Proffit and Chevyman,
Thanks a lot for the advice.
Chevyman, you had a lot of questions, which I'll try to answer.
I said the 283 is mostly stock. The engine was rebuilt by an engine rebuilding company in Los Angeles, Bonded Motor and Parts Co. It was installed by a mechanic in 1987. I have the receipt. The previous owner paid $1100 for the engine in 1987. Based on this, I think it is an off-the-shelf rebuild, nothing special, but was done by pros, so I would not expect incorrect assembly problems. The non-stock parts are the headers, the intake manifold, and the carb. The manifold and carb were Edelbrock. I replaced the carb with a new Edelbrock 1403, which is a 500 cfm carb.
I did verify that the block is a 283 by reading the casting numbers on the left side forward of the bell housing. According to a book I have, it is a 283 used in cars and trucks from 65-67. However, the heads have non-staggered valve covers. There is a tube that runs from near the distributor to the carb and has a PCV valve inline.
I will retest and I'll try the "wet" test you suggested also. I thought the compression readings were less than ideal, but I wanted to get an opinion from somebody who knows more than me. So far, I've tuned it up and replaced the carb, and these things made it run much better, but the bottom line is that it runs ok but not as good as I'd like.
Thanks again
LT
