Well I have to say this year is starting out right already. I had a guy call me up and wanted to trade a 283 SBC for my old walmart air compressor. I was shocked when he said that the motor wasn't locked up and that he had pulled out of a Jeep. Well anyway I told heim that it better be what he says it is or I am not trading. The next day he showed up and everything was what he said. So I plan to rebuildthe little terror and drop it into my 55 Chevy 210. I am curious to what I have to do to make this baby scream, the guy told me that it is the small journal motor and that it ran pretty good but needs to be rebuilt. Other guys locally tell me to bore it out to a 301 and put fullie heads on it if I can get them with a dual quad setup or fuel injection. My step father is always telling stories of a 57 chevy that his friend had back in Denver with a 283 punched out to a 302 with fullie heads and rochester fuel injection. He says the car was bad ***.Any way this is before my times and I am eager to know how I should go with this 283. thanks
That's a cool deal! I'm interested in this information as well since I think my Uncle is going to let me take a '57 283 off his hands for my '54 Chev.
Lots of stuff on here in the past re: building these to 301. Try the search function. If you plan on running on the street and driving it much, I'd go with a mild cam, headers, dual plane intake, 550 to 600 cfm carb and decent ignition.
The 283 is a rockin' little engine. Sound like you made a good trade. An early fuel unit is big $$ though. I'd have to stick with a carb. JH
Not only are they high dollar but a single 4 will out perform one. The vast majority of them got pulled in favor of a single or dual 4 bbl set up. They do look as kool as hell though. I've had a few 301s over they years with a moderate cam and a single 4 they run real well. The down side is they are a throw away engine. After you punch one .1250 you never punch it again.
todays technology it would be interesting to see what that little ****er would do. stock with a 30-30 duntov cam and dual wcfb quads, and good heads was tough to beat in any car you had. I ran a 2800 lb 56 ford business coupe. never had a 301. went from 283 to a 327, I've seen 283's that lived in the 7500+ rpm range like Gary Molines black 57 Bel Aire, they were the most popular for the same reason people run them today "the most bang for the buck" you could run faster but not cheaper. out in the shop I have a 265, 283, early 327 a couple 350's a 235, 261, 292, and I don't consider myself a chevy guy!!
Lockwood - Noname says "you could run faster but not cheaper." Sorry, but I have to disagree. I recently bought a "cheap" 283 ($100 for a complete engine) and found out many new parts (especially pistons!) are two/three times as expensive as 350 stuff. So much so, that even after having my 283 bored .040, I set it aside in favor of building up a 350 - which are also a "dime-a-dozen" if you just look around a little. Fuelie heads are the same price - no matter what motor they go on, so nothing is saved there by having a 283. Its pretty much the same with intake manifolds, cams, etc. Don't get me wrong. I'm a Chevy guy, and as much a traditionalist as anyone. Also, I was around and actively hot rodding in the day of the 283 (had one in a '66 Nova that ran VERYstrong). I'm building the 350 (with a 400 crank to = 383 C.I.) for a '60's-style altered roadster. I'm using the double-hump "fuelie" heads, and I guarantee, nobody will ever know its a later block. Do what you want. All I'm saying is just don't be caught unaware. Building up a 283 isn't likely to be any cheaper than doing a 350 - it will surely cost as much - and quite likely more. Just my two-cents (learned from hard experience).
...besides, you just have to snoop around. I recently bought a nice set of .030 pistons for my 283 with 1/8 inch domes like the factory F.I. engines had, new in the box, for $50.
I run an early 283 with stock heads and pistons 30-30 duntov cam three two with 94's, because they don't leak like 97's in my roadster. I don't know what it spins but it will light the tires all day long. Loads of fun with the early 3 Sp trans. nothin trick just a lot of fun.
I already have a 350 in my 55 but I want to build this 283 just because I think it would be cool to have a engine from this era in the car. I am not going to put it in until it is built and done the right way. I am verl thankful for the knowledge that you guys are giving me. I have a local ex drag racer (Bob Chipper) that I want to check the block out for me. He had a bad *** 33 or 34 Willys g***er back in the day.anyway please keep sharing the 283 stories I enjoy learning. The crazy thing is this 55 is my first chevy I ever owned.
