I'm considering a 283 Chevy in my 47 Ford. I wanted it to be all Ford, but a 3531W is not easy to find near me. I have this 283 sitting in the barn, so why not use it?? Anyway, I'd like to run a 3x2 setup on it for nostalgia. Good idea or bad?? What intakes are available for a 3x2 setup?? What cam should I use? It has a stock 300HP 327 cam in it now. I'm gonna try to run a Muncie 4 speed in the car, if I can find one. If not, a buddy has a Saginaw. Opinions??
If you're running the 3-2 intake for nostalgia, not performance, then the cam you have would probably work great...if the rest of the car is set up to work with the cam. Since it's a "stock" cam, that means you can use pretty much whatever gear you want, and plan to shift by around 5000 rpm max
A 327/350 hp cam would be a good upgrade, people have been putting them in 283's for years, Crane Cams has one, it's part of their "blueprint" line. Sure, Muncie 4 speeds are priced a little higher but still, you can swing a dead cat and hit a Muncie, they aren't hard to find, just gotta let go of the cash.
3 Rochester 2Gs will work just fine on a nearly stock SBC 283. Run progressive linkage on them and have fun, plus pretty good MPH.
Edelbrock makes intakes for a 3x2 setup, but they use the "3 bolt" carbs. As for the cam, I thought about the Summit version of the 350HP cam. If I do, will I have to run screw in studs? I used to pin them, not sure if anyone does that anymore. Thanks for the advice. Still doing the planning. I think, for now, I'm gonna stick with the original front suspension and run a 9" rear (found a Versailles unit).
Do you already have the 9” rear? If so I think the Versailles had rear disc brakes that were a real mess and parts are non-existent. Maybe there’s a caliper that can be substituted, IDK. As far as the studs go I think you will be OK if you don’t put threaded studs in. All SBC valve springs were the same, 2 barrel 283, injected 327, Z28 and LT-1 only had 90# on the seat. OEM Chevy cam grinds have gentle action and there’s no need for a killer spring. If you really want to change the springs look for the so-called Z28 springs a lot of vendors sell now. The old GM p/n was 3927142 and it was known as an “off road” spring, those were 110# on the seat at 1.70 installed height.
Edelbrock makes two versions of the 3x2 intake for the SBC; part number 5418 is for the three bolt carbs and part number 5419 is for the four bolt carbs. There is also the Offenhauser 3558 for four bolt carbs.
They still offer a 4 bolt base intake. You can also take a 3 bolt manifold and drill and tap the two extra holes. The rear 2 bolts are the same width as a 2GC. You wont need a adaptor as there is meat on the intake to do this. We have made adaptors before for the 6x2 setups due to the base of the manifold.
Early Stock SBC’s had 70 psi on the seat in the old blue Motor Manual you should have no problem. I’ve run a L79 cam and a 30-30 solid with otherwise stock 283’s. The 30-30 with cast iron headers sounds the best both had 4 speeds. I didn’t like a close ratio. On the last one I drilled every stud for a 10-32 set screw. Made a jig and did it on my bench drill press and used a bottoming tap.
The gear ratio in your differential is going to play into what cam specs will work best and what won't. If you're running 2.73 gears, a "30-30" cam will make it come off of the line like a loaded semi. Kids on 10 speeds will beat you from 0-30.
There's been a couple discussions here on the HAMB about swapping the the stock Versailles rear discs to something that you can easily find parts for. Do some research before investing the time and money into that rear, see if that perfect width is worth the hassle of those rear brakes.
I had thought about trying to swap drum brakes on the Versailles rear. I know about the issues with getting brake parts. If it won't work, I'll find me an 8.8" rear in the salvage yard. I wanna run a 3.55 gear. I just wanna get the car running for now, so this year I may keep it on the cheap side, then tear it down next winter and do it better.
Hello, My friend’s white 57 Chevy Bel Air was on a lowered rake and had many different jobs in our community. His normal after school job was a hot dog maker. No not at a rolling street side cart. He worked at this cool factory near our high school. His job was to take the long tubular material hanging on a long rack and fill it with hot dog material. He had access to a hose that squirted the material into the tube and it filled up like one long hot dog, if he wanted the world’s largest hot dog. But, at every so often, a mark was on the tube to stop and tie a knot. After a long while on the job station, he had a long tube all tied into a separate shaped hot dogs. This was now draped over another line until the whole line was full. Then the apparatus was moved into a steaming/cooking area to get cooked as normal hot dogs, ready to be sold to butcher shops and other stores. Yes, we did have our own hot dogs for lunch during a break one day. My friend also had the coolest job was during the Christmas Seasons in our junior and senior years of high school. It was so nice that he got me a job as his assistant and got paid the same + valuable “tips.” We grew up as teenagers in a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, modified it as much as the teenage budget could afford and it was a fast one of a kind cruiser/hot rod. It had the most modifications done to a stock Chevy sedan of our whole teenage group. When a 3 carb manifold and carb set up was available for the 283 from another friend, of course we tried it over the stock 4 barrel carb set up. It made a big difference and was similar to my 3 carb set up on my 348 motor Impala. Except his had progressive linkage and mine had a vacuum set up for the 3 carbs. Th 3 carb set up was so much more powerful than the stock 4 barrel. The normal 283 on a two barrel ran the motor for daily driving. But, when the progressive linkage worked, the other two barrels came on and instantly, more power. The four barrel had 2 plus 2 more coming on when floored. The 3/two set up had a overall better driving set up and the additional power was instantly felt. But, when the dual quad carb set up was now available, we instantly jumped on the modification and switched out the 4 barrel set up for the 3 two barrel and gave the 3- 2 barrel set up back to our friend. Now, the switch from a 4 barrel to a dual quad set up was going to be the top street performer for this 283 build. At the time, no other 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop had dual quads on the modified 283 motor. His set up had a Duntov Cam straight from the local Chevy dealer and that in itself was a power addition like no other. With the Duntov Cam and dual quads, now we were talking pure power for the 57 Chevy Bel Air hardtop. Jnaki We even installed a 4 speed for a one time custom performance addition. It was the only 57 Chevy in the whole Bixby Knolls/Long Beach area that had a dual quad modified 283 motor and a 4 speed. It was on a lowered rake, plus it was fast. a similar look and style... It was not just a hot rod/cruiser/drag race sedan, but used for a variety of odd jobs. From a daily driver to high school, after school job and weekend beach cruiser to weekend dating scene. Plus, any money source such as a Christmas Tree delivery hot rod... YRMV NOTE: old Friday Art … Custom Christmas trees, green or color flocked and delivered to your living room by a couple of nice, hard working teenagers. It was our specialty on the busy lot in Bixby Knolls. Delivery was always free. Most deliveries were within a mile or two at the most. Tips were always appreciated… from another HAMB thread…
I got a free Saginaw 4speed from my buddy to upgrade from a 3 speed in my T rpu. Smallblock Chevy with a 2:57 rear. Raced it some and general hot rod driving. I broke first gear in it goofing around with my woman. It's got a Muncie now and a 3:36 gear. Pass on the Saginaw if you're gonna beat on it. Use the Saginaw if you're low on cash and gonna be nice to it.
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