While the wind is blowing too freaking hard and cold to want to go outside I dug this info out from the GM Heritage center website pfd for 57 Chevy. https://www.gm.com/content/dam/comp...information-kits/chevrolet/1957-Chevrolet.pdf that was found here where you can find the link for the pfd for most Early Chevy and up through 57 at least can find a lot of info including the specs on specific engines https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/vehicle-information-kits. C is the suffix code for RPO 221 which is a 265 in 1957 C would be with a 3 speed, CD would be with overdrive and CE would have a heavy duty clutch. A 57 283 will start with E or F then extra letters for specific options.
Here are pictures of a 1957 265 block dated A227, the stamping before I had it decked was F205C. 3 spd. trans. This engine was in a 1956 Belair I purchased in 1980 when I lived in Detroit Michigan. Any chance they used them as dealer replacements? This is now .060 over and never run. I have no current home for it to go to. It was replaced with an LS.
I have one of our old E/class S.B. Chevrolet back up engines that Geisler bought from a kinda sketchy Bonneville racer years ago and that's kind of another story....anyway it is a standard bore 265 that has been sleeved down. It is a replacement block with a 1961 date code. It also has been decked so there are no deck numbers. So there were 265 replacement blocks available for years after they were discontinued in car/truck use. This block is pretty much a race only block, it has been O ringed and machined for 4 bolt mains and is headed for the scrap so if anyone here thinks they really need it, P.M. me and you will likely own it and if ya talk nice I might even throw in the splayed steel main caps with it.
Hello, My friend’s ultimate goal was to have his stock 283 in his 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop Sedan punched out to 301 c.i. That was the go-to motor to have in the small block Chevy motor builds. But, knowing the history of one of the early Bixby Knolls street/drag racers and his turquoise/white 56 Chevy hardtop sedan, the goal was to go larger. As one of the only teenagers with a high paying afterschool job and full time in the summer. Time available for a tear down was nil. The 57 Chevy was needed to get to the job after school and 8-5 in the summer. The 283 could be bored 1/8th over to 301. That was the safe limit for hot rod sedans and street/drag racers in our area of So Cal. There were plenty of fast cars, but Tom McEwen was always talking about “that is the way it came from the factory…” mode. (closed hood, only the sound was heard) Ha! After he won the late evening Cherry Avenue races. His 265, 283 and other mods were famous for their horsepower. But, if one was going to have a supercharger, anything under would be powerful, but safer, as long as one had blower spec parts, not your over the counter parts sold everywhere. Rarely did one see a 352 c.i. motor for the supercharged version at the drags. If it was 352, 1/8th over and ½ inch stroke, then it was usually multiple carburetors on top. Along with the other necessary cam/lifters/pistons, rods, crank mods, etc. Jnaki Our local "go to" place and for most drag racers in the So Cal area Reath Automotive was all things hot rod/drag racing. Later on, when touring was in vogue, out of town racers all headed to Reath Auto for parts, motor work and information on builds, etc. The staff on hand were some of the hot rod/drag racers that were the fastest racers around and regulars, at the local Lion's Dragstrip. One of our other friends did have a two door 1956 Chevy Hardtop Sedan and it was very nice. Plus, it was one of the fastest cars in Bixby Knolls with a modified 265, then a bored out 283 + dual quads, then a larger original 283 block bored to a 301. So, when the available time was open in the Summer, it was the only time we had to build the 57 283 like the motor in the 56 Bel Air Hardtop. A 352 c.i. motor with a Reath Automotive stroker crank. ALAS, it never was a good time to build, as the car was needed for all things transportation to the job and cruising… of course. The guy with the 56 Chevy was one of the early guys who started modifying his car. He liked being the top dog at the teenager hangouts and gabfests. The facts were slowly coming to light. The reversed photo to show white shoe polish class identification... C/Gas or C/Stock? The reversed photo shows the Lion’s Dragstrip classification. We knew back then, but for all of these year later, the classification is a mystery. A 265 would put the 1956 Chevy in C/Stock... whereas, the 301 or 352 SBC mods would have put him in C/Gas. There were very few 301 SBC motors in a 1956 Chevy or for that matter, any Chevy sedan back then. The only other guy may have been Tom McEwen and his string of 55, 56, 57 Chevy sedans with modified motors… Of course, we all have seen the Lion's Dragstrip