I know for sure that the pistons are the same as '57 283 pistons because that is what I used in my '62 ChevyII 153 rebuild back in 1973. I checked the numbers in TRWs parts catalog and they were the same. I think all the flat top 283 low performance pistons were the same. Rods are different from the V8s but are the same as the 194 6 cyl.
I'll try and clear up some info and supply some as I'm building one of these engines for a drag car The 153,230 and 307 all share the same bore and stroke. The 153,230 and 283,307 all share the 3.875 bore and the 181,250 and 327 ,350 share a 4 bore. The 153,181,194,230 and 250 and Vega 4 share the same rods, 1.030 wide at the big end. You can use the stock or aftermarket straight splayed cap's on your 4 or 6 engine if the are for the small block Chevy & for the small journal crank. <O></O> if you run a roller cam you use chevy SBC lifters and Olds 350-455 tie bars..<O></O> The 153,181,194,230,250 all share the same timing gear and the crank gear is shared with the 292 Push rod guide plates you use the 350-455 Olds or the 151 chevy for the 1977-79 engine. So f<O</Oar I have located one style of 153 head with 6 ports that is like a short 194/250 head with siamesed intake ports and 3 styles of 8 port heads with 3 different size ports. The valve order in a SBC does not match the 153/181 but the head can be adapted with a custom ground cam.
thanx jalopey, nice engine. what are those carbs? do you know what pistons =what compression? any idea what kind of power you're making?
Had one in my wife's Model A 2dr. Ran fine. Was Dependable. I liked it but she got beat from a traffic light by a VW. Came home and demanded a V8. I still sold it for a fair price.
hey kelly, used to drive thru birnamwood couple times a year, for about 45 years! parents had a place on enterprize lake outside of elcho, when we went thru birnamwood we new we were getting close!
I grafted a small block head on one abouut 25-30 years ago. I don't remember exactly what I went through, but I punched the motor 125 and used 301 pistons. I remember having to drill some holes in the deck, I laid a small block head gasket on it, I seem to remember having to plug a couple of the original bolt holes and drilling half through each I made a sheetmetal intake out of 1 3/4 tubing with a collectur with a flange I made to take a holley 4 bb.l now comes the fun part the head laid out past where the pushrods went on the 4 banger so I had to remove the factory pushrod cover and make one, but then the distributer got in the way so I welded a 1/8 th inch plate on the front cover, made a bushing to accept the 4 cyl dist, then I indexed the distributer to the cam I machined 4 flats in the distributer shaft and used a socket to drive the dist I used to fire it up on an engine stand whenever someone would come by the shop really sounded awesome. never put it in anything ended up giving it to my brother in law for his 16 ft boat that had a 153 but couldn't make the exhaust work so he ended up putting the stock head on it with the 11 to 1 compression and a 580 lift 310 duration crane cam could never get the boat to plane off, not enough low end and that the was the end of that
I have a 151 engine with 160hp GM Brazil, I'm wanting more Hp this car is street racing and drag 1/4, can you help me? I need the camshaft 310 so, I use carbureted weber446, which is best weber446 or Motorcraft? Here in Brazil only has these.
at a swap meet two weeks ago there was a Model A with a Mercuiser 4 banger in it. Had a T-5 transmission
Two somethings unusual!! Cut the last two chambers off a Pontiac Sprint 6-banger SOHC head and plate the rear hole and make yourself a Chevy 4-banger SOHC head! And Pete Ardema make's a V-8 kit that turns a SB head into a SOHC head IF you want to convert "ONE (1) head" to install a converted SB head on it!!! pdq67
Gary, From what I have found the 181 rod is different. The 153 is 6" and the 181 is 5.7. The 181 big end bore is for a 2.1" journal rather than 2". The 181 crank and rods with the 153 piston has the same overall length as the 153. Which means the deck height is the same. Well, pretty close 153 - 9.404" 181 rod & crank + 153 piston - 9.279" Also, as is mentioned in Leo Santuchi's book these rods are the same as the SBC 6" & 5.7" counterparts except that the V8 rods are narrower on the big end so they can run side by side on a shared journal. It would be possible to fill some in the inline crank and then grind it to the V8 rod width. Not much because the actual bearing width is the same. If the above mentioned off center grinding is used to get another 1/8 stroke that might be used to make up the difference. At any rate SBC performance rods could be used. Cam and block clearance might become an issue. I have a 153 and a 151 in my shop now with a 181 crank on the way. Now is the time to compare them. Tom PS I put a link to this thread on Inliners.
I'm starting to work on these engines a bit for marine use. Is it possible to basically "stroke" the 2.5 using a 3.0 crank and rods? Are piston weights the same or would I have to rebalance [this would be a budget buster on a basically stock setup]. I have a 2.5 block..will that take a bore to 4.00" or did they use different castings? Just wondering how to recycle a 2.5 block to replace a cracked 3.0...LOTS of those around!
the 153 cu in was the chevyII, the marine version was heavier built,had 4" bore,instead of the 3.875 of the 153, and was 181 cu.in. The marine block was the one we used in midgets,and it took 302 che pistons The marine head also had bigger valves and much larger ports. You can use chevy v8 valves,up to 2.020/1.600.the spring seats will have to be machined out to run bigger springs with a roller cam,and the rocker arm studs will have to be replaced with 7/16"ones.1.7 roller rockers work well.Isky still makes roller cams for these.,I have many crankshafts, some are steel,Crower used to make rods.hilbrn made fuel injection,but you will need to buy a fuel pump from hilborn also capable of around 60psi....we used to run procon pumps,the pumps from fountain cokes.just run a belt drive off the crank.You will also ned to buy an adapter plate to fit the hilborns to bolt up. You can still find vertex mags, but you will need a special side cover that is clearanced for it,since the mag is much fatter body. Also, replace the fiber cam gear with an aluminum one,that was a big trouble spot. If I can remember anything else,I will be sure to post.
Both heads fit but you will have to make your own manifolds for the head from the 181 version. I am running a 181 block with a 153 head until I get the time to fabricate manifolds. Charlie Stephens
Here's my Mercruiser in my 'A" pick up. It's a 1985 3.0 liter 181. The intake and header had to be fabbed, plus a heat riser made to heat the fuel mixture, but it runs great! Just hit the highway a month ago. S-10 5 speed bolted up with minor modifications too. Plus I didn't have to touch the firewall or floor to make it fit.
What kind of gas milage can you expect from a 153 with a t5? I rebuilt mine, 40 over, zero deck, valve reliefed pistons and a dual pattern cam from comp, a split of the 2 they have, clifford intake and header with a 350 cfm 2 barrel holley. All in a chevy II and I am only getting 15 mpg and performance in fair at best. Plugs read good, no smoke, GREAT vacuum 21 at idle, is this what I should expect?
My stock 90 hp 153 in a '62 2door Chevy II got in the low 20s with the stock 3spd back in 1974. I would quess you are paying for the increased power when you get 15 mpg.
I built a T bucket in '88 with a 153 block and M'cruiser stuff like the aluminum covers, dizzy and the 181 crank. The cam was an Isky flat tappet. Carbs were two 94's on a scratch built manifold. It had a '50 Ford p/u trans and a '40 Ford rearend. That thing was a rocket! Big surprise to me an lots of others! Ron
low 20's stock isnt bad but even though my engine is warmed over shouldnt the 5 speed and gentle driving get me the same low to mid 20's? It isnt that powerful. Traffic flys past me accelerating from a stop light unless I am really revving it, and even then I am just keeping up. Thanks for the reply
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