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[FTW66]

Hey guys I'm new here but love the site. I am also new to the truck scene, f-bodies have ruled my life to this point. I traded a 91 z-28 for a 66 short step in need of total resto. The I6 235 it has will not satisfy my motor head mentality, so the search for eight cylinders has begun. I came across a 283 short block with forged crank for 40 bucks, but has already been bored .60 over. My gut says NO but my pocket book says YES YES YES! Any advice?

[davidh]

a lot of 283's can be bored double that to 1.20 and make a 301. If its the original 6 its likely a 250 6. 235's stopped being used in 62's in these. How are you going to drive the truck? wk end cruiser? daily driver? You are going from a plastic car to a steel one thats for sure.

[retodd7711]

Welcome from Tennessee!
Post up some pics so we can check out your new ride.
If the 283 is a complete, running motor why are you worried at that price?

[FTW66]

I ran the numbers off the block and they came back a 235. The price is not a concern it was the bore. Larger displacement v8 would not take a bore larger than that well. At 27 I dont have a ton of experince with a 283, so if they can take a larger bore than this would be a good purchase. I am building it as a daily driver/cruser so power is not a major concern, hence the 283. I took this on as a learning project, but have fallen in love with the simplicity and looks of these trucks.

[hewlett2002000]

Welcome from texas!!!!!!!!!! nice to see you got a good deal... i had an all original 283 and cast iron powerglide i let go way too cheap a few years back. i only have one more thing ton say....



BTW my name is john, ill take your order as soon as your ready.

[joe231]

I think you made wise trade!!
your really can't go wrong with a 283!


Oh and I agree.....

[stangbring]

Welcome from Texas!!!!

I run a 283 and it is my daily driver (60+ miles a day). Easy to work on and very few problems.

[MacAttack]

Welcome to The Crazy House from SoCal.

Just finished my ‘283’ and I’m glad I decided to go with it now because the parts and add-ons are such a great value for the buck. I’m close to fire-off with mine, but I stuck $1,600 in the long block and in addition to balancing everything, had my motor builder do all the little extras to make sure I could get at least 100,000 miles out of her as a real world daily driver.

The last one was a Mexican (GM - 260hp) crate motor and it is fine, still running strong after almost two years, but it was more fun using the original iron for my C10.



Good Luck on your project, and again - WELCOME.

Mac.

[4dranch]

Welcome From West Tn..
where's them pictures?

[FTW66]

Thanks for the welcome party! I'm working on the pics, got them in the camera just cant seem to get them to post. My question is can a 283 be bored more than .60. The motor I'm looking at is already bored .60 and needs more to be clean. I just dont know if taking a 283 more than .60 will present any problems. DavidH mentioned that a 283 can go as much as 1.2, is this true? Would it weakin the bock to much or cause cooling issues?

[TimE]

Not sure what the max bore is on a 283 but I would guess that pistons larger than .060 would be custom(i.e. pricey) but that is just an assumption. Also going from a tuned port 5.0/5.7 Z28 to a fullsize truck is a MAJOR change. I personally would go for a larger displacement engine if I didn't already have one. Just my $.02.

Almost forgot, welcome to the boards and we all love pics!!

[Alan's Classic]

Welcome to your new (second) home.

[502tripower]

Welcome to the board. The 283 is a one of the best engines that GM manufactued. When the PO did the bore did they have the block sonic checked? This will tell you how far you can bore the block. A rule of thumb is not to be less the .100 from the water jackets. Here is an example. Notice that the measurements are taken on all four sides of the cylinders. The thrust side or, outer side of the block, is the most important as this is the side that is going to endure most of the heat as the crankshaft pushes the piston in the bore to the outside of the block. This is a 348 block that has been bored .080. Notice cylinder #7 on the front of the bore is .125. That is the closest measurement on this block. Now that block could still go another .050 because .025 would be taken from both sides of the bore so, in reality this block could go .120 and still function fine. For the money I think I would take a gamble on the 283.

Just a little food for thought here. Here is a formula that works for figuring out Cubic Inches. The standard bore on a 283 is 3.875 with a 3.00 stroke so lets do the math.
3.875 bore X
3.875 bore X
3.00 stroke X
6.2832 which is a common # for all V8 engines = 283.038525

Okay lets take your block

3.875 + .060 = 3.935 bore X
3.875 + .060 = 3.935 bore X
3.00 stroke X
6.2832 = 291.8714476
That would be a 292... NOT to be mistaken for a Y block.

[FTW66]

502 thanks for the input. I also did some web searches, and one site was saying a pre'63 should take a larger bore but post '63 would have trouble. Dont know if thats true or even makes since, but I think for the money its a good gamble.

[502tripower]

Originally Posted by FTW66

502 thanks for the input. I also did some web searches, and one site was saying a pre'63 should take a larger bore but post '63 would have trouble. Dont know if thats true or even makes since, but I think for the money its a good gamble.

That very well could be true. I believe the earlier blocks had a heavier casting. You would need to get the casting # as well as the date code to identify what block you are looking at. At any rate I think for 40.00 bucks it would be worth a look. Good Luck

[FTW66]

[FTW66]

[FTW66]

[FTW66]

[jchav62]

Welcome from Santa Fe, NM! I've always heard the same about 283's. The earlier ones can take for of a bore than the later ones. I would jump on that $40 motor, though. I have a 283 that we were going to put in my woman's truck... shelved it. I got a great deal in a fresh 350, so decided to go with that. Still, I am more of a fan of the vintage 283's and 327's. That 283 will be saved for another project...I recently came across a '49 Fleetline....

[TheDark1]

I think I'd get the 283 and then find a good machine shop and have them check it out. These are hard to find in good shape. I'd like to find a good 327 for my '65. My wife has a '97 Firebird, and they're night and day difference between the two. The truck is a beast and very aggressive. The car is more refined power. You can feel the weight of the truck, especially when you go to stop it!!!

[Captainfab]

Welcome from Idaho

Looks like you got a fairly decent truck to build. Judging from the pics, that 6cyl is either a 230 or a 250......235's were never made with side mounts, among a few other things.

I've also heard that the early 283's could go .120, but I was thinking the cutoff date was '61......I could be mistaken though.

[FTW66]

I bow to the superior knowledge. After checking the numbers again it comes back as a 230. I pick up the 283 yesterday, it has a pretty good ring gouge. A trip to the machine shop is next.

[ChiefRocka]

Sweet build man.

Picking up an all original 63 Impala with the OG 283...can't wait to build it !!

Welcome...

[joe231]

Originally Posted by ChiefRocka

Sweet build man.

Picking up an all original 63 Impala with the OG 283...can't wait to build it !!

Welcome...

ain't you got enough projects?!?!