First 66 truck, need a little advice..

[JesseSimon]

Guys I picked up an awesome 66 longbed last week in a trade. I've been working on a 69 pickup for a few months now but this came along and I had to jump on it. I was told it is numbers matching, original but I haven't verified that. I'll post pics as soon as I get a chance.

My questions are as follows:

How do you guys feel about the 283 motor? I want to get some balls out of this truck but if it isn't broke I dont want to try to fix it. In other words how much power can you expect from a 283 after a fresh rebuild and maybe a few upgrades? Can it hang with a 350 in terms of performance?

Additionally, the trans has some issues. It will go reverse all day long but I won't go forward. It is a 2 speed powerglide. I have bought a "high performance" rebuild kit to install in it and assume it will be fine once thats done. Are these transmission any good? My experience is all with TH400 and 700R4 transmissions....how does the powerglide perform?

Thanks for your input

[JesseSimon]

No opinions at all?

[stevedh76]

IMHO - The 283 will be a good little runner. I had one in a 66 Chevelle that i had and it ran good. I put in a hot cam that loped and it sounded good. The Powerglides will hold up but you might want something with a OD. I knew some guys that would run one in a dirt track car and it held up to the abuse. Im sure someone else has an opinion but that was my 2 cents worth.

[dreamtruckproject]

First the engine: Yes the 283 is a great engine and can be very reliable. It came stock with different power levels depending on what is was going in. Remember this engine came in everything from trucks to corvette. Can it be built to the 250-300hp range and be fun to drive yet still usable in a truck for truck duties? Yes, but it won't compare to a mild 350. That being said, you didn't indicate what kind of power you are looking for. If you are planning for a good cruiser engine then the 283 would be perfect and can even get a little better mileage than a 350 most of the time. If you are looking for more power or tons of torque then I would look at a bigger engine.

As for the Powerglide, it is kinda the same situation. Is it a good trans? Yes but it has it's limits i.e. only 2 speeds. If you plan to keep the truck stock/vintage theme, then I would keep the 283/PG. If looking for a little update then 283/700R4 or T5/NV3500 if wanting a manual trans. For more power 350 or bigger engine. It really just depends on what you are wanting to do with the truck.

[protrash64]

I agree with the other comments. A 283/PG combo is a nice, reliable set-up that will push the truck around no problem with decent mileage to boot. It's probably not going to be a scary drag race......but with a supercharger, ya never know.

[JesseSimon]

DREAMTRUCKPROJECT, thanks for the input. I am not looking to drag race or anything. 250-300 horse would be quite sufficient for my needs. Just want a little pep. As far as the transmission, will the powerglide be okay for taking the truck out on the freeway? Can it hang with 75 miles an hour?

[stevedh76]

Originally Posted by JesseSimon

DREAMTRUCKPROJECT, thanks for the input. I am not looking to drag race or anything. 250-300 horse would be quite sufficient for my needs. Just want a little pep. As far as the transmission, will the powerglide be okay for taking the truck out on the freeway? Can it hang with 75 miles an hour?

YES! As my dad used to tell me there where no speed limits back when these came out at least he didnt abide by them anyways. It will scream on the highway. Also it depends on your rear end gears as well to determine what the RPM's will be.

[jchav62]

Originally Posted by stevedh76

YES! As my dad used to tell me there where no speed limits back when these came out at least he didnt abide by them anyways. It will scream on the highway. Also it depends on your rear end gears as well to determine what the RPM's will be.

I agree. It all depends on the rear diff gear ratio. On any non-overdrive tranny, high gear is always 1:1. In my experience, with no overdrive, the best gear ratios to run are 3.42's or 3.08's. If it has 3.73's or 4.11's, it will be screaming at 75mph on the freeway... 3500-4000 rpms.

Good luck with your truck...sounds like a nice one.

[dreamtruckproject]

Originally Posted by JesseSimon

DREAMTRUCKPROJECT, thanks for the input. I am not looking to drag race or anything. 250-300 horse would be quite sufficient for my needs. Just want a little pep. As far as the transmission, will the powerglide be okay for taking the truck out on the freeway? Can it hang with 75 miles an hour?

The trans itself will be fine, but there are other things to consider. You have to remember that the engine/trans/rear axle ratio were set up for the 55MPH speed limit of the day. If you use the 283/PG and stock rear axle ratio, at 75 your engine will really be buzzing with pretty high rpm. That is why I recomended the 700R4 or stick trans with overdrive to get the rpms down. You can swap the rear gears but then give up the "umph" feeling especially when in town or passing on the highway. If you are looking for just a good cruiser, then I would keep the 283 and look for a 700R4 to swap in. Then even with 3.73 rear gears your still keeping the engine in its power range.

The best thing would be for you to pull the rear differential cover and find out what gears you have. Then find a good online rpm calculator to play with to find what your rpms at certain speeds will be. I like to use this one. It is really setup for offroaders but can be used for 2WD stuff too. I like it cause you can do side by side comparisons at different speeds. Let me know if you need help using it.

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

[stevedh76]

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Like DreamTruckProject said on the OD tranny

[Captainfab]

X3 on the OD tranny and it sounds like you are familar with them as well.

Even though the 283's will handle the RPM's I myself would prefer to keep the RPM's a little lower. Saves wear and tear as well as fuel.

[likaroc13]

just curious what you decided?...i'm debating on whether to keep my Powerglide w/ 327, or switch to 700R4...i already know the rear needs a better gear, but I'll get that when I swap to 5-lug

[1964C10]

Btw I think I saw in classic trucks awhile back that there is a company now that makes a "bolt on" OD for the powerglides. It will require getting your driveshaft shortened but it would keep the classic theme if that is what you are looking for.

[Chevy Fleetside]

After having a TH350 and a TH700R4 in my truck. I will never use anything but the OD tranny. When you get into OD and Lock up the converter and the truck just smooths out on the freeway is like bliss.. Oh and one more thing. Sorry Joe.. I beat you to it.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by Chevy Fleetside

Sorry Joe.. I beat you to it.

See? It's not just me that thinks that about Joe.

[ruffrida2005]

We all think that about Joe. I'm with everyone else. The 283 is a good motor, but doesnt that the low end power like a 350 does. PG's are really only good for racing now adays. By the time you put money in it to fix it. you already bought a t350 or t400 and have an extra gear. I would go with the OD trans. But if you just want to have the PG you could always look to get a GearVender under/over drive. that would be cool, but cost.

[Eagar1]

I thought I saw on a TV show where they used a transfercase to create a budget OD by running it backwards? Any one ever heard of that?

[ruffrida2005]

Originally Posted by Eagar1

I thought I saw on a TV show where they used a transfercase to create a budget OD by running it backwards? Any one ever heard of that?

I've never seen a transfer case be used as a OD, it doesn't split gears, just splits power to front and back. You might be talking about a GEARVENDOR it attaches to the trans and is a gear splitter. But they aren't for the budget minded. atleast $1300 for a common trans like the 350 or 400. Look them up.

[Eagar1]

I think it had to do with the ability to run in HI or LOW transfer, and it was like reversing the cogs on your bicycle, instead of lowering the ratio, it increased it, and I believe they had to change the rearend gearing, but not sure up or down. I was too lazy to look it up, but now I am curious, so I will do a little research.

[Eagar1]

Well here is one thread that sorta talks about how it could be done, but I don't think it is suited for anything but extreme applications.
http://www.alaska4x4network.com/showthread.php?t=44392