classification photos showing D/Gas or C/Gas... Same neighborhood, same high school, same Chevy sedan type, but different timeline listing. But, the topper was and still is a mystery, the 56 Turquoise/white Chevy may have had a Stroker Kit from Reath Automotive to create a huge 352 C.I. SBC motor. No one alive ever had proof, although we did see the 56 Chevy Bel Air in action. Then he ruled the streets for a while. I filmed him at Lion’s Dragstrip, but cannot remember if it was in C/Stock class or C/Gas Class and which motor. It all looked stock at first inspection. If we ever got to raise his Chevy hood. But, closer inspection only gave anyone a stock appearing Chevy v8 motor. Lion's Dragstrip As far as the tech inspectors were concerned, it was never torn down under protest and when the hood was raised, it could have been in a stock car class or any designation given. It was stock appearing, even with orange factory colors. At each “rumored” build, he denied any improvements… (“it came that way…”) But, the last straw was a 352 c.i. SBC, bored and stroked Reath Automotive crank kit and pistons… for the street superiority at the time. A very strong “rumor…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCb8smHguN8 So, what was the mystery ? Reath Automotive was well known for its fast flathead builds. He even tried to sell me a stroked flathead that was the main floor display model. But, a lot of local racers had Stroker kits from this shop in Long Beach, at 10th and Cherry Avenue. When they moved to the big corner lot in Signal Hill area of Long Beach (still on Cherry Avenue) that same old homey feeling was waning. (But, the new, big corner store was a couple of miles to the famous Bixby Knolls, Cherry Avenue drags location…that was handy.) It was a far cry from the early beginnings in the small corner shop on 10th Street. Although the small original location had tons of machine work being done for those early drag racers. This new, larger shop was the epitome of a speed shop and build/machine/working hot rod/drag racing garage that almost took up a whole block. "This was the hot rod/drag racer's dream shop... plenty of space for machining, building, on the spot repairs, and a huge showroom full of the latest stuff. Everything possible in parts and service was in stock. Including more words of wisdom from the big master himself, Joe Reath. But, we all could see the glory and different attitude of the whole drag racing parts/racing/building scene with this new shop and in the coming years, the whole drag racing scene was changing, too." The huge corner store on Cherry Ave and 33rd had everything, a large showroom, multiple machine shops/ working garages, tons of ready to buy motors, parts, and the displays were like a museum, all laid out in an orderly fashion for every hot rod/drag racer. They had hit the big time and outgrew that original small store on the corner of 10th and Cherry Ave. After moving to the huge corner store on Cherry Ave and 33rd and staying for several years, they finally moved to a small industrial building on 28th St. in the Signal Hill area of Long Beach. Then it happened…it closed. A sad day in drag racing history, for sure. Note: The owner of the 56 Chevy hardtop sedan was also toying around with information from Reath Automotive staff about a stroked 283 including a bore, to make the SBC a 352 c.i. motor with 3 carbs. They said it would be a strong runner at the drags and a relatively smooth daily driver to school and work. YRMV “Boring the 283 Chevy to its safe maximum results in a displacement of 301 cubic inches. From there on, the only way for additional size increases is through stroking. Conventional stroking methods run out for the 283 Chevy at 352 cubic inches. The figure is obtained with a 4 inch bore and ½ inch stroke increase over the stock 3 inch figure.” (.125 or 1/8TH over, Bore + ½ inch Stroke)
My buddy in college bought a 56 or 57 chevy truck with a 4 speed and a 55 265 v8 and ran it out of oil.We rebuild ourselves and bored it 125 over and ran 283 piston in it,we did not have an overheating problem and ran the shit out it.
Bought one out of a 57 Truck, guy moving to AZ in early 90s. It had no side mounts, we had Camaros and Chevelles. Never knew it was a thick wall 265. Sold crank and rods to a super stock (SS/P) Racer in Texas.
Yup, those 265 rods were quite a bit lighter than the later 283 rods. They were sought after by the early Super Stock and Stock class guys.
My experience prior to the 327 blocks was a 4" 283 =301ci. Every other tri 5 on the street at this time was a 301ci. Don't recall any heating problems.
After he bought them, he mentioned about high Nickle like Z/28 302 rods. His block was a Canadian cyl block where the water jackets were bumped outward, he said bought every Canadian block he could find. Was in 80s running at the New Motorplex in Ennis TX. (Jake Foyt)
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