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68MUDSTUD

68MUDSTUD

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ok guys, MTchevy and i went to a junkyard this weekend, and he scored some axles and i scored a 1964 283, i do not know for sure if it has been rebuilt or not, but the motor is super clean inside, i have the valve covers and intake popped off, and everything looks excellent as far as i can see... so i guess i just posted this to se what you would do to this motor. i am a young adolescent that needs some guidance on what to do here. should I sell it or just keep it around until MTChevy and i go to Wyotech, to rebuild it? if you say i should rebuild it and keep it, what all would you do to it, IE: what heads, bottom end, intake (I heard these engines make awesome strokers) would you have? also, if you say sell it, how much do you think its worth if it hasnt been rebuilt?
 
A 283 is probably the best way to keep a V8 in a vehicle without emptying your wallet at the gas station.

Moreover, they are tough... steel crank in 98% of them, and the spin up better that most SBCs. :D
 
if you are thinking about rebuilding it in the Chassis Fab/ High Performance Engines class, you can't just do a stock rebuild. Has to be some form of power producing upgrade build. I know in my class it had to be a BIG build. Not just a cam and rebuild. But my teacher was bigtime into engines and trying to encourage out of the box thinking.

Never had or driven a 283 but I doubt they do that well on gasoline. I mean if just the idea of smaller cubes did better on gas wouldn't the 305 be great on gas?

Nostalgia is the ONLY reason I'd consider building a 283. ANything you can do to a 283 you can do to any other small block chevrolet and make more power doing so. Remember "there is no replacement for displacement". On one other note, I would like to use a 283 crankshaft. 283 crankshaft in a 400 block makes a 327 that will SCREAM in the RPMs.
 
I'd love to see where you plan on getting bearings or bearing spacers to install a 283 crank into a 400 SB. There is a huge difference in main bearing size. Remember that 283 are all small journal cranks.
 
My Chevelle had a swap done before the famliy got it . I now own a running 283 with 70's heads . Its in the trail rig now . The Chevelle weighs alot , and it moved really well on the drive home :)

Thye never had a drilled crank snout either . Balancer is held on with friction and HOPE :wink1:
 
Hey you scored a motor and if you were to do some minor mods I bet it would have more horses than either of the other motors in your rigs (according to your profile). You will never have tons of big block torque but I bet you could have a strong motor. Especially for the Willys. Plus, I think it's cool to run stuff that no one else does, just to prove it works. Might save you some money, too.
 
Forget about the heads. By the time you do hardened seats, valves and porting, you can buy a better set of aftermarket heads. That 283 would be a great candidate for an S-10 swap or a G body with a 4 speed. Good motors, but not much on the bottom end. Built right though, they will scream-kinda like a 2 stroke engine. Friend of mine years ago had one in a 65 Chevelle wagon with a glide. Shift point was 7800-8000, depending on the track. Ran in the 11s. This was a class car, so it was limited to a single 4 barrel, no power adders.
 
How heavy is your willys? (That sounded funny) Is it the jeep kind or truck? 283 in that would be great. Though a conversion wouldn't be cheap.
 
283 - punch it .030 get a steel 302 crank and rods,ballance the bottom end,throw a roller in it and bolt on some 2.02 heads... instant 9,000 rpm motor. I had one of these in an old blazer I used to mud bog with,,set the shift light at 9500 rpm and stand on it !!!!!
 
I dont know how heavy my willys is... haha it is a jeep though. should i get that block machined and drilled for 4 bolt mains? would it be worth it? :confused: also, im kind of having a hard time finding rebuild kits and stuff, i even googled it... is a 283 the same as any other small block (as in compatibility)? like will 350 crank fit in 283 block? or will the heads that fit on 327s fit 283s? how would you build this motor???????? I REALLY wanna stroke it.
 
Off the top of my head I'm not sure about the cleareance issues with the crank. I may be off but I thought the 327 crank in a 283 made a 302 which has an outstanding reputation as a very efficient motor. Alot of high rpm power in fact I heard that with the right cam it won't stop making power until over 8000 rpm. I wouldn't convert to four bolt main unless you are going to make a high (6000+) motor because I heard the strength is unnecessary until then.
 
Decent gas mileage!!

I owned a few 283's...one I had in a 67 Impala 4dr sedan with a Powerglide,had a 2GC "small bore" 2bbl, and 3.08's--it would go 18-22 miles on a gallon of gas!--and that car was no lightweight either....I doubt you could get that kind of MPG on todays gas,however...

My brother had a 62 327 from a Corvette-- a drunken friend of his wrapped around a tree one night ..he swapped in a 283 crank,and put it in his 69 Camaro SS..it didn't have any low end at all,but after 2800 rpm's,that thing wound up like a nascar--he used "uni-points" as a govenor--they would start breaking up at about 7000 rpm!...since the stroke on a 283 is only 3",the pistons stopped 1/4" shy of the top of the cylinder,making for a rather low compression ratio--would have been ideal for a blower!...

I know a guy who ran a 283 in a drag car for years,he got in into the high 12's in a 64 Chevelle station wagon!...he ran stock "power pack" heads,dual quads,a "duntoff" 30/30 cam,and many other goodies..he had 12:1 pistons in it,yet he could drive it 100 miles to the track with no pinging or overheating...and he claimed it got 18 mpg if he drove it sanely on the way to the track...his motor often tached up to 8 grand at the finish line!..

