Has anyone tricked out a 283

[JWheeler331]

Just curious......


I am leaning towards, at some point, dropping a new 327 or 350 into my truck for obvious reasons.

My questions though are; has anyone suped up or done anything special to the 283?

Is that motor worth putting time and money in?

What is its capabilities?

[66Submarine]

Uhhh...

55 Chevy Gasser Pass - YouTube

It just depends on what you want to do with it. It's a SBC and most everything interchanges between them, more or less.

[T Smith]

I doubt a 283 has ever been modified

[doobiebro]

Suped up...NO special build....YES.
On my 60 I have a 283 (67 block) with 350 heads with an early 90s serpentine belt set up... I did not build my truck as a performer but a cruiser. I have had 283s on my last 2 trucks and all I can say is I like them very much and they are undestructable imo. It performs very well especially with a 700r4 behind it..
Here sum old pics when I installed the engine.

[TJ's Chevy]

I saw a 283 with dual edelbrock 500 cfm. 4 barrels in a belair.

[65chevysub]

I was wondering if anything could be done to a 283. I have one that is stock, but it's a gutless wonder in my 65 burb. I am thinking of getting a 350 and selling the 283 off eventually to someone who wants a stock motor. Just gotta get the funding to do it.

[impalaboy9]

I'm porting the power pack heads that came with my 283, peppy cam, forged pistons balancing it out, setting it up 11:1 for E85 and gonna run some spray. No world beater but it should be pretty fun and look old school while I'm doing it. just my 2cents tho

[JWheeler331]

Originally Posted by doobiebro

Suped up...NO special build....YES.
On my 60 I have a 283 (67 block) with 350 heads with an early 90s serpentine belt set up... I did not build my truck as a performer but a cruiser. I have had 283s on my last 2 trucks and all I can say is I like them very much and they are undestructable imo. It performs very well especially with a 700r4 behind it..
Here sum old pics when I installed the engine.

That is a good looking motor. Know how much HP you are getting out of it?
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[JWheeler331]

Originally Posted by Reyals Bemus

Like T Smith said, I'm pretty sure no one has ever hopped up a 283. Ever.

I know there has been.....was just curious to hear from people on this site that have.

Originally Posted by impalaboy9

I'm porting the power pack heads that came with my 283, peppy cam, forged pistons balancing it out, setting it up 11:1 for E85 and gonna run some spray. No world beater but it should be pretty fun and look old school while I'm doing it. just my 2cents tho

That sounds like it will be pretty nice.

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

There are hopped out 283 v8s out there( I have seen them) just not to many because if you go with a larger cubic inch motor you can get the same power or more instead of spending alot of money hopping up a small cubic inch motor. You could get a 4 barrel intake manifold and put a 600 cfm edelbrock on there with headers and an hei and that would make a big difference in performance. Or just go with a larger cubic inch motor and get a ton of power.

Right now my 283 has an Edelbrock 4 barrel intake along with Edelbrock carb. I am not exactly sure what carb yet. Motor still has plenty life in it, it seems. Just thinking ahead. Trying to see if I want to redo this motor or something else. I dont know much about the 283 or just what I could do to it.

Originally Posted by LVPhotos

You need to look up some old "sportsman" racers. They use to get 10000rpms out of them running dirt and asphalt. The Chevy 302" was a 327 with a 283 crank for road race rules. There is no replacement for displacement! My 406 smallblock mild build run with 383s all day. In reality how much power do you need? My Cummins puts out 610flb factory.
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While I dont want a race truck....I would like it to have some power.

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Also, is the truck your daily driver? 283 would be a great engine for that, IMO. My worn-out 283 powered C-30 (one ton) just clocked in at 14.5MPG. With a clutch (maybe a t-5 OD 5 speed), a good tune, and good driving practices, I think you could get 18+ in a half ton driving 50-55MPH.

Truck will not be a daily driver. My newer Z-71 is my daily driver. This is strictly for fun.

[TJ's Chevy]

You can get some edelbrock performance heads for the 283 and ad headers, a small overbore, 600 cfm. carb. and you should see an outstanding increase in power. ALSO, a higher lift cam from edelbrock would work. When you let a motor breath and feed it the fuel it finally will come to life. My 6 cylinder is coming to life and all I have on there is a small 2 barrel and an hei. I'm not done yet but the estimated power when i will be done is 270 hp and 320 ft pounds torque. And thats a small 292 6 cylinder. Your 283 can make that same amount with half the mods necessary! Keep the 283, they are becoming of higher value. Plus there are so many 350 chevys out there that they are really boring if you decide to change out motors I would go with a camaro 396. That would rock in your truck!

