OK guys, I have a (supposedly) rebuilt old 283 SBC in my garage, no documentation etc. has an Edlebrock intake and carb, oilpan is bent, no headers. I'm not sure what to do..I'd like to get something a little less obsolete, I'd really like to build a 302 maybe I should get a 4 bolt 350 block, add flattop pistons, 3" crank (to make a 302) , dbl roller chain, aluminum heads, etc.. Maybe I should buy one of the 350s you find on ebay being sold by engine rebuilt companies and are around $2000 or so, claiming 330hp or so (they usually have a warranty). Trouble is I have to watch how much I can spend because, well the conversion parts are gonna be expensive as you know. Which is why I got the 283 in the first place. BTW, I'll be using stock tranny. All Suggestion and opinions are welcome..

Doug C

You didn't say how much HP you wanted or what your budget was but ...

If you're going to stay with the stock 901 which, by the way, is a good idea, I would suggest you build the 283 as necessary to redline at 6500 rpm. This will be the cheapest horsepower you can get and will be the best match for the gearbox.

If you are going to use it for much highway stuff, suggest you go with an H type gear in 5th.

The 283 was and still is a great engine and the stock 901 is wildly underrated.

Good luck ...

Doug, I would get your conversion pieces and start the engine on your shop floor. Just be sure to start it with the engine bar mounted, or you will tip it over on your first blip of the throttle. Check hot oil pressure, take a compression reading when hot and do a leak down test. You can have you radiator mounted in the car and just run your coolant lines to the side of the car and to your engine. If it is good then put it in and drive. Save your money for your monster motor while enjoying your driver. If it is bad, you have saved the hassle of cleaning, painting, prepping it to go into your car. David Lee

I built a 283 for mine and I am not sorry at all. The 283 and 302 use the shorter stroke and are better for the stock transmission. It may be an old engine, but the parts are still very available anywhere you go. The heads, manifolds, waterpumps, etc, are all interchangeable with the 283. You could easily get 300+ HP out of a 283.

Is a 327 just a 350 with a 305 crank? Would a 327 also be a good match for a 901? I am thinking as long as the engine could turn 6500rpm, then the stock gears would be fine. Maybe just use the H 5th or something?

283 with a 30 over in mine....

Budget is tight, HP..as much as possible but I want it to an everyday driver too.

Couple of questions on keeping the 283 scenario:
1). What would be the best bang for the buck upgrades to it ($1000 to spend)?
2). Which cam [specifics if possible] for highest redline and torque in the upper curve?
3). It'll need better than stock valve springs, right?
4). A/C setup.. gotta have it, any reason it couldn't be done on an old 283 (mounting points etc)?
5). Could the 283 be opened up to a 4" bore, to build a 302? and still be a daily car?

Doug C

#1 Aluminum heads
#2 Get the one that Rod Simpson sells, not sure on the specifics
#3 Stock on the Amuminum heads will work just fine
#4 Everything will bolt right up as the accessory holes are the same
#5 You would be pushing it to bore it to 4" just run the engine as it is.

I am running a 283 bored .30 over, 55cc heads with dome 11.1 pistons. It revs like a motorcycle. Nice and quick, very responsive. Ask anyone who has heard it run. Have not put it on the dyno yet but extimates are over 300HP.

Hey Scott, out of curiosity what pistons and connecting rods are you running? Is your gas mileage as good as it's supposed to be with that cam? Does it come with lifters or do I need to source my own? Thanks for the info.

Doug C

You can build a 302 by boring the 283 to the 327 bore (4") if I remember. Which is what I am doing when I get the 283 I found this last week. Or you can go with the ZZ4 crate engine. 355 hp for $3,700 and just add a carb

Doug I'm with dlee on this one I'd start the 283 on the floor and go from there. I would use it until I got the money to build or buy a better engine.
Get it in the car and start driving it. That should give you a feel for what you need or want.

Bob

Doug,
Don't forget to budget your headers, mufflers, some tubing. That will cost at least a few hundred dollars. The little stuff will drain your wallet too: gaskets, fluids, sealants, plugs, hoses, hose clamps, coolant fill tank, tsat, plug wires, distributor, bolts, throttle cable. And this is above the conversion kit costs.
Felix

I bought running 305 ont of a chevy caprice for $300.00 Runs like a champ, still two years later!
Definately buy one that you have heard run, it will make life easier. Junkyards have running 350s still in the cars for 300-500.

