283 or 307

[daveo68]

My brother is giving me a 283 out of a '57 chevy he is restoring. (It is actually out of a '65 chevy). Would the 283 be better to rebuild than the 307 or just save my money for a 350?

Thanks,
Dave

[Cyclone44]

It really depends on what you are wanting out of a engine....H.P. or Reliability or fuel mileage....All of the engines you have listed are good engines....

[big_al_71]

Save your money and get a small block 400 ,,,,I sold my 307 out of my truck and did this and I could not be happier....

[Cunit69]

Originally Posted by big_al_71

Save your money and get a small block 400 ,,,,I sold my 307 out of my truck and did this and I could not be happier....

The only thing I would use a 400 for is to donate the crank and rods to a 350 to make a 383.

[bigsnookmaster]

Why would you donate the crank and rods to have less cubic inches and less horsepower? I'm with Big Al, after having all the little motors, I'll never have anything but a 406 small block or larger. Try it, c'mon, you might like it!

[Cunit69]

Originally Posted by bigsnookmaster

Why would you donate the crank and rods to have less cubic inches and less horsepower? I'm with Big Al, after having all the little motors, I'll never have anything but a 406 small block or larger. Try it, c'mon, you might like it!

Less horsepower? What formula are you using? The 400 block is weak. Plus parts are expensive.

[chevy29267truck]

283 is better than the 307 also the 302,DZ if you can find one than also the 327 305 350 400 are all good engines too

[ChevLoRay]

A 283 block combined with a small-journal 327 crank yields 301 cubic inches. Okay, maybe 301.6, hence the 302 was born in late '67.

The saying, "there's no substitute for cubic inches" is why we have 572 cubic inch big blocks. But, a sneaky small block, back in the day, woulda been way cool. Imagine having a 406 small block back in '64, in a Nova SS. If you were around then, you remember that Chevy offered them with a 283 and we were happy. At the same time, Ford was offering the 260 in a Falcon and Plymouth was selling Valiants with 273's. So, a small block 406 woulda made you some money in a clandestine drag on the streets. As it was, we just put the biggest engine we could fit into whatever we could and then had to monitor and adjust our driving to be able to live with it. A friend had a '63 Dart that had a 383 out of a Chrysler in it. Did it fit? Barely. Did it run? Oh yeah. Did that little 8-inch rear end hold up very well? Yeah, for one week, then it was time to swap it for another one.

I just sold a '56 265 (late style with oil filter mounting) for $25 to a friend, after another friend cleaned out his garage. Minus the heads, intake and oil pan, the buyer is happy as a pig in mud. Very little ring groove, not too much slack in the timing chain....it'll take a rebuild and be a good engine, again.

As for the decision to build one or the other.....you gotta shop around and be sure you don't through good money after bad. A 350 will build for the same dollars and be more engine in the long run. There will be a day when the 350's, at least the good ones, will be scarce as 283's and 327's. I know that the vortec 350's are more common now than the 350's that came in the '69-72's, but that's life.

[jgreene0717]

Off subject but when I purchased my truck it had a strong running 305
headers, aluminum intake, aftermarket cam, holley carb etc. I blew it up and replaced with the GM Goodwrench Universal Crate 350 swapped cam before install with Comp XE262h and there is no comparison. Save up for the 350 in my opinion and if you won't to spend more money go for the 383 or 400.

[special-K]

I`ve been perfectly happy with totally stock 283s and 307s.It all depends on what you want.They are all good motors.The Z/28 motors were the large journal 327 blocks with 283 stroke.That`s an engine for racing.A light vehicle and high rpm range are what they`re good for.There is a replacement for displacement.That`s why the bigger motor doesn`t always win.We need to know what a guy wants from his motor before we should recommend anything other than what he`s asking.As far as the question goes,I`d say build either.Their`s not much difference.They are both great motors.You can set up one of these motors to get best mileage of any small block.

[special-K]

The 283 and 307 are what you want for best mileage.You can buld them to run like a 350 and not give up fuel economy.But,if you want power as much or more than economy start off with the 350.You can build a spunky 283 or 307 with the right cam.head,ignition,exhaust,and carb combination.Up the spark,small spread-bore 4bbl,better flow,more low-end torque will do it.

[70 Suburban]

USE THE 57 283 BLOCK. THE CASTINGS ARE THICKER.. i HAVE SEEL 1000 HP FROM A TURBO 57 CHEVY.GOOGLE IT. THERE IS A FULL WRITE UP ON IT. YOU CAN BORE THAT BLOCK TO 60 WITH NO WORRIES.