[doobiebro]

Originally Posted by JWheeler331

That is a good looking motor. Know how much HP you are getting out of it?
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Not sure but I know compression ratio might be lower with the 350 heads combination but it does have flat top pistons on it cause I checked.....I installed an Edelbrock performer intake with a small 500 cfm 4 barrel carb and honestly it performs very well when I need to stomp on it....I might have to check later with a tire burn out test..

[JWheeler331]

Originally Posted by doobiebro

Not sure but I know compression ratio might be lower with the 350 heads combination but it does have flat top pistons on it cause I checked.....I installed an Edelbrock performer intake with a small 500 cfm 4 barrel carb and honestly it performs very well when I need to stomp on it....I might have to check later with a tire burn out test..

Yesterday was the first day that I really have gotten to drive my truck. Had to fix a few things. My old tired 283 def. passes the tire burn out test.

[ky-donzi]

This guy lives in the same town as me. I believe He shifts his 283 @ 8900 rpm, runs a 4 speed....

So yes you can trick out a 283, although I dont think this engine would be good on gas, or have nice street maners.....

[ky-donzi]

This guy lives in the same town as me. I believe He shifts his 283 @ 8900 rpm, runs a 4 speed....

So yes you can trick out a 283, although I dont think this engine would be good on gas, or have nice street maners.....

Robin Brown SS/K Launch - YouTube

[LVPhotos]

You need to look up some old "sportsman" racers. They use to get 10000rpms out of them running dirt and asphalt. The Chevy 302" was a 327 with a 283 crank for road race rules. There is no replacement for displacement! My 406 smallblock mild build run with 383s all day. In reality how much power do you need? My Cummins puts out 610flb factory.
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[gimmy 64]

1969 had a 56 chevy with built 283. basic build was z28 but better and it would run 13,s in the 1/4 mile. 4:11 gears muncie m22 trans. how fast do you want to go??????

[66Submarine]

Also, is the truck your daily driver? 283 would be a great engine for that, IMO. My worn-out 283 powered C-30 (one ton) just clocked in at 14.5MPG. With a clutch (maybe a t-5 OD 5 speed), a good tune, and good driving practices, I think you could get 18+ in a half ton driving 50-55MPH.

[kingy]

TWO WORDS. CUBIC INCHES!!!!!!!
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[rideblue00]

you can bore it out an 1/8 inch and turn it into a 301. Thats something they did before the 327 came out.

[Rich 5150 69]

Originally Posted by rideblue00

you can bore it out an 1/8 inch and turn it into a 301. Thats something they did before the 327 came out.

X-2, built a lot of 301`s, 283`s in the day were cheap, slap on the 202 heads, hedders and a holley and go screaming, I believe all 283`s were steel cranks until `62 which is why they lasted so long...

[akaupp]

The motor I had was a 64 car motor and it had a steel crank and rods.

[bama63]

14:1 compression ross pistons,.125 overbore,6.250 rod, 3" stock steel crank,Stewart/brownfield alum heads,ultradyne 690 lift roller cam.brodix intake,c&s 1050 alky carb, hunt/vertex magneto, saw the moroso tattle tale tach on the peg at 13,000 rpm after a 50 lap race countless times in the dirt late model division

[65truckowner]

Keep the 283 They are great engines and get decent mileage like said above. Put a 4 barrel carb, and a set of 411s in the rear. Should be lots of fun with that set up. I have one on the engine stand in my shop that is going in my next project a 66 chevy truck swb.

[AcampoDave]

I run a 283 bored 60 over. That makes it a 292. Edelbrock performer cam and manifold with a 500 cfm performer carb jetted 2 stages leaner in the cruise mode. 283s like air velocity passing thru them. I run 305 heads which are ported and polished with roller rockers. These heads keep the compresion stock but provide slightly larger valves and hardened seats for unleaded. I also stuck with ram horns combined with 2 inch pipe and Porter steelpak mufflers. Keeping valve size and pipe diameter conservative keeps air velocity high for smooth spirited throttle response. I can drive all day long on my stock tank of gas and the motor sounds delightful when I bang thru the gears on my Saginaw 4 speed. The small motor is a bit lopey with the rv cam and the sound turns heads in town. It is quite powerful but better described as spirited and fun to beat on. It winds up fast but at a guestimated 250 hp it's not a serious burn out maker with 308 rear gears. It will burn out with some clutch, but that aint really what it's built for.

[bj383ss]

My dad had a 283 in his 64' El Camino. It was all stock except for the power pak heads an aluminum intake and Carter 500. It was rebuilt sometime in the 80's before he got it in 1988. He had it til 2007 and it survived my heavy teenager foot. With 3.08 gears and a powerglide. It would run to 60 mph in first gear! That engine was a lot of fun and very tough.

Bret