Building a 283 SBC! Need help!!

^^^Listen to TR, the man know's of what he speaks. Myself, at tear down, I'd aim at getting the CR down to something more street friendly, if financialy feasable. Gettin' fuel the high CR needs is a PITA, for street use.

 

Thank you sir!!, for those others who don't think it should be taken apart, let's see....

I see no less than 8 exhaust ports open, no oil filter, no distributor, a giant hole for the road draft tube, a intake manifold not bolted on and not covered for the carb opening, should I continue?

 

Thank you as well sir for the compliment!!!! All the best, TR

 

Why would you even assume that about the rocker arm ratio?

H/S " original " series rockers for 3/8" and 7/16" SBC come in either 1.5, 1.6, 1.65, or 1.5/1.6 combos. Please let us know why you assume something like this. The pushrod would be quite close to the rocker arm fulcrum point if they were 1.65, and they don't appear to be that way. I still wouldn't just speculate what the ratio is by a picture on the internet and I do this all day long.

 

If it were mine I would cc a cylinder at top dead center then at bottom dead center. This way you can accurately determine compression ratio and cubic inch.
Cost-$0

 

@TraditionsRacing
My grand pop was very smart when it came to this stuff. I think the heads were ported. Also, the pistons might be 10:1. How can i check this? Thx

 

17 head bolts off ...and see

 

Much good advice here and the idea of taking it apart for inspection is always a good idea. I did notice that there are only 2 cylinders with pushrods installled (1&2). I agree that the plastic and loose intake manifold indicate incomplete assembly and some thought to long storage before completetion. My plan:
1. pull oil pan and timing cover, check pump pickup is secured to the pump and remove the timing chain and gears to identify the cam.
2. I have a scope that fits through the spark plug hole and would allow inspection of the cylinder walls and possibly identify the pistons ( flat top, dome, etc). If this inspection looked good, I'd MMO the clyinders and turn the engine over by hand.
3. Check pushrod length , reinstall pan and timing cover with new gaskets
4. pull intake and pull lifters and check for cam breakin lube. relube cam and lifters.
Install proper length pushrods and prelube the engine.
I'm headed toward getting the engine ready to fire/ firing it and then leaving it closed and sealed up until it can be used (6-8 months). If you find dirt/corrpsion when inspecting anything you need to back up and dissassemble the whole thing. I give an 85% chance that your going to be ok. By the way, I hope your grandpa checked piston to valve clearance with those heads and cam. Good luck.

 

Dont know why you would not take it apart and see what grandpa did. Who knows maybe he can still teach you somthing even if hes not around in person.

 

Thx everyone!

 

If you don't tear it down you are flying completely blind and when something goes wrong you won't know where to start. All it will cost you is a set of gaskets, and if they are 10 years old they probably should be replaced anyway, as well as the seals. Plus, it will give you a chance to write down the bearing sizes used, the cam numbers, and other details that you will never know otherwise.

You can do what you want, but any motor that has been built by someone else and not started for 10 years old is suspect right off the bat.

Don

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

Cool mill bro, looks like you got plenty of helpful advice. I see a lot of way to big carbs on motors, take the good advice of 600 cfm's and you will be happy. ~sololobo~

 

Sir, please know that any advice or suggestions I made is nothing negative about your grandfather and his ability's. I wouldn't do that. I only want you to consider tearing it down because of how long it sat. I'm hoping you the best, and that you can bring this to life someday soon and honor him, TR

 

@TR
Thanks, I didnt mean it that way though.

 

Ttt

 

I have to do exactly what we are suggesting you do. The 394 Olds I have for my rpu project was built by me about 6 or 7 years ago and never fired up. I am going to pull at least the pan, valley cover, front cover and cam and check everything out before I try to start it.

I figure the gaskets and seals are dried out from sitting in a hot Florida shop all that time, and the assembly lube has probably gotten dry as well. I did pickle the cylinders by filling them with oil, but I worry the rings may have lost their tension. Much better to do it before the car is done than after everything is painted and assembled.

