Originally posted by 38spshl:
The first question to ask is what do you want from your engine? The cost of parts and pieces for a 283 or pre 68- 327 is about 3 times that of a newer 350.
I don't think there is a difference in cost between rebuilding the two engines; if any. You do get more cubes from the 350 and the 350 will tolerate a lot of duration from a cam, so selection of a good street or RV grind would be a snap.
Skip the 327, if you are thinking of doing that you might as well go with the 350.
The 283 is the best small block ever made, BAR NONE!
I'm sure you can find spare parts for it, people will GIVE them to you; since they are all going to 350's :p .
Wish I still had my 283. Talk about smoooooooooth, I could open a cold one and set it on the air cleaner and it would not foam up (or maybe the cold one was flat ??
), even if you revved it up.
Good luck what ever you decide
.
Panhead_Pete, there are very few Mark-III W-engines here (348-409). Most of them have cracked blocks, right below the cylinder head/deck area. I'm not sure why that is, but it was the first attempt by Chevrolet to create a BB engine
.
