They didn't say so in 1957, when the 265's were outrunning them. The first generation of 283's got the reputation of being slow and unreliable. Once Chevy stopped using one particular design of pistons that shed their skirts faster than a pole dancer, things improved somewhat.
The 283 had a pretty unique combination of displacement and performance that worked out well. Once the growing pains of the size increase from 265 to 283 got sorted out, the 283's set a performance standard that other makes were hard-pressed to match. The supercharged Ford 312's were the only ones that consistently outran them on the drag strip. With the right gear ratio and carburetion, a 283 will run around 8,000 RPM and stay together. When Chevy started increasing the stroke to get 327, and later 350 and 400 cubic inches, a lot of the high-RPM performance went away. The only real issue with 283's is the absolute necessity to turn high RPM to make any noticeable amount of power. A 3" stroke just doesn't make the cut where low-end torque is needed.
Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 03/09/2011 1:54 PM.
