a number on the driver's side on top of block next to bell housing just behind the valve cover or is that the number you posted?

 

I had a '68 327 ,60 over in my '35 Ford truck and a '75 ,265 monza V8 in my '34 truck both ran really nice

 

SBC for sure.

 

I ran a 220hp 283 in my black 57 for yrs as my daily. It was nice but it really woke up when I put the 4.56’s in it. Then it died and a 340 hp ish (isky cam/ lwr comp) 327 went in. Originally I planned to put a 301 in it that I got from Lumpy63 out of his 60 Corvette but who knows I might go with another 327 and make it a 365 hp. The funny thing is a lot of my 327’s are 852 blocks anyway so you really couldn’t tell the difference whether or not it’s a 283 292 301 or 327. We’ve even been known to put a 350 crank or a 400 crank into a 327 block.

 

1967 was the last year the 283 was available so wouldn't a 1962 327 be more traditional/vintage/old school than say a 63-67 283?

 

327, M-20, in the Hardtop

 

To some people there's the traditional and/or sentimental connection, a "reliving their youth" kind of thing, with others it's a "size matters" thing.

 

I'll go with SIZE MATTERS for 500 hp Alex.

 

I've always been a 283 fan, mainly due to that being the engine dad and I put in my truck back in '78. it was out of a '66 Biscayne, nothing special, but it drove well and sounded great through glasspacks!

I now have a freshly machined later 283 block, ready for some forged .030 pistons and reworked PowerPak heads. I also have a '57 core engine that will get a mild makeover into a 265 poser. There are also 2 other generic 283 blocks and several sets of PowerPak cores.

Then there's the lone 64-67 327 block that I have dreams of building a 301/302.

 

For me it is both! As the 327 needs the 283 crank.

 

^^ That would make it a 301'' ! JW

 

Great question Denny...I've had the tunnel ram on for 46 years and it works well....the 292 is built for that application and I run 4:11's out back..... best time back when I actually ran down the local track was a 12:87. Even with this set up I've always driven it alot...it has good street manners....meaning its dependable.

 

Hello,

My brother was my teacher. He showed me the hows, whys and wheres of engine and hot rod building. As a young teen, I had the muscle and when given the job, I could do it with ease. So, working on my brother’s 51 Oldsmobile sedan or the new 58 Impala sedan, if I did not know how, he taught me the way. Where did he get his skills?

Reading the tech articles and talking to those old hot rod/drag race guys that always hung around Joe Malliard’s Westside of Long Beach shop, the Reath Automotive guys and Joe Reath, as well as others in the field at Lion’s Dragstrip. His experiences were a couple of steps ahead as being an older brother, he started gathering his knowledge much earlier and then there was the little brother helping out when asked...

So, I got the knowledge and skills doing what was taught to me. I did make mistakes in my gorilla grip and tightening the bolts. I wanted to make sure everything was going to stay put. So, “might makes right…” But, my brother decided that he could not be where I was all of the time. He bought a click torque wrench and that solved the gorilla grip/tightening sprees.

Jnaki

The long block 283 was the first part of our initial puzzle of assembly of the speed parts and things that we needed to get it running. but, my brother was a perfectionist. He laid out the parts for a single head to go on the right side. All of the parts were laid out on a white towel and all I had to do was to put each part where it needed to go and use the torque wrench. I took my time as I knew this was a first and I did not want to be blamed for screwing up a particular install or parts working together.
283 + Isky Cam + port/polished heads + 6 strombergs
It got to be a little tedious, as each part was laid out and I knew where each part was to go and how much I needed to tighten each part. We were convinced that a dual quad carb/manifold was the way to go for the drags and also as a daily driver. But, since the shop had a 6 Stromberg carb set up and my brother wanted the most power possible and he bought the 6 carb set up and manifold. There were a lot of parts and the assembly was beginning to be like a giant puzzle, but, it was a lot of fun.

When it came time to fire up the 283 + 6 Strombergs, my brother had one last trick up his sleeve. When I was leaning over the fender to check the spark plug connections, as I got to the driver’s side, he turned on the ignition key and I got the big shock running through my hand, arm and probably into my brain. Not funny, but my brother could not stop laughing. It was the conclusion of months of after school hard work and finally we had something to value for our efforts. YRMV

Note:
I was not ready for this assembly as it started with a bare block bored out to 292 c.i. by Reath Automotive. So, the whole experience was a larger puzzle with more "blower spec" parts all neatly laid out on a white towel ready to clean and install bit by bit. It took longer than the first attempt, but the results and learning from my brother was the key.

For me and a million other folks, the 283 SBC was the first modified motor we worked on as a teen. From a stock 283 to a modified 292 c.i. 671 blower spec motor with 6 Strombergs on top. That was a range that led into modifications of our friends’ 283 motors during high school cruising/drag racing era.

Then during and after college, the 327 motor took over and tuning was the key in the 65 El Camino and 327 powered Ford Sedan Delivery. To me, they were the same as one experience led to another and if a repair was necessary, parts were plentiful. It was as easy as could be had just down the hill at the local parts store. YRMV