Been searching to school myself on 283s and have seen all the good info on intake, carb, cam, transmission and axle ratio selection but I have been able to find much on which 283's are the best to build. I'm getting the impression that 58 - 62 motors are the ticket but I've still got a few questions. Forged cranks - Are these found in ALL pre 63 motors? If not, what years had them or is it better to go by certain block casting numbers? Con Rods - Were forged con rods fitted to the forged crank motors? Block thickness - Are the 58 - 62 blocks the best for a 4" bore project (subject to sonice testing etc)? Also, was the canister filter a 55 - 265 only thing?
forged cranks where used in all `63 and older 283's ..all connecting rods are forged...all 283's had a cannister oil filter as for which block is safe to bore , there has been a lot a debate in that i say non of them...with core shift during casting , and 40+ years of rust..but the only way to know for sure have the block sonic tested here is another thread on this subject: http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58074 i'd sugest you PM RACEFAB , he does this for a living and once had a post on what block numbers where safer to bore , which where not ok to bore that far.
All except the original Nova 283's ... They ( and their 327 brothers ) had the spin on filter and a raised oil filter location. They also had a different clutch bar ball mounting location. The best block for a 301 ... is actually a 327 block with a 283 crank. The 327 block is already 4 inches and does not have to be bored ...
327 block & 283 crank= a good set of heads and a decent cam and youll have yourself a DZ Code -/Z28 type 302 SBC. It'll hit and hold 7500+rpm.
....just be sure to have that conglomeration of parts from different engines balanced by a competent machine shop before you attempt that 7500rpm!
That is exactly what I thought. And.....preferably a small journal 327 block that has the same main size as the 283.
350 block, 262 crank, 6" rods and some good pistons and you got a good, cheap 302 chevy. It's all in how good your machinist is. I saw a list once in hot rod of all the different engines you could make out of stock size parts.
My memory could be wrong, so if someone knows better help me out, but I as I remember we used 283 blocks with the casting ending in 010 to build small cu. in. race motors. These were supposed to be thick wall 283s because this casting was also used for 327s so they could be safely bored to 4". At least that was the thinking 25 years ago.
Thanks 36-3, that's what I was looking for and I'll tap up RACEFAB for his comments. Thanks for the other views but want to build a hot 283, not detroked 327's & 350's.
Most 283s had the garden-variety small journal forged crank - in fact I have never seen a cast 3-inch stroke small journal crank. Not sure if there's any cylinder wall thickness variation over the years, but I have bored a 1967 block +0.125" without any issues. Of course, it's easier to find a small journal 327 block instead.
I've got two cast 3" cranks, so that myth is,,,,,,,,,,,busted! Look at the front cam bearing and see is it centered in the casting, this is a tip-off of core shift. LEE
I recall the 283 heavy truck block was a good one , I've forgotten the cast # but maybe "Crazy Lloyd" will remember , he ran them back in the 60's ,blown on fuel and was one of the first to break 200 with a SBC .
Weird, I just looked at two of the 283s (one 1966 and one 1967) in my garage and both have the forged '6467' crank. I didn't say it was a myth, I said it was my own experience! Apparently my experience is limited with 283s.
If you need the right 283 rockys got 2 a 59 and a 62 both with steel cranks he may be willing to sell one.give it a shot
They may have both come from trucks; I believe truck 283s still had steel crankshafts right to the end.
i have bored 283 blocks,built 327 blocks with a 283 shaft and allkinds of other **** in 30 plus years of racing.if you have a complete 283,just rebuild it with a 030 overbore and forget about the 301 engine,you will never know the differance in your car,trust me on that. Randy
I'm building a 301 actually 306 with a .030 over bore, 66 327 block 64 forged crank Pistons are rather expencive though ($400) and the speed pro ones i bought were something like 11.8? to one compression with 64cc heads like cammel humps, i'm running 76cc World heads so it's like 10 to 1
IF you build a 283 bored 125 thousands ( 301 ) ... you stand a real decent chance of having a HOT 283 ... but not the way you intend. The cylinder walls will be thin and sometimes they tend to run HOT ... in a lot of cases. The 327 block is already a 4 inch bore. So a 301 can be built with one ... at standard bore. Better cooling and vastly better ring seal ... because the cylinder walls are thicker. Randy Dupree is correct ... in a street car ... just bore the 283 enough to clean up the cylinder walls and build it. When I rebuilt the 283 in my old 1940 Ford coupe ... I bored it 60 over ... not 125 ... I went 60 over because I already had a new set of 60 over Corvette Fuel Injection pistons ... or I would have bored it just 30 over.
Randy nailed it--good 283-060 over if need be (292 CI) will run as good as a 301 on the street with no heating problems but check core shift at the front cam journal to get a good block before sonic testing--waste of time to sonic test (in my opinion) if the cam is not centered in the casting
Well after my block got basicly stolen i decided to use a 72 350 block with Spacer bearings, gunna be ***embling it next week lets hope it isnt the mess the start of the build has been
check pistons, you cant get a low enough compression 301 piston, but you might be able to come up with a rod and other sbc piston combo
i have a 301/2 built out of a 62 283. it is used in a dragster, and the block is poured. No problem yet. Has stock rods and crank, all balanced. I shift at 7600 . slow off the line but comes on in the top end.
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