You will get some people who tell you the 283 was a great engine and some who say it wasn't. I believe it depends on when it was built.
I have owned two. One a 1957 just like the one you described also in a 1957 2 door HT Bel Air. When I got it the thing was using oil. I bored it .030, had the crank cut .010, replaced the cam and all lifters and pushrods, valves, guides, springs, head/block decked, etc. One was a 1958 which had never been rebuilt, and I bought that one while in high school...maybe 1963 or 64. The 1958 was a more well-mannered engine, ran smoother, quieter and didn't burn oil. Until it lost the timing chain, I'd say it was an ok engine and I trusted it enough to drive it all over the country. Both engines had quirks, though.
Here are a few the things I remember:
1. Oddball oil filter which no matter how careful you were was prone to leak. In the 1957 engine I finally converted it to a spin-on filter out of frustration.
2. Both leaked oil at the rear main seal. The 1957 was much worse about this. Unlike the 235 no neoprene seals were made that will fit the 1957 and I don't know about the 1958. The prior owner (a good friend who owned an auto repair shop here for 50 years) said he bought it in 1960 and told me you could slow that leak down, but probably not stop it for very long.
3. The 1957 ran hot despite a re-cored radiator and added shroud. The 1958 didn't. In defense of the 57, it had A/C and the 58 didn't.
4. Neither of them got decent gas mileage, but the 58 was better. I finally ended up changing the rear end to a 3.08 in the 1957 and that did help a bit.
Now I should tell you a friend owned one of the last of the 283s and it was a really nice and smooth engine. Was the base model with a 2bbl. When he sold the car it had over 100,000 miles on it and during that time, he only had to replace the fuel pump, water pump and alternator.