I think a 283 isn't the best choice for a truck that needs low end torque--but one would make a decent daily driver in a non lifted truck with 3.73's or lower gears..would be pretty good on gas....my 305 in my C10 is stock except for a Edelbrock carb,and I've gotten as much as 18 mpg out of it in warm weather..none of my 350's ever got more than 14 or so...:crazy:
 
the 283 had some impressive numbers, depending on the year, application, etc. but, i'd rather have it in a show car than a 4x4. if your engine has an issue, it would be tougher to find parts and they'd cost more. the novelty of an engine like that is really cool, though. this is just me, but i'd probably save it for a project more akin to a nova or something.
 
I guess i may have got that backwards 283 crank in a 327 makes a 302, Duh. So if you put a 327 crank in a 283 what does that give you? Would that be a stroker? might have better low end power than the 283. Might be good for the willys
 
ummm...

It gives you a 307!!!...GM made the 307 by putting a 327 crank in a 283 block basically!...as you know,the 307 does not have a great reputation,they were rather gutless and ate cams rapidly...but I've owned several,and they are as reliable as any other GM smallblock if properly maintained..

....my 81 G10 van has one from a 73 "Lagoona" malibu (appropriate name,it was "gooney" lookin!)...its no powerhouse,the 250 six it replaced went faster!..but it gets decent gas mileage..the 68 Caprice "Estate Wagon" I had also had a 307,I had to change the cam at 68,000 miles,and it had flat lobes for a long time before I changed it...put in a Sealed Power cam,and that motor ran WAY stronger than the 73 Malibu motor does..I think they lowerd the compression ratio on the 71 up motors,and that killed power,and adding EGR didn't help...pre-71 307' put out 200hp,and 300 ft lbs of torque stock..
 
4X4HIGH said:
I'd love to see where you plan on getting bearings or bearing spacers to install a 283 crank into a 400 SB. There is a huge difference in main bearing size. Remember that 283 are all small journal cranks.
Click to expand...

Aftermarket 400 blocks can be had with 350 main sizes. Likely be an aftermarket crankshaft anyway. If I ever do get the chance to build that motor it will be BUILT. The goal is 10,000+ shift point...
 
68MUDSTUD said:
should i get that block machined and drilled for 4 bolt mains? would it be worth it? :confused: also, im kind of having a hard time finding rebuild kits and stuff, i even googled it... is a 283 the same as any other small block (as in compatibility)? like will 350 crank fit in 283 block? or will the heads that fit on 327s fit 283s? how would you build this motor???????? I REALLY wanna stroke it.
Click to expand...

personally, stroking a 283 is nearly as pointless as stroking a 305. the bore just doesnt support decent enough flow to make good power. with the availability of 4.00" bore blocks (350s especially) i cant see any reason to run a smaller bore block. the improved flow of the 4" bore is just too much of an advantage. that being said, even a stock 283 would be a ton of fun in a light vehicle. the 3 that come to mind (and stick to the bowtie) are a pre-67 Nova, any Vega/Monza, and a standard cab shortbed 2wd S10 with NO options.

you want a real powerhouse? take a 4.125" bore block (400 or aftermarket) throw in a 3.25" stroke crank, a set of 6.125" rods, and pistons designed for a 6" rod 377. 350 cubes the way the General should have built them, and would still probably wind to the moon.
 
sled_dog said:
Aftermarket 400 blocks can be had with 350 main sizes. Likely be an aftermarket crankshaft anyway. If I ever do get the chance to build that motor it will be BUILT. The goal is 10,000+ shift point...
Click to expand...

Hate taking someones thread off track but there isn't a bearing spacer made to install a small journal crank into a large journal block such as a 350 main housing bore. Secondly, unless you plan on installing a solid roller camshaft you'll never see 10,000 RPM ever. Hydraulic cams are typically limited to about 6,000-6500 RPM and a solid cam goes to about 8,500 and anything above that you're talking solid roller.
 
sigh....

yeah we've taken this off track.

Don't you guys know me well enough by now to know I don't just say "Yeah I should do that, it would be cool" without KNOWING what it would take to do it? Lifter choice is obvious. The REAL stumbling block will be the other valvetrain parts. Valves, keepers, springs, retainers, pushrods, and rockers would be the BIG stumbling block. That kind of RPMs will require light, yet very strong and even more $$$. Like I said, hopefully someday I can do it.

Oh and by Aftermarket crank, I meant custom... you can call up companies like Lunati and say "I want this stroke and this journal size". Don't know about you but I wouldn't want to crank up a SCAT cast crank or even a stock Forged crank like that.
 
Well, i don't know much about you at all, in fact i don't know anything about you but i'm slowly learning. Glad to know that you are well aware of the required components to spin those kinds of RPM. Yes it will require a light valve train to the tune of titanium no doubt which is expensive as you've mentioned. Stud girdle will be a must as well as a good set of roller rockers and preferably shaft mount. I'm just used to dealing with people who read too many magazines and want to build a high revving engine with a paper route paycheck. :thumb:

EDIT: Most people aren't willing to drop close to $3,000 for a crank either.
 
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