[Cunit69]

See below that is a 540 hp built naturally aspirated motor that runs as great as it looks,,,,trust me how is that for weak?


Where do you people get the horsepower #'s? Has this motor been on a dyno, or are you just guessing? Just because a part says it gives you an extra 10 hp. doesn't mean that's what you get. When I said the 400 block is weak I was referring to the tendency for them to crack.

[big_al_71]

Originally Posted by Cunit69

See below that is a 540 hp built naturally aspirated motor that runs as great as it looks,,,,trust me how is that for weak?


Where do you people get the horsepower #'s? Has this motor been on a dyno, or are you just guessing? Just because a part says it gives you an extra 10 hp. doesn't mean that's what you get. When I said the 400 block is weak I was referring to the tendency for them to crack.

Thanks for clarifying the "Weak" that you were refferring to.
Dynoed in an engine room, that was to the flywheel. It has not been dynoed since installed in the truck.

[Cunit69]

If I was building a small block, I would just go with a 350, parts are cheap and plentiful.

[70 c-10]

get a 2 bolt 400 block and have your machine shop splay the caps. guys have run over 700+hp with those and rarely ever break. I have a buddy that ran his straight 2 bolt with about 500hp for like 5 years before the block cracked... putting on 5000+ miles a year

[vectorit]

I didn't read anything about what you are going to use this new motor for here in this string, so recomending something to you at this point is all about everyone's favorite mill.
If you just plan to put one of those motors in a DD pick up, I'd say go with the 307 just because it's "newer" and parts will be more plentifull. (though SBC parts are very interchangable so it's kind of mute)

What kind of transmission? What gear ratio is in the axle? Daily driver? Tow vehicle? Sleeper hot rod? Family camper? budget?

Personally out of the stock (not stroked) older small block motors, my favorite is the large journal 327 power plants. Thats what I have in my K20 burb with a 4 speed and 4:56 gears, this engine has pulled travel trailers over many a mountain grade with 100+ degree temp. days. It has the grunt, and the RPM range to handle just about anything. Sure I wasn't doing 70mph while pullin those grades, but if I wanted to I would just put a 396 or a 427 in it. But then that wasn't practical for my situation.

When I was building my 327, I stuck a 350 in the burb from one of my other projects (72 Camaro). This 350 was fresh and not stock, and was nice a motor for a Camaro. But, in the burbs drive line it was the most boring and piggish motor ever. I couldn't wait to get my 327 back in!

All that is just my opinion driven only by my personal experience.

You can argue for days as to what to do with a Chevy small block, but what it really boils down to is how much money you want to invest. Plus making sure your investment is done wisely for what you need.

Good luck!

[samwise68]

I won't comment on whether you should save for another motor, simply because I am a firm beleiver in using what I have on hand.

Regardless, I run a tired 307, with 2 bbl and headers, 3.07 gears, etc (it's all in my sig), and I'm very content with the motor. It's approaching the 100,000 mark, and has never been apart. It's starting to burn oil, and god know what else.

But, I still squeeze out high-teen's for mpg's, and have enough snot to get up to highway speeds in a fair clip, all things considered.

Am I bias? Of course. If you're looking for an all out race motor, 283/307 isn't your ticket without alot of money invested.

But with a nice rebuild, bump the compression and cam, headers and a nice flowing 4-bbl, you'll have a good performing engine, gets respectable mpg's (pending gear ratio and driving style), and unless you're out head hunting at stop lights, should give you enough power to satisfy your needs as a daily driver.

Just my opinion.

-Sam.

[fnoblitt]

"USE THE 57 283 BLOCK. THE CASTINGS ARE THICKER.. i HAVE SEEL 1000 HP FROM A TURBO 57 CHEVY.GOOGLE IT. THERE IS A FULL WRITE UP ON IT. YOU CAN BORE THAT BLOCK TO 60 WITH NO WORRIES. " if i remember right,in my '57 chevy the 283 block didn't have side motor mount bosses ,it mounted by the timing cover.

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by fnoblitt

"USE THE 57 283 BLOCK. THE CASTINGS ARE THICKER.. i HAVE SEEL 1000 HP FROM A TURBO 57 CHEVY.GOOGLE IT. THERE IS A FULL WRITE UP ON IT. YOU CAN BORE THAT BLOCK TO 60 WITH NO WORRIES. " if i remember right,in my '57 chevy the 283 block didn't have side motor mount bosses ,it mounted by the timing cover.

Good luck finding a 57 83 block... I believe the side motor mounts did not come out til the 60's.

BTW, everyone, his question was not " WHICH SBC IS BEST". His question was "WHICH SHOULD I BUILD, a 283 or 307"?

