School me on 283's!!!!

Yea, with the 2.050's....get the guides a little loose and she'd swallow a valve......IF,IF you get your big stone, throat out the intake port....which you'll probably be into the edge of the combustion chamber. just unshroud that puppy....
Its best with the 305 heads, got hardened seats, gets decent performance. If ya want to perk her up some, just grab a pr. of decent smallblock heads and rework them. Check around on the prices....the parts are cheap, just the good work is gonna cost....

 

cubes equal power ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Wait, a 350 crate is $1600 and you won't have any problems

 

here's a handy chart to identify chevy heads

http://www.fastnuf.com/Headguide.html

 

If you had some good castings, pull out the pressed in studs, mill down the bosses, tap the holes for screw in studs (3/8's) and the guideplates, and mill em about .030, then finish grind at .035...have you a decent runner with a small z28 cam and alum intale with a 600 holley.

 

Here's one more reason why older is better..

The way things are going, you're going to have to smog your vehicle (no matter what year it is) according to the year of the motor in the vehicle. So 65 an older blocks are going to be worth even more. Hope I'm wrong, but i've already seen it happening. Cali is already pulling this on thier new 'Specialty Vehicle ala Brookville/fibergl***. I run a one pc rr main seal 350 in my daily, and 'they' would require all that smog equip stay with it.(yeah, right)

 

i want to try a set of vortec heads and a hydraulic roller came in a 283, i have two of them here, you can buy a 2x3 intake for the vortec heads.

 

That's quite a broad generalized statement. A lot of bad 283's in PA?

 

If you come across a set of 283 heads that have a rectangle and one post sticking up and are stamped 57 997's warning do not put them on! Whatever you do, do not use these, instead PM me and I will gladly get you some power pack heads in exchange.. Good luck with the lil mouse in the truck. The 283 is a great SBC.

 

Go with the 283. 350's are so common they're boring.

 

Yes all that extra torque and power realy makes you
bored to death

 

It's a no brainer. Get a 350 crate motor. Add a cam, 4 barrel and headers and go down the road. Too many rebuild horror stories out there. If it makes you feel any better you can still tell everybody it a 283. They will never know the difference

 

yes, i would probably be cheaper and easier to just use a crate 350 , GM sells them for about $1500. you would have that in a complete rebuild of a 283

BUT , some people just like to work on motors and like knowing that they rebuilt it themselves and they have a vintage motor. i am one of them , my `36 has a 283 and i just rebuilt another 283 for my current project. i have about $1200 in the long block , not including intake/carb/starter/distributor/water pump/etc. you would have to add those things to the crate too.

as for using 305 heads because they are cheap and give better performance, that's fine if you don't mind the look of them. i prefer the look of the early heads with no holes and the rectangle/point of the Powerpack heads. yes , it will cost money to get them ready.....hardened seats and new valve guides , etc. the last set cost me $350. but that's the way i want them

i'm not knocking crate motors , i have used a bunch of them....in other people's cars. for me i like to rebuild them . that may not make the most sense , but that is what i want

 

wow to think some one here wants to trade even up a set of common power pack heads for a set of 57 270 hp heads.

 

That's what I've been told. Every Y-block is a 312 and out of a T-Bird too.

 

Alot of replies in this thread that dont fit the HAMB mold. Whats "traditional" about using a crate 350? Or heads from a '70s camaro? Or any 350 at all for that matter?

I've got a 283 sitting on a stand in my corner(right next to a 409 on a stand) Ive always wanted to throw a 327 crank in a 283, just havent had the ambition...

 

Hey hillbilly... Why not install the 283 crank in the 327 block??? That be enough to give me ambition...... In a heartbeat!!!

 

I acknowledge the increase in power etc, but putting a 350 in a vehicle has been done so much they're about as exciting as going to the grocery store to buy toilet paper. The 283 will have more than enough power to get truck down the road, and the "no ****, its a 283?" comments would be fun to hear.

 

Yeah, thats what i meant to say. My bad

 

The 283 is one of the most reliable engines ever built. If you are looking for a good daily, then yes build it. If you want to run at the track and wow your friends over the weekend then build a 406. The search function will net you 20 good tech articles over the 283. Also use 301 in your search function.

 

Just like the look of the older engine...this is actually a 327 in my '31 truck...d32

 

Got this from another thread.

QUICK Guess the CID!

 

Good to know. I just picked up a set of double hump heads complete, along with a small journal 327 crank. From a 64 327 engine.

 

So that's how its done!!

 

I'm still on my first build (50 Chevy w/a 283 out of a 65 Impala) , just got it on the road...now I find out that there's at least one sticky or weak lifter....so off the road it goes, again. I lament it every time I have to tear it down in some fashion to replace parts I've never replaced before, but hell....it "learns" me real good!

I thought about ditching it and getting a crate 350, but like others here, I DO like the "vintage-ness" of it. Other mechanics who've been doing this for decades, and tire of all the modern engines, hear me mention "283" at the parts store and come a runnin' with a smile on their face to reminisce and talk about it.....I also end up getting free parts sometimes, too!

 

me too...that's the HAMB...and I love it...D32

 

That would be me and it was meant as a joke.

 

I had a 283 in this Impala when I first got it. But, after a while the compression got so bad it wouldn't even make it up the drive way so, out it went and in went a 350. I was wondering what options I had on how to build it. Needless to say, I'm glad this thread came about.

 

I would never build a 307. It's the worst possible combination ever produced. You can use some of the parts to build a good 327 though.

 

Yep! The 307 crank in a 2-bolt 350 block and 4-bbl 305 heads...