I won't got into a lot of detail, other than to say my large journal 265, based on a 305 block, is a dead deal. So, today I bought a .030 over, cast, flat top piston, 283. The only drawback, is it has a cast crank. Short block is in beautiful shape, won't even have to clean it up much. Barely any ridge at the cylinder tops. I'm considering running it the way it is, but I also have a forged crank, aftermarket rods, and forged pistons. What sort of survival can I expect from a cast crank; one of the casting number sites I looked at says it's made of nodular iron. Anyone with any real world experience with a 283/cast crank performance oriented motor? Butch/56sedandelivery.
I've beat the living **** out of 327s, 350s with cast cranks in stock cars, never had one break. Drag racing use might be another story. Bob
283's are like little anvils. 8500 rpm's with induction mods are done pretty regularly. As long as your not using a trans brake, or launching on a sticky track surface, I dont see a problem.
Stock 283s had steel cranks,as did 265s.Have never seen a cast crank in one.Of course i am old and forgot a lot.
no.....many 283's had cast cranks , i have two of them here. i believe all the early ones up to about 1962 had forged , after that they could be cast or forged
I've run some 283's with cast cranks pretty hard and never had one give up. The early rods were much more of a worry than the cranks. My experience has been that with a flat top piston your going to be hard pressed to make any compression in a bore that small so you will not have to worry about rpm's much.
Maybe a large journal 283? I think that a few had cast cranks but damned few. I have never seen one myself so it must have been real damned few.
There isn't any "large journal 283's" And they had cast cranks in the later years of production, 63-67. Production ended in 67 and the 307 came out in 68. Everybody is always asking about cast vs forged, 4 bolt vs 2 bolt etc. If you beat the **** out of your car constantly and drive like a real ***hole then SOMETHINGS going to break. If you have a good cast crank, have it magnafluxed and a 2 bolt block then use them and drive reasonably. I am getting old, Pat
All SBC factory 400 cranks are cast. How many of them have you seen screaming around in circle track? Or drag racing? Even worse is the 383 conversion where the mains are turned down to fit a 350 block, giving less material in the main to arm transition area. Countless 383 have turned 7000+ rpms. Most of the 400 and 383 are external balance, which is more load on the crank. 400 stroke is 3.75 inches. I have never heard of engine failure due to a cast 400 crank failing. Rods are certainly high on the failure root cause list, but not cast crank. Your 283 with short 3.00 stroke is also internal balanced. That crank will never have any troubles unless something else goes away first. The overlap of the main to rod journals make it quite strong. Bottom line: run it and just make sure the rest of the parts are up to the requirements.
We ran cast cranks and two bolt main 350s in our derby cars and they seen 8000 rpm consistantly with no failures.
I would have absolutely no concerns running a large journal, cast crank; they're a whole lot more beafier than a 265-283 crank. This is the first cast crank I've actually seen for a 283. RPM's will be somewhat limited by the WCFB carb, and small port/valve heads I'm planning to use. It also has the small journal 327 rods, and aftermarket rod bolts; the 265-283 rods were the weak link in these motors. Well, I guess we'll see how it holds up. Butch/56sedandelivery.
Don't you worry about that cast 283 crank, it will do 7500- 8000 rpm repeatedly and keep on taking it.......it was made in the USA, man!
Standard bore 305 block (see, they are good for something) and bore it .014 to use standard bore 265 pistons; or you might be able to add another .030 for .030+265; trying for a .060 over 265 bore would be too much for a 305 block. #1178 302 Z-28 crank or one of the "new" ****/Eagle 3" cranks that are large journal. This way you also get to use the heavier duty 5.7 large journal rods. Makes for a stout lower end 265. And you don't have to mess with the 265's oiling deficiencies. I had a line on a Canadian 4 bolt 305 truck block; turned out to be missing the main caps, had a really deep ring ridge, but worst of all it was very rusty. Of course the guy said it was in perfect shape. My #1178 crank got stolen from my storage locker, along with a bunch of other parts. And, the Thompson standard bore forged pistons I bought turned out to be semi-finished pistons and no one does piston grinding anymore; a real dead art. Like I said, long story. Butch/56sedandelivery.
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