The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 283 build

I was given a 283 and want to put it in my truck(1965 gmc),I was wondering who could advise me on what parts to use (heads,cam,intake,carb)for a mild build.I want to use this truck as a driver,but want a little more power than stock.

That question is a lot harder than some might think, If its power you want you need to start with the block and go up from there.
A hot cam is no good without some heads to help it, if you want hot heads and cam then you need some more carb... and the list goes on. Most of the pretty add-ons a lot of folks use really don't gain you much. A well built 283 with a nice street cam will probably be as much as you would want and drive it on the road. Power cost, how much power do you want?

....this should get everyone started

"There's no free lunch"- - - - -you can build an engine for more horsepower or more torque- - - -pick one; you can't have both. A 283 only has a 3" stroke, so it's short on torque from the get-go. The only real way to give it a boost is to gear it a little lower and do things that improve the top end. 283's love high RPM. Fortunately, all of them have a forged steel crankshaft that lives comfortably sounding like a bumblebee on steroids!

In order- - -free-flowing air cleaner- - - -SLIGHTLY more carburetor- - -don't overdo it here- - -a little better than original intake manifold- - - -larger valves- - -slightly more duration and lift on the cam, moderate compression increase, and a careful increase in exhaust scavenging. Go too far on any one of the above items, and you'd be better off not modifying anything.

One of my most successful race engines was even smaller- - - -255 cubic inches, but it was built to stay together at over 8K RPM. The other cars in my class were running 350's that struggled to run 6K. Yes, I was cheating- - - -no, the tech inspectors weren't smart enough to figure out what I was doing!
Jerry

Edlebrock makes an entire topend kit for around $1600. Add a nice 600-650cfm carb and some 2-1/2" exhaust with an (H) pipe and have at it. Maybe use some manifolds for a lil more torque. Just a thought.

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2022

Good advice, except for the exhaust. 2" is plenty for a 283. The low port velocity created by a 2 1/2" pipe messes up the scavenging. I learned that little lesson the hard way in 1965.
Jerry

Yeah 2-1/2 is a tad large. The 454 chevelles only ran 2-1/4. We're you guys running h pipes and x pipes back then? Or is this a new phenomenon?
Are you going manual or auto trans? Tire size and gear will have a big effect also.
You can wind those 283 sewing machines up pretty high though.

Great point with the air cleaner Lincoln, I lose a good 1000rpm with my pancake air filter on. No room under the hood for a 3" which would be nice. 2" almost rubs and I have a 4" cowl.

Find a used 350, and leave it alone.

Most dual exhausts back in the dark ages were independent of each other side to side. The H pipe idea got popular because people got tired of mufflers rusting out on the heat riser valve side. An H pipe kept the off-side muffler hot enough to evaporate the condensation. X pipes- - - -just a gimmick pioneered by custom muffler shops to increase the profit margin!

The only trick exhaust worth fabricating is equal-length header pipes going into a big collector, with each header pipe displacing about the volume of one cylinder. Let the pipes extend back into the collector as they move back from the front of the engine. Each cylinder gets the same scavenging effect that way. Thermistors plumbed into individual exhaust ports on the dyno proved that type of system got the most consistent exhaust port temperatures.

Unequal-length tubes on headers are just eye candy. A good set of ram's horn manifolds are just as effective and they don't get leaky and burn up spark plug wires.
Jerry

We pulled the same maneuver as Jerry's small engine but got disqualified for running too SMALL of an engine in a drag car. A customer had done well in qualifying for a big AHRA race when he had bearing troubles on his Super Bee 440 4sp car. We had an early sixties 426 Max Wedge engine we swapped in for the finals. He beat a crowd favorite and track owners buddy so when the P&G displacement checker showed 426 instead of 440 it was to the trailer. In defense of their decision the Max Wedge engines had bodacious flowing heads which is the heart of an OHV engine.

if the 283 checks out fine, I would run it and upgrade as you go or leave it stock. Easy to work over and get some power out of. Maybe not a torque monster but still a good engine. If I ran a 283 I would get a rearend ratio of 3:73 or 4:10. 65mph at 3500 is like idling for a 283.

Our nemesis was a carburetor restriction- - - -The only carb we were allowed to run was a Holley 7448 350 CFM 2 barrel. It acted like a restrictor plate and made it useless to run a super-radical cam, big valves, and high compression if the engine couldn't breathe. The 350's were hard-pressed to run 6K or a little above. The answer was 100 cubic inches less engine and a valve train that let us spin the little engine 2000 RPM faster. A 3.1" stroke 262 V8 crankshaft in a 305 block with 4-bolt main bearing caps and H-beam rods, plus a rev kit made the little engine sing! A set of angle-milled 58CC heads that checked out at 40-something CC's with bigger valves and some pocket porting helped, too. Every casting number on the engine indicated it was a 305!
Jerry

Darn, the man was talking about apples and I replied on oranges. Something to consider is that a bunch of the old 265/283 cars and trucks came with BW overdrives in them and 4.11 gears. This lets a 283 scoot out pretty quick and then it can pull the 2.88 final in OD in most circumstances---exclude hills and towing. The BW OD trans are pretty cheap and easy to find at swap meets. Something to consider.

Thanks for the advice guys,I think I will follow the advice of Hollow65 and leave it stock.I will probably get the original heads redone and see what else I need when we tear it down.Thanks again for your advice, you have helped me make up my mind. Jerry

Whatever route you take, don't put any comp stuff on or in the engine.