Don

 

I guess i will take it apart. Are there any gaskets that are better than others? I think somebody said get .040 gaskets for the heads, is that good? Brand? Thx

 

You will want to tear it down first before you know what thickness head gaskets you will need. I would guess felpro would have what you need.

 

Is your Grandma some kind of bitch,excuse my terminology. Asked again, how do you wind up with the engine and she does not give up the paperwork??? Or even copies. Your Grandpa is gone but he could be of a great interest to this site and its members, not to mention helping his Grandson carry on with the knowledge his Grandpa possesed. Is there a "will" issue that maybe your suppose to figure all this out on your own???

 

I just did the same thing with a 454. The engine was running and in a Chevy truck project that someone gave up on. The engine ran, but not good, mostly the carburetor. Supposedly, a lot of money was spent on the engine. The engine is destined for a 59 Stude Lark.
All of this stuff belongs to a good friend of mine and I do most of his heavy work for him.
To be safe and to confirm the work that was done, I took the pan, front cover and heads off. Luckily, the engine looks new on the inside. Nice cam, new pistons, bearings and early 396 heads, new guides, seats, springs and valves. It should be a good runner, and all we bought was a gasket set.
It is much nicer knowing exactly what you have.

 

@country gent
Shes not my grandma, he got married again. Before he died my dad went and got it but after he died she never gave the papers up. Who knows she might up thrown the papers away.

 

This engine looks like a great gift from Gramps. Welcome to the cult. You do know SBCs can lead to BBCs. Lots of good advice from this community. Have fun!

 

As for what brand of gaskets, I generally use Felpros and I love the one piece (blue) rubber pan gaskets. Some people object to the blue color showing, but I don't sweat stuff like that, and they are reusable if you ever have to drop the pan again.

For the intake gaskets, I also use FelPros but not their PrintOSeal gaskets. I just use their regular composite side gaskets, and toss out the rubber end seals. In their place I use 3M Right Stuff sealant, the stuff is fantastic and seals so much better than the rubber end seals. We have even had water necks that would seep with gaskets and permatex, but with the Right Stuff it sealed right up.

Don

 

If it was mine Id be tearing it down, lubing the lifters/cam and at least to see what slugs are in it, whether +ve or -ve deck and CC the heads to get an accurate estimate of actual CR.

You can even send out the cam and have it specced so you know what you are playing with. I bought a nice fresh 283 off a fellow Hamber and checked everything after whipping off the pan inc the rid/mains clearances which were spot on.

Replace all with fresh gaskets and go for it.

Looks like a nice engine - good luck !!

Rat

 

Finding head gaskets for the 283 can be a bit of a chore these days. The majority of sbc head gaskets are going to be for the 4.00+ max overbore. If you are looking to dump a bit of compression this will do it but if not you will have to find a gasket made for a 3 7/8-3 15/16 bore. The GM service gasket for the 307 p/n 3995633 is a .016-.019 gasket that is made for this bore. The only problems are that they are getting hard to find and it is not a good idea using a steel gasket with those aluminum heads. If you need a gasket for that bore you will probably need to order them from Cometic or a similar supplier and in that case can order them in the thickness needed for your combination.

 

I am tearing one down as we speak and I'm a noob on a good day.
Lots of good info up here on the board.
This is a thread I started on hope it can help you.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=757876

 

Why would she let you have the engine and not let you have the paperwork?

 

I would pull the pan, re-torque everything, pull the front cover and timing gear and get the ID#'s off the cam.
Obviously your grandpa knew his way around a SBC, not sure if pulling the heads is even necessary but pulling one head would tell you what pistons were used, bore diameter and condition of the cylinders. Head gaskets are sold each and the old head gasket more than likely has a part number you could order. Head gaskets are not re-usable even though the motor hasn't been fired.
Some say you can determine the stroke by the back of the crankshaft. I'm not a SBC guy but there are plenty on the HAMB that know a 283 like the back of their hand.

 

Thx for all the help!!