305 is a long stroke, torquey with not much rpm, a 283 has some spin, but not too much torque. With my buildup cost was the main driver.
Hope that helps
_ Mark
Oh yeah, just got my car back from Brad Mayeur. He re-geared the tranny and the car is a whole different animal to drive. Its great!

Mark what was done to the gearing? Are 3/4/5 changed or just 5th.

Bob

3, 4 and 5th were changed. 1st was locked out. I believe 3rd is a flipped V, 4th is a flipped 3rd and 5th is a flipped H.

_ Mark

Mark,
Is your supercar still budgeted at $5500 considering tall gearing tranny work costs ~$2500+?
Felix

I notice some people list metric volunes. I not sure how much the overbore adds but just checked metric equivalents on these sizes:
283 cid = 4.6L
305 cid = 5.0L
327 cid = 5.4L
350 cid = 5.7L
400 cid = 6.6L
427 cid = 7.0L

Tall gearing dosn't have to cost $2500.


Bob

It does if you don't have the hard to find gears, the skills to do it properly, special tools, and time.

I like that Mark and Andrew built theirs on a reasonable budget.

Felix

I'm with the rest of them. Fire the 283 off and leave it alone. Spend the money in the good conversion parts (9inch clutch setup...good radiatior) and go from there.

B

All solid advice and I'll take it to heart. I do like the idea of using aluminum heads with stiffer springs though. What size valves should I get on a stock 283 or .30 over. Are 55cc chamber size best for this application, it's not a common size is it? And who from...maybe AFR? thanks!

Doug C

If I ever do a V8 914 (I probably will at some point), I would do a high revving 283. It sounds like a cool project to have a 914-8 with 300hp that would rev a solid 6500rpm and not have to break the bank to do it.

My feeling is, build the car. You have the motor already. Get all the goodies that go with the conversion and put it in and run it. Once you have sorted all the bugs out go ahead and build a nice motor. Some thing along the lines of:

400 block with a 302 crank= 352ci
SB2 heads from a Winston Cup shop (used)
Custom pistons and rods
EFI
Good headers.

No reason why a reasonable 500+ is not possible and it will spin to 8000+ rpms and very little 901 crunching torque but it will run like a raped ape on the street.

Right, I definately won't be getting any aluminum heads at first. I'd like to have the info for when I could afford it. Heck A/C is more important to me right now and I probably won't be able to do that for a while either. Top end/ head info if anyone knows of a good set to fit 283 bore sizes? I understand you can't use the 1.60/2.02 or whatever it is.. because the piston bores are too small. So I'm just trying to figure out what's best.

Doug C

Good advice, IMO. Stick it in the car, and get it runnning first. You'll better equipped to make the next decision after that. Who knows, you may find you like it just the way it is.

Building a motor to rev, requires a good valve train regardless of the cubic inches (to a point, of course). That's where you'll spend the money. 8000RPM requires one hell of a valve train ($$)!

Andy

If I remember right you can put a 327 small jounarl crank in a 283 this makes a 302 early. The early small block chevy's are two bolt mains and rev up faster, the later small blocks 69 and later have four bolt mains and larger
cranks. You can not put the crank from later small blocks into early like a 283. I would go out and get the book how to hotrod a small block chevy, it should be still in print. Be sure it on the early motors not todays small blocks.

Tony, that may be right and I've heard others say that same thing but it sounds backwards to me. I mean a 302 had a 4" bore and a 3" stroke if I'm not mistaken, so the 283 crank would be the right crank having a 3" stroke, right.. Now, I believe the 327 had a 4" bore (stock) so that block or any small journal 350 block would be the one to use for a (S.J.) 302. Which is why I was asking about opening up the cylinders on my stock(?) 283 [eventually].

Doug C

I think their is a 327 from around 1966 that likes 6500rpm


M

This thread covered V8 sizes, not sure it concluded anything V8 engines

Doug

When put a 327 crank in a 283 you are changing the stroke not the bore, in 67 chevy did this to meet the 5.0 liter max in Trans Am racing. This was the hot set-up that year. The next year chevy built a new 302 using the new larger main bearing four bolt main block. This was the one that could rev pass 8 grand and live. My brother had one in his Camero, but it was a 69 four bolt main block with a shorter stoke and larger bore. This the one you want for high rpm's. It has the 4' bore, the 283 is a not the same engine. So the 350 crank will not fit in your 283. If you use the 283 check and see if the head are modilfy for unlead gas, I think that the valve seats are to soft.

5500
1600
-------
7100

Not too bad though. I have seen plenty of $20,000 cars that aren't running.

Mark