It's gonna be awhile before I get to this one, but planning & benchracin' is free & I think you guy's will have some good answers. I've got a 1957 283 powerpack in a '31 Ford. It's been in there since around 1965 & it might sound stupid but I'd feel bad seperating the car from the engine after someone put it there that long ago. I've built a fair amount of pretty healthy stuff but I've never limited myself to 283 c.i. and '57 heads. I'd like to do a street/strip deal with a manual trans. & some low gears & cheater slicks. I've got a TR1 tunnel ram that I may or may not run. I do want to run multiple carb set up of some kind, maybe even a 4 or 6-71?? I'm open to boring/stroking. Just wondering how well I can make it run without aftermarket heads or gazillion dollar one off re-invent the wheel kinda stuff? Any good ideas?
I had a couple of those bored out to 301s pop top jahns and duntove 30 30 cam 3x2s ran like a scalded dog .just didn't hold up long .I kept spliting the cyl walls....Now you could use a 350 block and a short stroke steel crank with the 283 stroke and a good set of heads with the same duntov 30 30 and it would screem and stay together too.that would my choice...
my best 283 build only worked because it had a ton of compression. Its the only way to make use of a lot of cam and multiple carbs with decent flowing heads. I achieved 11.6:1 with TRW forged flatops topped with vette aluminum L-92 heads. You can only use 1.94 valves as 2.02's will hit the cylinder wall so the L-92's with medium stock ports have good port velocity. I think they are like 175 cc on the intake. I have a pair for sale BTW. The 30/30 cam is a good choice...maybe a 350/350. Drop a small journal 327 crank in for a 302. If you run the tunnel do what I did, use the 500 cfm eddelbrock carbs...tiny primaries will get you out of the hole without bogging. Dave
used to bore the 283 ..125 over to make it 301....now im building a 400 block thats 030 over ...with the 350 crank... we'll see how thisun runs .. same bore stroke combo, so it should get out of hole like the 283,just more power...........kev
oh yeah, a good dual plane intake with single 4 barrel .....hei ignition...keep rpms under 7000 for longevity..........kev...ps. they will rev to 8500....
I would sell the 302 to someone that needs it for a Z28 resto, use the money to build/buy a 383. Much more torque for the weight of your truck.
I'm still aways off from doing anything with it, but I may break down & use a different engine. Early Hemi would be nice or maybe an old Caddy engine or ??? I'd like to keep it a earlyish 60's style build. I just don't know that the 283 will do what I would ask of it. Thanks for the input!
1st thing i would do is run the numbers on that 57 block/heads.you may could sell the block/heads to restorer for some good bucks , maybe enough to finance the building of a new 301.or what ever you choose to use
Is the 57 block still a standard bore? It seems like the 57 blocks have slightly thinner cylinder walls, than the later 283's. Later blocks can be bored to 301 c.i. but often the 57 blocks are kinda iffy going that far. A 57 block can be bored .060 without any problems, though, giving 292 c.i. If you stick with the 57 block, use later, (or new), small journal rods. The 57 rods aren't as beefy as the later, 62 - 67 rods. By the way, like you mentioned, the 283 has been in the car since 1965, so it should stay there. After all, that engine has been in that car longer than any other engine has. If you want some inspiration for what a late 50's 283 can do, watch "Enginuity In Action" This is a short film from 1959 about a trip to the 1959 Detroit Nationals, by the Dragmaster Racing Team. It looks like the 283 in the Dragmaster rail used PowerPack heads. They probably weren't stock heads, though. The video is on YouTube, and available on DVD.
I'd stick with a 0.030 to 0.060 bore [if it nneeds a bore job] with flat top pistons. The 30-30 cam is pretty lumpy and as a solid lifter cam it needs maintainence occasionally [adjusting the valves] but makes great power after 3000 rpm. I'd also go with a pair of 305 cylinder heads....they have 1.80 intake valves so shrouding isn't such a concern. I'd stick with a single 4 barrrel or a small tri-power to keep port velocity up at low RPMs..definetely a pair of headers...1 and 5/8ths inch primarys would work just fine. A pertronix in the stock distributor will help too....that'd get you a good running, healthy sounding engine for a light car with 3.50 or lower gears and a manual ******. Don't expect much power below 3000 RPM with that cam.
I think it would depend on what you want from you motor. I just built a 283 for my 34 project. I could have built a lot more horse power for the same money. After talking to different people I found that every one had something different to say. Me I would First get rid of the stock rods and get a good set. Then find out do you want bottom end or top and go from there. But good luck and be ready to hear a lot of different things.
drag raced a 283 block back in "the day", mid sixties, bored to 301, duntov 30 30 cam, jahns pistons, 10.5 compression, tried various carbs, ended up with a holly double pumper, 750 cfm, ran 4:56 gears on drag strip only, ran 4:11 for street drags and ran a 3:56 for highways. Loved the "real" small block so much, I now have a 65 chevy 283, bored to 301, lunatti cam, roller rockers, and dart steel heads and just for looks will run 3-2's, aluminum pan, aluminum valve covers (Corvette). I am still hunting something to put this in!!
Thanks again for the advice. I should be able to get away with a pretty nasty cam with a manual trans. & 4.11 or 4.56 gears. I'll just be driving it close to home-maybe 20 or 30 miles on the back roads when I take it out. I could even live with hi compresion & race gas. I don't mind buying good pistons, rods, rodbolts etc. I'm looking to rev it up, dump the clutch & put a hurtin' on some pie crust slicks- zing it up & grab a few gears and stay together. After all, I'll be hungry at some point & how else would I wanna get to the local burger joint? I don't expect 9's in the 1/4 but I also don't wanna get my *** handed to me by some "tuner" & his 4cylinder. If the 283 isn't gonna work then I'd rather sell it or make it garage art than break it in two. If I build a different engine, I'd go with sumethin' other than a sbc that would still be period correct.
Most of the previous suggestions have mentioned high compression, lumpy cam and lots of gear. You say you don't mind race gas. Here is a thought, Have you ever considered running it on e85 if it's available in your area? Here in Michigan, we can get e85 right at the pump for less than premium unleaded. E85 has an octane rating of 105 and, because of the cooling properties of alcohol, it can take high compression like 110 octane race fuel. I am in the process of building a 13:1 compression 388 CI Chevy for my '48 Anglia. The engine will put out a hair over 525 HP (real-not imagined). The only mods required are a specially converted Holly carb and an slightly upgraded fuel system. The best part the car looks completely "normal", runs like a ****d-ape, and sounds wicked with the high compression. Oh, ya, I can pull up and get gas for $3.00 a gallon at the local station. If it is available in your area, this might enable you to run some compression and get that 283 to work for you without breaking the bank. Might be worth considering??? .
Great thought, but no luck. No E85 pumps in my area. Water/methanol injection would work too but I'm not sure how well I could hide it & I'm trying to keep it simple.
What about using the '57 block & heads with some port work, good crank, rods, pistons, head gaskets & blower cam and a 4-71 pumping 5-6 lbs of boost? The boost should make it breathe pretty well. I'd like it to make 400 H.P. without becoming a bag of cool paperweights. Think it could work?
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