Like Mike said...You can build a stout 283 but most of the HP will come at high RPM versus the low RPM hp you can get out of a 350. I like the high-winding small blocks myself. Plus... with only 283 cubes to feed... you can afford to put gas in the tank as they get really good mileage, even when they are built to HP specs. I have an old book called making Horsepower from your small blaock chevy. It was published back in the the late 60's so it has a lot of 283 and 327 stuff in it. The tell you to put in a factory Duntov 30/30 cam, double hump heads, hi-rise intake, steel crank and as hi-compression pistons as you can find (of course they had 104 octane at the pump back then too... Remember Sunoco 260?). As with any engine, you gotta make them breath so the heads are very important. I bought a set of 462 double hump heads at a swap meet for $200. They had 2.02 valves, screw-in studs and pushrod guides already installed. These are easy to find because most people need the accessory holes at the ends of the heads and these old heads don't have them.
I would go with a hydraulic cam with about 488 lift, double hump heads, dual plane intake, Edelbrock 1401 650CFM carb and a nice set of headers... That will make some very nice streetable HP.