283 budget build suggestions

I've run into the 12's with them in a NHRA stock chevelle but I'd put 1.88 or 1.94 intakes in them if I had them off and since I worry about things I'd go for the hardened seats in the exhaust. If you need to have them done you might check into aftermarket heads at about the same price.

 

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Sorry for the duplicate entry on this subject I'm sleepy this morning. The advice is still the same though.

Frank

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Frank: What was the cam in the 37 I got from Rich. It performed great and sounded even better!

Craig

 

If the motor is sound, I wouldn't put too much into it, maybe duals and a small 4 bbl. What you really need is gears to get that beauty rolling. I'd swap in a turbo 350 (relatively easy) for the lower first gear and a usable "p***ing gear." Should make a world of difference in driveability.

 

Will the turbo 350 bolt right up?

 

I'm in the middle of my 283 rebuild as well and I haven't picked out a cam either. Just want to verify the part #'s with your reccomendations.
300 H.P., 327 cam, GM Pt. No. 3896929
350 H.P., 327 cam Factory Pt. No. 3863151

are these correct?

 

The turbo 350 will bolt up to the block and should the rear mount. You will need the torque converter from a th350. Flywheel should work. You will need to have a driveshaft made, different yokes I do beleive. I have a question for the other guys on the board, too. I was wondering if a 327 small journal crank would fit in the 283 block? What would you need if it does? Hope this helps and I hope I get help with this.?.?

 

derek , the 327 crank will go into a 283 block if the block was cast about 1962 and later....earlier blocks might need a little clearancing at the bottom of the bores to clear the larger counterweights on the 327 crank.

you end up with a 307 , not one of the more popular SBC's

 

Powerglide and turbo 350 are the same length, only minor snag should be the shifter if you're sticking with the column linkage. Kugel and maybe some other street rod outfits make a doohickey so you can hook up the factory shifter, but I used to know lots of guys who made it work without it. I wish now I had asked for specifics, but they all told me the turbo went right in where the "glide had been.

 

Can I bore the 283 to 327 specs?

 

i'll go on record and say no , that's an 1/8" overbore...i know a lot of guys have bored them that far in the past to make 301's (or 302 as chevy called it),and many guys here will tell you it's ok , but not all 283 blocks had thick enuff cylinder walls , and with 40+ years of corrosion...you may run into trouble

i never run a block that's been bored more than .030....there are still many 283 and 327 engines out there for next to nothing (i just had a 283 and a 327 given to me free) to mess with all that.. if you want a 327 , go get a 327

i see 283's and 327's all the time on ebay for $100-$300

i'm sure someone has one sitting in a garage they would like to get rid of


just my opinion

 

Thanks.

 

Craig, I wish i knew what cam was in the 350 rich sold you. I always loved how it sounded and how it pulled. When the engine was built it was done by a friend of Rich's and he doesn't remember exactly what the grind was. or the manufacturer. If you ever pull that engine apart I hope you take note of any ID numbers on the end of the cam or any other information that would help in tracking down it's orogin.

Frank

 

Here's my personal set up with my 283.

.30 over
10:1 comp
Howards 244 @ .50 solid lift cam .510 lift
305 ho heads, minor port job and 1.94/ 1.50 valves
Holley Contender manifold
Holley 600cfm
Pertronix Flamethrower Dist and Coil
Headers into dual 2 1/4"

I originally ran a edelbrock performer cam. After the switch I could tell the engine lost some bottom end torque, but when I hit about 2,500, it really started to take off more then the build with previous cam ever did. I would think a smaller cam if you plan on keeping the 'glide.. maybe a mild solid I've seen one something like 226 @ .50... The current set ups have put a few mild 350's in their place.. nothing like spending a while convincing some hot head his 350 just got smoked by a 283.... just my thoughts though. Have fun with your build!

 

How will a 287 CID with 8.3 - 1 compression run with #461 heads with 2.020 intake and 1.600 exhaust valves perform in a 2000 lb. Model A with 3.25 rear gears and 29" tall cheater slicks???????

 

Not enough compression to make the big numbers. The heads may be a bit big until you wind it (runner size has gone up)? The big valves may be shrouded by the bore wall? But who cares - in a 2000# A-Bone it will pull your jowls back like a rocket sled

 

30-30 cam with stock rear, stock converter and Powerglide?
Bring a calendar instead of a stopwatch.

 

Nice reliable powerful driver? Easy, just keep it moderate. You're not building a 350, so the low performance cast-offs from those work great.

Flat top cast pistons are fine, and will probably be the most expensive part of the job.

Go with a small cam, somewhere in the 256-260 degree advertised range. No need to stick with a 40 year old factory design. Cam technology has come a long way since the 327/300, 327/350, or 30-30 cams were designed. Besides that, they were designed for a bigger engine, meaning you will lose bottom end with them which you desparetley need with that 'glide.

Use an Edelbbrock performer or equivalent low rise dual plane intake. Seems every rodder has one on the shelf in his garage, can usually be found pretty cheap. Find a small cfm carb, 600 or less, and honestly that's too much even, but Holley 600 vacuum secondaries part #1850 are common as dirt, cheap and easy to tune. Edelbrocks and Carters are completely different animals, but generally run very well right out of the box.

I suggest 305 HO heads for any 283 build. The ports flow better than power packs, better than some 461s, and keep compression in check, some have chambers as small as 50ccs. They're already hard-seated too.

