"There's no free lunch"- - - - -you can build an engine for more horsepower or more torque- - - -pick one; you can't have both. A 283 only has a 3" stroke, so it's short on torque from the get-go. The only real way to give it a boost is to gear it a little lower and do things that improve the top end. 283's love high RPM. Fortunately, all of them have a forged steel crankshaft that lives comfortably sounding like a bumblebee on steroids!
In order- - -free-flowing air cleaner- - - -SLIGHTLY more carburetor- - -don't overdo it here- - -a little better than original intake manifold- - - -larger valves- - -slightly more duration and lift on the cam, moderate compression increase, and a careful increase in exhaust scavenging. Go too far on any one of the above items, and you'd be better off not modifying anything.
One of my most successful race engines was even smaller- - - -255 cubic inches, but it was built to stay together at over 8K RPM. The other cars in my class were running 350's that struggled to run 6K. Yes, I was cheating- - - -no, the tech inspectors weren't smart enough to figure out what I was doing!
Jerry
