A 283 has one serious drawback for towing, the 3" stroke crankshaft. It just can't develop the serious torque necessary to handle towing loads equal to or more than the weight of the tow vehicle. As long as you keep the towed weight down to 3,000 lb. or so, and use a SM-420 truck type transmission, the engine will handle the load, particularly if you keep the original 3.90 gear ratio rear end. Gas mileage will suck, bigtime! If you go up to a 350 or 400 engine, the longer stroke will give you more low-end torque so you don't have to keep the engine wound tight in the lower gears all the time to get things moving. It would also be possible to use a 3.55 ratio rear end for a little better gas mileage when you're running unloaded. Run a fairly short duration, high lift RV camshaft and some big exhaust pipes. Don't even think about trailer towing with an overdrive 5-speed, unless it's a Clark truck transmission!
Jerry