All this should yield a nice driver, reasonable economy, good seat of the pants and can be done on the cheep.

Devin

 

Guys, this has been great information and I have been searching for this for weeks. Glad I finally found it again. I found all of this stuff (minus cam) close to me and cheap. Looking forward to putting all the pieces together now. Thanks again

 

Imho, I'd do a good 283 this way.

Install a pair of 305HO, -601 heads with 1.84"/1.50" valves that are down around 52/53 cc's or so using either the .015" or .020" thick shim headgaskets to get the CR up where it should be. I want at least 10.25 to 1 here and it should still burn pump gas.

As for a cam, imho, the old -097 Duntov solid lifter STOCK 283 cam is a real DANDY by me. With no more than a set of Z-28, (aka, -142), valve springs she will hit 7,500 rpm easy

Then install a Holley 300-36 true high-rise dual plane intake on her along with say a good 600 cfm 1850 vacuum secondary carb.

As far as exhaust manifolds or headers, try to find a set of 1.375" to 1.50", 4-tube, long tube and then run true smooth perforated inner pipe W/D/T GL***PACKS out the back.

I've got everything except a cheap set of 1/8" over, 1/8" tall, 1/2 round domed 283 pistons to make another ol' junk301 engine, but this time, I'm going to shift her at 8,000 rpm just for the fun of it!

pdq67

 

If you are trying to do this real cheap, pick up a later 350 or 305 2bbl intake manafold and matching carb. The carb is bigger and the intake has larger runners etc.

 

When I was a teen( along time ago) I did a 283 for my chevy coupe. I did it with rams horn manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust with turbo corvair mufflers, a 4bbl manifold with a quadrajet, double roller gears, and a cam from JC Whitney that had the same specs as the 350HP 327 cam, high rev hydraulics(Whitney), and a set of double hump heads that I think were 2.02's. It ran real good with a 4 speed behind it and still got decent mileage on a trip. I don't remember the gears but it had a '57 rearend. I was low on funds at the time so JC Whitney was great back then. I also got the Hastings rings and bearings from them. Does anyone remember all the specs on the 350HP cam?

 

I have a 72 vega hatchback that i am back halfing, 4 linking with a 12 pt cage, to fit 10.5 or 12.5 slicks with bead locks. i want to build my 65 283 2 bolt main block into a nastalgic high rpm beast.. i have quite abit of knowledge but i will never dismiss advice. my plans for the 283 is to possible bore it .30 over balance and blueprinted rotating ***embly, possibly make it into a 4 bolt main, the rotating ***embly has to be as light as possible with domed pistons, have high flowing heads, have a very healthy mech flat tappet cam .. SUGGESTIONS WANTED !!!!!!.. reliable valvetrain, 13.5:1 compression, port and polish the heads, port match the heads both exhaust and intake. have a 23 degree VICTOR E (4500-8500 rpm) intake pn 29785, or the SUPER VICTOR (3500-8500 rpm)
#2925 .. runing a tuned through e-85 carb (cuz its gonna b runnign 3-85 to run high compressionfor cheap) , run a turbo 350.. with transbrake reverse shift pattern and full manual valve body, run deep gears in the back to get her rollin as fast as possible in the 1/4.. more strip than street but i want to show off my pride and joy at car shows, its coing to have a stripped interior, lexan windows, but if ur reading this and it makes sense send feedback if you would suggest anything else im up for anything .. and there is a budget but i will go over if need be. thanks for your time.
Corey

 

That's a lot of money and time to build, what will end up as, a nice 350.

 

i was also thinking about building a 355 with the same combo of parts and e-85.. which i was thinking would be more realistic and more powerful

 

Nice to see a good thread pop back up. I'm close to scoring a 283 (actually 2 to choose from) and was wondering about hop-up possibilities.

 

The mildest hydraulic cam from Comp Cams or any of the other aftermarket manufacturer would be better than those GM cams mention in the 3 pages here. I'm not saying that from back yard knowledge but from hearing guys like Morrison of Reher, and Lingenfelter say it. They are just built to exacting specs more than the millions that GM makes. That and a good timing set, small 4 barrel carb and dual exhaust. If you want to deal with burnt spark plug wires, leaking exhaust gaskets burnt up starters then put headers on it. If you want to have endless fun with little work and as you said "no budget" do what I just said. I've been at this a long time with dozens of 283's and 327's they are probably the best engine ever built and low cost. The turbo 350 will bolt right up provided you have a block mounted starter.

Pat

 

Oh the irony!! ROFLMAO!

 

Like I've stated before.....my brother put a 30/30 in the 283 in his '62 Impala many years ago, and could have won some street races with it if he could have convinced his opponents to go from an 80 mph roll. ABSOLUTELY no low end. The sould impressed 'em at the Tastee-Freez, though.

 

I had the same combination that John Copeland (above) had except a Carter AFB in a 55 Chevy w/ 4speed and 4:11 rear. Ran it everywhere for the 28 years I had the car with a yearly oil change and a 3 year tune up, never had a tear down after the initial rebuild. If it runs decent don't fix it if it ain't broke

 

being young and all i have lots of knowledge because i have been working on cl***ic cars, muscle cars, hotrods since i was 12, but not all of the knowledge that i would like. i have a thing for small cars with a fair amount of power.. so i chose a vega.. as much as i want the 283 hopped up ive come to realize that the 355 would be alot cheaper and more powerful.. and its still a sbc.. and who knows i may even dress it up to look like a 283