Jerry, no offense taken or implied, but I believe you misunderstood me. I am fully aware that the 283 wasn't available until '57. I was only asking if you were using an original '55-56 265 ci block.
The "Tiny small block V8" title just caught my attention and was I intrigued as I hadn't heard of anyone but die hard restorers messing with the 265's anymore.
John