Hot Rods Going price for a rebuildable 283 these days?

Used 283s are my go-to choice engine for my hot rods. Seems like someone is always pulling out perfectly good ones in favor of crate engines or LSs and they're CHEAP so I don't feel bad when I mercilessly flog the bejesus out of them.

Here in the Cali Bay Area I've bought runners in the $200-$300 a pop, although I got one for free from a neighbor.

The $200 one I put in a '48 Merc had a noticeable cam and I added small valve camel humps and a C4B because I had them. Ran so good I kept it when I sold the car.

Have the one I got for free in my '29 roadster, power pak heads. I added a Weiand 3x2 and put a Summit cam into it with 2.5" 'vette rams horns.

The others have all gone down the road, either in cars or as cores but not a single one was more than $300.

 

283s are worthless to some and gold to others. You can buy a (yawn) crate 350 cheaper than re-building a 283... but you'ld only have a crate 350... borrring! 283s and 327s are cool, I don't care what anybody says!

 

One I picked up has a new L79 cam.
How would the smaller 283 be with that?

 

Okay with a 4 speed and some gears.

 

3 on the tree and whatever a 60s 6 cyl c10 came with for gears

 

Close enough.

 

The difinitive answer!
My high school 57 had a pretty tired 220 hp 283 out of a 64 Impala, I swapped the three speed for a T-10 in it and then blew the 3.08's in the rearend, put a 4.11 third member in it and it felt like a different car.

 

I have 3 283s, a 265, and a ton of 'other things'. Need a 283 for my '27 hiboy, so I'll crack one open and see how I did. (all were free, so I can get a little dirty...) Came into a new set of rings (std.) and rod & main bearings for 283.
Bearings were .020 under, so I have to measure some crankshafts. Getting to them in my garage is a nightmare.
Good job for tomorrow, it'll be Friday. 283 parts have gone WAY up, hard to find steel head gaskets for 3-7/8 bore.

 

Hey Pete, I'm not sure what an aluminum powerglide is bringing around here, the drag race crowd was buying them up, but I never hear anybody talk about them these days. And a small block is starting to get scarce in these parts, so they're not as cheap. Good core 283 block is $100. Same price for a crank. Running, complete 283 is probably worth $350-$400 here. And if the transmission brought $200, you're not far from your estimate.

 

The aluminum case transmission original to a '61 was a Turboglide.

 

How about a crate 283?
https://www.fivestarengines.com/shop/chevy-283-280-hp-high-performance-balanced-crate-engine/

 

It's tough to beat a 283. That's why I put one in my Cameo. A 350 was never an option.

 

Plus the $510 core charge and the $185 freight.

Crates are not the deal they were 3 years ago.

 

$300-$1000 for a complete engine around here, unless you have a friend or inside connection that happens to be getting rid of one. Used to be cheap, running 283/327/350's available from individuals and shops that were swapping in LS engines, then everyone figured out they were giving away gold to us traditionalists and market prices adjusted big time!
If figure if you can't hear it run, it's a "core". You have to be careful because a lot of these engines have been rebuilt, punched out so many times. I just looked at a really cheap 350 4 bolt main short block, but passed when I saw it had 80 over pistons in it!

 

What are you guys doing to your small blocks to make them more expensive to rebuild than a crate 350. I do a cost analysis with my junk vs a crate 350, looking for the best option, and not once has the cost of rebuilding one of my small journal blocks exceeded the cost of a crate engine. Im building street engines, stock replacement or hyper pistons, ARP rod bolts, flat tappet cam and lifters, Camel Hump heads with z-28 Springs.

 

I agree with ya. I'm a weirdo, I've got this phobia about any engine that I didn't put together lol. Doesn't cost a fortune around here to rebuild a small block, machine shop bill for block and heads, recon rods, usually around $600, cam and lifters usually $200, rering kit from northern auto parts around $100, oil pump $50 etc. I'm usually all in around $1200.