IMO, they are pretty equal. Neither is GREAT for pulling or high horsepower/ torque in street trim. Build whichever takes the least money to get running.

I had a friend of a friend who ridiculed me aboutmy 6.2 diesel being a dog. We were both on our way to the Pate swap meet in Cresson one year, both pulling loaded 16' lo boy trailer. I passed him and his hopped up 68 1/2 ton lwb 283 going up a hill. THe Banks turbo I put on later really got his goat!He hated "that damn clatter wagon". HAHA

[bigblockorange]

Sad to say but the 283 isn't big enough for a full size pickup if you want to hot rod with it. I have one in the blue stepper. All bark and no bite. Yeah I know they can make a little Nova run but they are half the weight.

[bad421]

67 C-30 I agree that I've some 400 blocks that were cracked or just had way to much core shift to make a good motor out of but, most of them were the early 400 blocks and mostly the 4 bolt main ones, with that said when I go to look at one its never a 4 bolt block and if it will be used for the street we just do studs on the stock 2 bolt caps if its race we do billet splayed 4 bolt caps, also I have heard about the 3.25 stroke 400 bore based motors but have never seen one heard they were very nice, but I have had my hand in a few 377" big bore motors and they love the rpm's too.

[special-K]

The Question:

Originally Posted by daveo68

My brother is giving me a 283 out of a '57 chevy he is . (It is actually out of a '65 chevy). Would the 283 be better to rebuild than the 307 or just save my money for a 350?

Thanks,
Dave

When asked what he wants from his motor:
"I guess what I want is the best of both worlds,more HP better mileage."

Answer to question:

Originally Posted by samwise68

I won't comment on whether you should save for another motor, simply because I am a firm beleiver in using what I have on hand.

Regardless, I run a tired 307, with 2 bbl and headers, 3.07 gears, etc (it's all in my sig), and I'm very content with the motor. It's approaching the 100,000 mark, and has never been apart. It's starting to burn oil, and god know what else.

But, I still squeeze out high-teen's for mpg's, and have enough snot to get up to highway speeds in a fair clip, all things considered.

Am I bias? Of course. If you're looking for an all out race motor, 283/307 isn't your ticket without alot of money invested.

But with a nice rebuild, bump the compression and cam, headers and a nice flowing 4-bbl, you'll have a good performing engine, gets respectable mpg's (pending gear ratio and driving style), and unless you're out head hunting at stop lights, should give you enough power to satisfy your needs as a daily driver.

Just my opinion.

-Sam.

Another answer to the question:

Originally Posted by bhoeger70

If you have the 307 build that, it will be a little cheaper to build than the 283 and give you more torque than the 283 will. Find a set of 305, 416 casting heads and you will have a nice running little engine, just dont expect to pull 10,000 pounds over the mountains at speed.

Pretty much everything else:
A collection of opinions on various small block configurations for various results.

[WIDESIDE72]

Talk about a can of worms here. I have run almost every SBC displacement. 267 (79 Malibu- DOG!) 283 (57 Chevy) 307(72 custom 10, 71 Nova), 327 (65 Malibu) 350 (71 El Camino, 79 Malibu (after 267), 76 C10, 82 C10, 383 (79 Malibu after 267 and 350), 400 (71 Impala I wish I had it in a little Nova or Camaro!). My Dad had a 80 GMC 1 ton with a 454, brother had a Camaro with a 454 swapped in, 76 C10 w/ a 454 (after 350), each brother had a 72 C10 with a 402. All except for the 267 and 307's had minor upgrades like cam, headers, carb, sometimes heads, nothing exotic or fancy. My point is: the 454 always had more power, but used more gas. the 283's and 327's ran good and were good in a car , or a truck when empty. IMO, a 350 is a good compromise if you do a little light towing and like to hot rod around a little. A 383 will only cost a little more to build if your core requires a new crank (don't bother with used OEM 400 cranks, there are plenty of good aftermarket cranks CHEAP). Finding a usable 400 block is more $$$ still, but they do run like a scalded dog.

[WIDESIDE72]

OK, everyone forgot to answer your question and rambled on about their favorite engine (especially me). IMO, tear down both engines and see which is in the best shape, and which would require the least amount of money. If on a budget, build the one that will cost the least at the machine shop. It will mainly come down to which engine (if any) can use he stock pistons and only require a hone job (not likely). I believe 283 and 307 cranks are the same (?) If both require an overbore, check into the cost of replacement pistons. Install a good RV type torque cam, dual plane intake, decent electronic ignition and 600 cfm 4 barrel on either engine.