I put one in my '56 Chevy after I blew up a 327 I'd bought for the car. Other than a rear main seal leak, it was a great little engine!
Sometimes it all comes down to this on stories, the first liar doesn't stand a chance. Engine stories normally end up being one upmanship. Now if I could find it on the web that is a picture through the back window of a camaro taken right here in town that you can clearly see the tach @ 10K with the wheels up on launch. I do not know all the specs on the engine as it is not one of mine and most of us don't tell our secretes, but the engine was locally built and I do know that it is a destroked 283. One of the things that you can do to a 283 to make it rev and still be *drivable, is to use the off road cam shaft for the large journal Z-28 302. They are still available if you look around. On an early 283 it does require a little maching work to the rear journal, so if someone has a complete early 283 do not throw the stock cam shaft away, it makes a good pattern for your machinist. *drivable is a nominal term here, you have to keep th revs up and if you are not willing to do that it is not going to be drivable. Edit damnit: While it is off topic for this thread I did successfully race a 312" Y block in the early '70s. If the weather conditions were right and my tune was good for said conditions I could get it up to about 6K.
One of the things that you can do to a 283 to make it rev and still be *drivable, is to use the off road cam shaft for the large journal Z-28 302. Now Beaner is giving away all of the old secerets! By the late 60's / early 70's the 283 had been displaced in many circles, but were still around in good numbers and were cheap. I was young and not rich. I built several high compression 301s for my '55 with better heads and that off road Trans Am cam for the Z-28 which had just come out and was very affordable at every Chevy dealer. I'd run either 4.11 or 4.56 gears depending on which gear set was not blown up at any given time. That cam did not kick in until about 3500, but after that, hang on! It was OK to drive around town, but I would not call it smooth. I alway ran a 4 speed, but I would not recommend it for an automatic. If Sunoco 260 was still at the gas pump, I'd probably still be building them!
In the late '60s I was the go to guy in town to replace a 283 with a 327 or a 350. All the rich kids eventually ended up at my place. I always had a healthy 283 ready to stuff into something. If I had to say that any engine ever built had my utmost respect it would have to be the 283, it is the little engine that could. When I finally get around to putting the Ol' Man's altered together for the last hurrah it may end up with a 283 in it. the Ol' man will roll over in his grave. but I have had to sell off or will need to sell off most of my engine stock and I have access to pieces to build a high compression high winding 283.
My 57 has a 283 HP 283 with the 097 cam and Rochester injection. It is a stick with 3.70 gears. It is not fast by todays standards but still quite respectable for a small motor in a heavy car-has surprised a few people. It will rev right up to 6000 and higher easy enough and I love the sound of the solid lifters-don't have to adjust them often unless it is wound tight a few times-adjust them every so often and find a few that need tweaking. Built a few 283's and 327's when gas was good with the "off road" cam as mentioned. They would really wind but needed compression and definitely low gears and a std trans. I think the last numbers were 140 for the cam and the lash was around .024 on both ex and int but can't recall-looser lash and more noise than the 12 and 18 097 cam in my fuely-sounded great.
Great thread! I am planning on building up a 57 283 with the power pack heads for my Willys. The only reason for using this is because of the NO mounting bosses. Wanting to keep this traditional so looks are everything. Also coming from a straight 6 to the 283 will be a big gain.
Look up GENE SWARTZ . I believe hi car is a 50 chevy with a punched out 283 . It is a four speed car , he comes off the the line @10 grand and shifts @ 10 grand Ive seen him numerous times in OHIO and NYtracks ..pretty cool guy ...
In 1964, my first car in high school was a stock 1950 Merc/3 speed and it was a slug. My next hotrod was a '51 Chevy w/a 283/stock drivetrain. It was THE BOMB! With 4.11 gears, WCFB and 265 heads, manifolds and duals, it averaged 12mpg. I broke several trannies and one axle shaft having fun with it. I punched it out to 292, swapped Duntov to big hydraulic cam. Car went faster. Swapped engine into a '57 BelAir. With stock gears and more weight, the '57 was a dog and got 6mpg. Fast forward 35 years and I bought a '57 with stock rebuilt 283 w/close-ratio 4-speed and 3.7 gears. Car was a dog, especially up long, steep hills. Instead of hopping up the 283, I installed new vortec heads, Edelbrock Performer cam/intake/600cfm on a used 327. It was okayyy, much better than the 283 in all aspects. Now the '57 runs an AFR-headed 383 w/9:1 cr,218/224 hydraulic roller and Edelbrock 600cfm carb, same drivetrain. It is now THE BOMB! I just need the torque in my life, not rpms. If I had another 283, I'd dress it w/chrome, back it up with a T5 trans and stick it into a Model A coupe/roadster.
Don is right on the 30 - 30 was they way to go. I ran a 283 back in 61 in my 57 Chev with 30 over and a 30 - 30 duntov in the 1/8 mile drags and it would pull 8 grand. Very kick ass motor. Ran it for 2 seasons before I sold it still running strong.
1971-A friend of mine had a 55 tudor chev wagon with a 283 punched to 301, roller cam, dual quads, and 5.38 rear gears. He'd break that engine every couple of months revving it to 10 grand. Mostly connecting rods and piston skirts. But boy was it fast!
Don't have any stories to tell about the 283, but I look forward to making many stories to share about it. Got a nice Weiand WC4D for it to use..
My mother bought a brand new 1957 Nomad when I was 5 years old. I remember telling my friends we had a car with a big v8 and you could sleep in the back of it, which many times we did. In the late 60's I started buying cars and seemed to always end up with a 283 under the hood. What started like the music of the 50's and trended into the sounds of the late 60's seemed to be the story of the 283. Getting stronger, faster and wilder but never forgetting its roots. I never had the fastest ride but I sure loved my cars and as time passed they became my history. The sky was bluer, the air was fresher and everyone seemed less stressed. I still have a '57 motor, 40 over, cam and quads in my garage and I look at it with all the great stories and memories about the "mouse that roared". Great thread that made me happy to be on the Journal.
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