47-55.1 283 question

[8man]

I think I know the answer, but I thought I'd ask to make sure.

When I got the 54 it had a "rebuilt" 283 with it. Well it was left outside with a plastic bag over the carb. As you might imagine, when we pulled the carb and looked inside the intake it had some rust. So we pulled the heads to see what I had.

With the heads off, the #1 piston toward the front on the drivers side was down with the valve having been open a little. IT had about an inch of water in it with some rust on the walls of the cylinder.

My friend said "just scotch bright it off" and it'll be fine.

My question, is he nuts? I know the venerable 283 was a workhorse of a little engine, but I can't imagine that'll leave me with a good motor for any period of time.

[mongocanfly]

would depend a lot on how bad the rust is...if its just surface rust or pitted

[8man]

No deep pits, and the scotch bright seemed to remove it. It feels smooth, but the rings will definitely get up that high in the cylinder.

I guess that's what is worrying me. The rings will rub on the spot, and that is my concern. I guess the worst that could happen is that I get it running and start loosing compression in that cylinder.

[mongocanfly]

if it cleaned up that easy ,then you might try a lite hone job

[8man]

Good thought. Thanks.

[duramax55]

as Mongo said hone it and if you see hash marks where the rust was you should be fine

[mr48chev]

I'd worry more about the rings being rusted up than the cylinder wall.

I'd pull the pan and pull that piston and take a look at the rings. Plus I'd take a look at the bearings at the same time to be sure that you had a reasonably fresh "rebuilt. An overhaul gasket set probably won't cost anymore than the individual gaskets needed to replace the heads and manifolds. Felpro Perma torques run about 44 bucks off the net https://www.amazon.com/Fel-Pro-7733-.../dp/B000CNKYXI Hunting around you can get a rering kit with bearings and gaskets for around 100 or less that would give you fresh rings and fresh bearings if either looks a bit suspect.

[sack54]

The 283 is almost a bullet proof motor . Pour some marvel mystery oil in soak, crocus cloth the cylinders wipe out and that motor should run fine. I just did it to 1965 283 that been sitting /Runs fine no smoke 130 in all cylinders .Had water and rust bad gas no dizzy and it runs great. Nothing to lose but time

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by sack54

The 283 is almost a bullet proof motor . Pour some marvel mystery oil in soak, crocus cloth the cylinders wipe out and that motor should run fine. I just did it to 1965 283 that been sitting /Runs fine no smoke 130 in all cylinders .Had water and rust bad gas no dizzy and it runs great. Nothing to lose but time

[8man]

Thank you all! I was sweating what to do, over thinking it as I am prone to do.

I'm going to run it. There was no rust on the bottom side, bearings are good. Rings were ok. Got a gasket set and will be going to back together with it.

For the cost of a gasket set, if it does have problems I'll worry about a rebuild then. I have LOTS of other stuff to worry about on this truck before I need the motor anyway.

[mr48chev]

That's a plan that should work. Worse case is that it will start burning oil in that cylinder. Best case you get 100 K out of it before you tear into it again.

[dsraven]

did you see hone marks from the rebuild in the other, non rusty, cylinders? just curious if it was a rattle can rebuild or an actual rebuild.
like said, put it together and try it. if it doesn't work out you can yank t later and go through it or run it and get another engine to rebuild while you are driving that one. nothing to lose but some time and a gasket set.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by dsraven

did you see hone marks from the rebuild in the other, non rusty, cylinders? Just curious if it was a rattle can rebuild or an actual rebuild.
Like said, put it together and try it. If it doesn't work out you can yank t later and go through it or run it and get another engine to rebuild while you are driving that one. Nothing to lose but some time and a gasket set.

x2.

[dsraven]

also, you can check under the valve springs for shims. if the springs are not new, and the engine was rebuilt properly, there will likely be shims under the springs. when a reputable builder does a set of heads the springs are checked at a certain height for how much pressure they have, usually they are close so with a shim under the spring it will meet specs. no shims and old springs usually means the heads got a rattle can rebuild at best. another give away to know if the heads are redone is to look at the end of the vale stem, under the rocker arm. if rebuilt the end of the valve stem will have been ground flat to remove any rounded ends. if not then, again, maybe not rebuilt as you thought. or at least maybe not by someone with a valve grinding machine and the proper skill set. also, wiggle the valve stems at the top end to see if it is a tight fit in the valve guide. a sloppy valve to stem clearance will result in some oil burning, especially down hills with the foot off the throttle (high vacuum draws oil down the valve stems).you could look down the intake runners in the heads and see if there is a carbon pyramid on the back side of the intake valve as well. check the rockers at the end where they contact the valve stems to ensure they all look good. check the pushrods on a flat surface to ensure they roll flat, you can use oven cleaner to clean the steel or ferrous parts then rinse and blow dry (that's if the rebuild didn't include a hot tank dunk).
post up a few pics, we're curious now.