Isn't it great that we haven't had cause to pick up a snow shovel yet? I put brakes on the front of my daily driver in my driveway last night.
So, let me get this right. Are you going to build this engine for street or strip? I keep reading about g***ers and then about driveability. I think we're swinging from one extreme to another. My point really is this: you can make a screeming 301 disposable engine or build an era correct 283 street motor. I think you're going to have trouble doing both. The g***er type 301s were bad *** little motors but, that wasn't the only thing the cars had going for them. They were setup for it, lightweight bodies and frames, and weight transfer was correct. Back then the bodies set up higher and weight transfer was everything. So, little motor meant lighter car. Don't expect g***er performance out of a 3500# street driver. The stock or slightly bored 283 will run with no problem. I remember a friend back in 70 that had a 4 door 57 Chevy w 283 automatic. That car would run 120 on the highway with no problem however, it didn't turn the 1/4 mile worth a ****. Anyway, you can't go wrong with the durable 283. I can offer you this, I found a set of 327 aluminum pistons in an old truck I bought. If you have a need for them let me know. There's only one problem though, there are only seven of them. Go figure, right? What do you want to nothing? Good luck!
[ ON the 283 rebuild, the 30-30 cam is way too much. You want the '57 Dontov cam . It will idle down to 600rpm with a wicked lope that the new cams don't have. To just have fun, you don't need the over priced double hump heads. The power pac heads (small triangle on top of bar on the end of the head) will do great with a 9 to 1 compression. The vortec heads are a lot better and around $500 for a pair brand new,but you would have to disguise the valve covers to look "correct". Lunati sells the '57 Dontov cam. With a high-rise dual plane and small carb you'll get 6500 rpm if you want to. Just be sure you have a good set of rods. The early 265 rods are not as strong as the later 283 rods. A set of little block hugger headers and you got a fun motor ! I am now putting together a .040 over 283 with the "57 Dontov, two tiny old Carter AFBs, full length headers ( round the exhust port to match the headers and blend the bowles ) and a stock distributor with a Crane electronic conversion ($65 with a rev limiter). With a set of pie crust cheater slicks on some old mags, this should make my '55 two door look and sound like an old g***er. Not too expensive and not enough power to break. But a lot of fun. quote=Aman]So, let me get this right. Are you going to build this engine for street or strip? I keep reading about g***ers and then about driveability. I think we're swinging from one extreme to another. My point really is this: you can make a screeming 301 disposable engine or build an era correct 283 street motor. I think you're going to have trouble doing both. The g***er type 301s were bad *** little motors but, that wasn't the only thing the cars had going for them. They were setup for it, lightweight bodies and frames, and weight transfer was correct. Back then the bodies set up higher and weight transfer was everything. So, little motor meant lighter car. Don't expect g***er performance out of a 3500# street driver. The stock or slightly bored 283 will run with no problem. I remember a friend back in 70 that had a 4 door 57 Chevy w 283 automatic. That car would run 120 on the highway with no problem however, it didn't turn the 1/4 mile worth a ****. Anyway, you can't go wrong with the durable 283. I can offer you this, I found a set of 327 aluminum pistons in an old truck I bought. If you have a need for them let me know. There's only one problem though, there are only seven of them. Go figure, right? What do you want to nothing? Good luck![/quote]
If it were already built and ready to drop in & go, I'd say "great! Do it!". I personally love 283's for dependability & gas mileage. I had an old Impala with a stock 190 hp 283, and it was the most dependable car I've ever owned - including the Honda Accord I drove in college - and it got somewhere in the low 20's for gas mileage. Not a "runner" so to speak, but it was a driver all day long. I drove the **** out of that thing and it never needed ANYTHING but gas and a little oil now and then. I should have never sold it (but I did drive it for 4 years with essentially NO maintenance and then doubled my money on the sale, so I can't cry about it). However, if you have to rebuild it, and you want to haul ***, get a 350. No subs***ue for cubes, and there are 350's EVERYWHERE. Walk around long enough and you might even trip over one.
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