 

Some guys get in their heads that they need to replace everything but the block. They end up building a Bonneville engine for a cruise up and down the street car.

 

Had a set of 461s reworked. New guides, z-28 springs, surfaced, hardened exhaust seat. $300 plus the springs.
Turned the crank $100
Elgin can and lifters $150
Elgin oe rocker arms.and push rods $100
Cyls we’re perfect so they were honed
Rings, bearings, gaskets, cam bearings $150
Freeze plugs and installation , bearing installation, block tanked $125.
Summit open box sale timing chain $10
Just a fuz over a grand.
Over 30k miles and still cruising.
I guess I did everything wrong.

 

1500 to 1800 for me, depending on how bad my heads are. Bay Area shop rate. add 300 ,, the MOST I would ever pay for a Core, which I havent had to pay for in 25 years.

 

There is about a dozen 283's for sale around here right now from 100 bucks to 500 bucks...I mean what could be wrong , bores worn to the max, scored cranks, bad guides.....
Junk is junk no matter the size,..

 

Where you guys keep getting these used up old engines.
I keep finding standard bore ones most of the time.
I gotta try harder.

I did get an 060 over 261 but it can go further

 

I bought a fully rebiult one for $300 last year

 

My 283 is .030, but I'm thinking about taking it to 4" after I get the new engine in my car. Curiosity killed the cat I guess lol. If I run across anything other than a 305 for $200 or less I take it.

 

same

 

3 different machine shops nearby.
1 is an ole country boy with ancient equipment in a tiny shop.
The other is a well equipped shop with the latest high tech stuff and a dyno.

I’m good with just cruising and use shop 1.
Shop 2 is for folks that want every possible hp they can squeeze, like spending $ and would scoff at the prices of shop 1.

shop 3 turns cranks for both.

 

Last year I bought a 283 from a friend for $100. It came with fresh power pack heads, fresh pistons, rods and crank, an Edelbrock intake, repainted valve covers and oil pan. The block is still untouched. He even threw in the engine stand. Just wanted it gone. I didn't need it but couldn't let it get away. I have 3 now. Sounds like I may need to get more.

 

I build engines a similar incorrect way. I found a local guy that will rework heads for a similar price and don’t spend money on things that I don’t need anymore. Too many folks pulling old motors to replace with newer OT stuff to have to spend a fortune.

 

all SBCs are Vette motors, or could be with a simple number change. LOL

This may make you smile. I built a 283 that went into a '55 Stude coup. The car belonged to a friend of mine and he supplied a genuine '57 Corvette block. Ran the numbers, according to the numbers it was a single 4 corvette motor. There was absolutely nothing corvette about it when I was done, it dynoed at a little more that 1 HP per inch (no big deal, pretty easy with a small block). He was really proud of his corvette block though. LOL

 

The aluminum glides with the 1.76 gear go for more money and are stronger .
I have bought a couple recently for $150 as cores . The parts are worth more as a good gear set will bring that out of the transmission and able to show its good
There getting harder to find.


283's I see from free to $500 .
I have a couple but honestly if I have to bore them I'd likely do a 350 or even 383 and it's likely cheaper to do. More boring and common but easier to get more power and torque on pump gas for less .
90% of guys won't spot the difference or care .

I have one 60 over 283 with a 30-30 solid cam and 461 heads thats about 11-1 that ran good I may stick in the 27 with a stick and run but it's going to need some good experience gas .

If I can take a 283 block to 4" then there a bit more appealing . Shame there is no cheap 301 / 302 pistons that are pump gas friendly .

I just pulled the 66 283 out of my 27 T project that got full of water years back . It's likely getting scrapped

Finding a good machine shop has been harder than finding blocks lately .

I have been looking for another early 327 .

Years ago 307's were nearly free and nobody wanted them .
I had a guy that bored blocks cheap then and I did several 60 over ones with flat tops and good heads the difference from them and a 4" bore 327 was only about 10 HP if that .
I recall you couldn't give them away sometimes .