[thunderkiss779246]

hey

i am in iraq right now and my resources are limited to researching engines and askin people questions. i was wondering if there is a way to get a reasonable amount of hp out of the original 283 thats in my 57 bel air and if there is, would is cost a ridiculous amount?

 

[reborn55]

I have a 59 283 in my 55 Chevy that is putting out around 310 h.p. Will try and scan my combination in the next day or so and email it to you. I did the motor 11 years ago and things have gotten a little more expensive. Cost wise it is a little cheaper to do a 350 but I always liked the 283. Hope it will help.

Thanks for your service

Welcome

 

[D.S.]

I have a couple friends getting over 650 HP out of their 283s but they're for drag racing and wouldn't be very street drivable...

 

[thunderkiss779246]

what about one of the 290 hp crate 350s out of summit or a place like that. would it be alot easier to increase that hp etc?

 

[57Belair]

Hey Thunder,

The 283 will cost more to make the same HP as a 350. I would build the 283 just because everyone has a 350. With a modern grind camshaft and todays head technology, you shouldn't have much trouble hitting the 300hp mark. Remember that the 283 will make it's power at higher rpm than a 350.

 

[MikeKy55]

Or, depending on what year block it is you can bore it to a 301. If things are right 8K RPM is normal. We did a few back in the 60's and 70's and they were scarey quick. But we never really new the final HP. 11 to 1 pistons, Duntov 30 30 cam and a set of 64CC 327 heads. Never could afford 2.02 valve heads, always used 1.94's. I never thought you could tell the difference without a clock.

 

[56nomad]

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.

 

[56nomad]

Thunderkiss... Are you still in Iraq? My son in law is there too with the 4th ID. He was at base camp Charley but they just moved him to someplace nasty. Mortar attacks daily... I send him a package once a week. I would be glad to send you this making horse power book from the 60's. It will help pass the time and you could be ready to build the 283 when you get home. If you want it... just email me your APO and I will get it to you along with some other goodies (no... I am not going to mail you a Duntov 30/30 cam... wait till you get home for that...). My way of supporting our troops and saying thanks for all you are doing. Let me know. Roger

 

[warpwr]

Thanks for your service for our country.
My son got home last year and is now a civilian again. He was on a Palidin.
Just FYI Chevrolet was the first production engine to attain one horsepower per cubic inch. 283 Cubes and 283 Horsepower. Not too hard to get good power out of a SBC. High revs is right too. Chevy had to make a larger diameter generator pulley for those (283 HP) engines because the pulley could come apart from centrifugal force, as I recall.

 

[MikeKy55]

Roger, your a gentleman and a scholar, reader of fine books!

 

[56nomad]

Thanks Mike... Nothing but the best for our boys over there.... We need to support them. I wish I could do more but I do what I can.

 

[56nomad]

Warpwr... Whats a Palidin?

 

[Blackie]

http://www.army-technology.com/projects/paladin/ ??

 

[56nomad]

Thanks Blackie.. Nice piece of Armor

 

[lrisner]

283

It's not too difficult to get 1 hr/c.i. out of a motor, so you are looking at about 300 horses realistically without getting into big bucks. If you need more than that, go for a 383 or other larger motor.

 

[warpwr]

Warpwr... Whats a Palidin?

What Blackie said. Sorry, I was on vacation for awhile.

 

[RAD57]

[QUOTE=a Duntov 30/30 cam...

All very good suggestions but perhaps todays cam grinders have a better pattern than that stick from the sixties.

 

[PaPa Mike]

Or, depending on what year block it is you can bore it to a 301. If things are right 8K RPM is normal. We did a few back in the 60's and 70's and they were scarey quick. But we never really new the final HP. 11 to 1 pistons, Duntov 30 30 cam and a set of 64CC 327 heads. Never could afford 2.02 valve heads, always used 1.94's. I never thought you could tell the difference without a clock.

MikeKy: you brought back some ooold memories talking about the "301". Dad built quite a few of those in the 60's and 70's for some of the old dirt-track and drag cars of the day.I never built one myself, but I saw quite a few of them and they were screamers.

 

[thunderkiss779246]

wow this is an old post. i was lookin to see if i ever did a intro, which i guess i never did. well for an update im back lookin and trying to figure out what to do with this engine. some things ive gotten so far is

bigger bore not all the way to .125 tho i dont think id like to save some
high compression
vortec heads maybe

i gotta find a machine shop so i can take it in on leave and get the sonic check and get some prices.

should i just keep the original heads and get work done on em?

and ive read lately to get a different cam rather than the duntov30/30

and ive also read about 327 small journal cranks, but my block should be a 57 as is the car unless someone changed it i havent had a chance to look.

thanks

 

[GasserNorm]

Build the 283. Go with JE pistons, a good forged rod, crower makes a set for small journals thats around $600.00. Of course with your stock forged crank you are fine there. What do you have for heads? If they are stock plan on spending somewhere around $700.00 for new guides, seats and valves. Maybe cheaper to go with an aluminum dart or world products heads (paint them engine color and most people won't notice). An eldelbrock rpm or for higher rpm victor jr is a good choice on intakes. You can't go wrong with the duntov 30/30 cam. I would suggest a jessel shaft system they have a inexpensive one for around $750.00. Price studs, rockers, and stud girdle and the prices are real close. Ask guys who run a shaft system at any drag or dirt track and 99% won't go back to stud mounted rockers. I would go with a holley 4150 double pump @ 650 cfm. With stock heads I would guess 350 hp at the crank, maybe 400 with aftermarket heads. Is this car a stick or manual? I know of a great machinest in the KCMO area who is building my small journal 327. We're looking at [email protected] and 420lb/[email protected] Good luck with the build.