Just scored a 283 standard bore short block out of a 61 vette. It came with an extra set of rods and a new set of forged .060 TRW pistons for the 315hp fuelie motor and a new cam for the 315hp set up. I'm wondering if it would be wise to bore the block .060 and use the TRW's or to go with new pistons and less bore. The motor will be going in the red 32 5w in my avatar backed up with a muncie 4spd. Other items include an Offy with 3 97's and a vertex mag. Your advice will be appreciated.
You could have the cyl. walls sonic checked for thickness. I have a .060 over 283 in my 35 chevy, and it has no issues.
had 1 years ago in a 66 nova and it ran hot in stop n go traffic. did fine otherwise. by hot i mean around 210-220. not much cooling in those engine bays and even the "big" radiators weren't all that big.
I'll be running a 4 blade fan but do have a new Walker radiator. 210-220 does'nt sound too hateful in stop and go. I will also be running rams horns and a full 25 louver hood.
I know that in the old days, .120 (1/8") was not exactly uncommon on 283s, so I'm pretty sure you'll be fine. I would also say sonic check it though.
you will probably be fine , but i believe in boring as little as possible to save material for a future rebuild. when i rebuilt my latest 283 cast pistons were available for it in .020 , .030 , .040 , .060 and .080.....i went with .030 but i also believe in using what you have......forged pistons are spendy and i would have used them if i had them
My .060 over 283 ran fine (not hot) in my 57, even in parades. My .125 over 283 (301) ran a little hot at times on warm days---got used to turning on the heater for the little extra core.
I'm with 36-32window... why bore it so much that you'd never be able to rebuild it in the future if something goes wrong??
The '57 283 in my Roadster is .080" over, never any issues. Runs at 170 in all ambient temps, right on the thermostat. Depends on your pistons, are they flat-tops or high compression domes. If they're flat-tops I wouldn't hesitate to bore the block. If they're high compression swap them for flat-tops for no more than 9 1/2 to 1 compression. Really depends on all components, heads, cam, carbs, gear ratio and weight. If you are unsure of the cam check with the cam grinder or get a recommendation from a supplier. Importantly all components must be compatible.
I believe 99% of all 283's will go .080 anyway. 327's? I would never go past .060. Not without getting it checked. .030 is safe on a 327. I had a .125 283, ran like stink but with 11 to 1's it did run pretty warm all the time, didn't matter summer or winter. JMO. Lippy
My 283 was bored .060 with NO issues. 1940 Fords have a reputation for being somewhat difficult to cool ... but mine ran right on the thermostat ... all day, every day ... no matter the outside temperature or driving conditions. I live in the HOT, HUMID South ... My 40 had a stock 40 radiator and a 6 blade fan. No shroud. I believe in shrouds but the coupe just did not need one. .
Ditto on this one. Trade the pistons if you can for a set of .030" overs. Or just buy the .030" over pistons and save the .060" for a future rebuild....
I know my dad did it back in the day, might want to get it sonic tested. Should be a screamer though.
Back in the '60's ,, i went .125 over on my old 283,,12.5 to 1 pop up Jahns cast pistons ,,.30/.30 Duntov Cam ,,Rochester Fuel Injection/ later Dual Quad AFB's , ,,3 speed trans at first ,,then a Muncie M-20 4 speed after i saved up for it ,,ran it in my '54 Ford Pee Cup when i was in the Air Force in Alaska , fer 2 years ,,went like STINK ,,'till i put aBB 396 in it in '67 ,,then it went faster than StInK !! lol,,lol Go For Dewd ,,
That will work fine. I have bored many .125 over back in the day. Bored 265 .155 over. If they get hot it is not from over bore. A thin cylinder wall lets the heat through faster to the water.
no but ya get used to starin at 180 on the gauge with my 327 (standard bore) and 210-220 gets creepy fast! especially when its yer daily driver.. we used to do the heater thing and sometimes on a hot summer night, i'd get the passenger to jump out and push the pedestrian*****on so we could get movin again. gotta do what ya gotta do when the needle creeps.
Bore it .060 and be done with it... It won't hurt that 283 in the least... My buddy once had a .060 over 283ci (292ci) with a 280 isky hydraulic, a single rochester 4bbl, super t-10 and a 4.88 gear in a '57 chev. The car ran in the mid 13's in the quarter (G/Stock) and we had a lot of fun blowing the doors off unsuspecting big block muscle cars on the street... Temp. was never an issue...
George is right ! Any new motor made today has much thinner cylinder walls than that 283 will have at .080. The old saying that a big overbore will make a motor run hot is one of the biggest lies ever told. It is the increase in compression that goes with any good rebuild when the block is decked and heads resurfaced & the overbore. This was common back when a hot rodder started with a low compression 2 barrel motor and ended up with 10-1 and a 4 barrel and still had the radiator that was meant for the low output motor. Low octane fuel can also be a big factor if the compression goes up.
i have a 283 bored .60 over that runs a solid cam forged pistons at 12.5:1 compression with procomp cnc alloy heads in my 63 belair .i run it on 98 premium pump fuel with no over heating problems
Back in the early 60's we used to build 292 because they ran faster than the 301's. Don't know why but they are a great motor. If you build it right it will go 200,00 miles if you don't stress it too much and change the oil every 3000 miles.
A 283 can be bored to 4" without problems. A later version was the same block as a 327 so they had pretty thick walls. I built several 301s using early blocks with only front motor mount holes and they all ran great.
Becaue when the engine gets to 160 ... the thermostat opens and stays that way. It is like having NO THERMOSTAT ... Most engines need to run 180 or better to run best. It heats the oil up to lubricate better and they make more POWER! Around here in my area ( NASCAR country ) ... the NASCAR engine guys make their engine run @ 210 or so. They have dynoed them and repeatly ... the 210 degree engine made more power than the 180 degree temperature engine. Got better mileage also. Most of the better enginw guys I know say that a 180 or 195 thermostat actually reduces the overheating issues. When the 180 degree thermostat is closed ... the coolant in the radiator is cooling down. When the 180 thermostat opens ... it allows hotter coolant to leave the engine and the cool coolant to enter the engine which closes the thermostat. So the cool coolant is in the block and the 180 coolant goes to the radiator. This happens ... repeatly ... but the engine will generally stay at the temperature the degree thermostat is rated. If flaw in this is the ability of the radiator to keep the coolant cool.
I'm another one that wouldn't bore it any more than necessary. You can easily sell the .060 283 pistons. It may make the difference in having to chase down another good block 15 years from now and paying silly money for it.
Your '61 Block should go .060 just fine. Actually you could probably punch it an eigth and be alright. Do make sure that your machinist has some idea what he is doing and has the pistons in hand when he does the work. I'd punch it .060 and never look back.
I'm with 'beaner. Don't hesitate. Those early blocks are thick. No replacement for displacement. As far as future rebuilds, uh, like when? 30yrs from now? Do you plan on driving it 50K miles a year? Screw it dude, bore it .060. Also, you might find that those pistons are within .001 of each other in outside dimensions. The last set of TRWs I had were less than that. Made the boring process a no-brainer as in all the same size hole. TRW supplies most of the raw forgings in the industry, or at least they used to, and that meant cosistant size/quality control. Sounds like a fun and zippy combination you're puttin together. Good luck.
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