Early 283 ID?

I just picked up a 283 and was curious to ID it. The block numbers are 3731548 which seems to indicate a 1957 engine, but I could not find out any info on the front stamped numbers. The numbers on the front deck pad are 9V55425.
With a quick bore check the engine seems to be around 3.970 using a non acurate quicky caliper measurement. I'm told the motor is a 301 which is pretty close to the measurement.
The guy I bought it off said he picked it up from a machine shop in the late 70's for his t-bucket project and all of it sat till I picked it up in the last couple of weeks. Came with a set of 461 double bumps with exh and int. porting, pinned studs and 2.02 valves. Domed piston seem to be 12.5:1 comp with the 63cc heads. OK back in the 70's, bit much for todays fuel.

Anyone with any info on the engine ID.....
Thanks

 

Here yeah go.......http://www.nastyz28.com/sbchevy/sblock.php

 

Does it have the mounting holes for side mounts? If it does it isn't a 57 motor.

 

Ah ha.....that was an easy check.......no side mounts.
Now comes the question again of what could this have come out of.
Will the numbers on the front engine pad tell me??

9V55425

Using the 70's ID method does not work with these numbers.

Anyone??

 

The 283 block casting number 3731548 was only used for the 1957 model year, which you have already figured out. The stamped build number 9V55425 indicates this is a Canadian engine cast and built at McKinnon Industries, St Catharines Ontario. I haven’t come across any information that allows one to decode this number. I’ve seen other McKinnon blocks from other years of that era that started with the 9V followed by what I think is a sequential number. Unfortunately McKinnon didn’t include a suffix which would ID the engines use, i.e. body style, hp, manual or automatic trans. McKinnon V8s of this ear also differed from Tonawanda and Saginaw/Flint by putting the casting date on the passenger side of the block in the frost plug area in a larger font than the US engines which put it on the right bell housing flange.

 

Also if it has no provision for an oil filter, it is a 55 265 block but since it has been bored that big, I doubt it was a 265.

 

I did find a source that identifies it as a 220HP 283, 1957. (That would be a 4bbl engine which would be correct for a Chevy Passenger car w/Power Pak or base Corvette engine) pretty sure that the 2bbl cars were still a 265 in '57. (last yr for a 265 in a car) The Corvettes were all 283. Of course the heads are later model.

 

hellp mr kanuck 442 from vanisle, what part of the island are you from?, i live just outside duncan.

 

Hi,
Thanks for the engine info. Being that it's a Canadian built 283, that would rule out it being a Corvette motor. It was a fresh built motor when the previous owner picked it up from the machine shop in the late 70's and the bores are still clean and shiny. Will open it up and check the bearings and I will have to clean some dust out of it.
Any idea what the rings would be like. They haven't been broken in yet so could I reuse them if I pull the motor apart for cleaning?
Looks like the cam is clean but there are no lifters. Guess I'll have to figure out if it uses hydrolic or solid lifters. Love to use the 461 double bumps that came with the motor but that would boost the compression to around 12:1 with the dome pistons.


Hey "Budd"
I'm located in the (usually) sunny town of Qualicum Beach.....home of the Father's Day car show that our club the "Seaside Cruizers" put on. Over 600 cars show up for this show in June, (19th, 20th, 21st this year).

 

that is a nice car show, and i'll be at the swap meet this year as well, my shop is about 5 min south of duncan, stop by if your down this way.