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What are some easy and/or cheap ways to get horsepower, or to make it easier for my truck to get up to higher speeds. I dont know how fast my truck goes right now but i want it to go relatively fast without dropping in a blower or anything like that.

What motor/transmission/rear end are you running? Is it completely stock?

Give us an idea of what you're starting with and it'll be easier to help.

283 w/ a 3 spd manual transmission but im probably changing to 4 spd manual. All stock except headers and glasspacks but im replacing the whole exhaust. i was thinking hooker competition headers, and flowmaster super 40's with the biggest pipe possible. I dont know the rear end ratio but im almost positive its stock if anyone knows what the ratio for that would be.

"relatively fast"? like compared to walking, or an electric car, or a stock AD?
"stock" rear can be 3.73 or 4.11 - the optional 3.07 would be the best bet for highway speed, which depends on gearing, not horsepower - the 4 speed won't help anything except low end grunt work, tho' it'd be best w/ the 3.07 rear

the 283 responds well to use of a 4barrel, if you've got a 2bbl now, but fancy headers and exhaust are just noise & eye candy for it, not horsepower [which again, doesn't mean better highway speed anyway]

Bill

relativley fast meaning being able to keep up with highway speed but if i wanted to open her up she'd move. anyway, how do i figure out which rear end it has?

The simple way to figure out the rear end ratio is to jack up the rear end of the truck (block front and rear of the front tires first), take it out of gear and then make a mark with chalk or something (yellow tire marker, piece of tape) like it on the drive shaft.

Then observe the driveshaft while you turn the rear wheel one complete revolution. If the driveshaft turns about 3 complete revolutions for one revolution of the wheel, there's a good chance that it has 3.07 gears...or something similar. If it turns about 4 times, it could have 3.73, 4.10 or something like that.

This is just a ballpark method of determining it, but it's always given me a good idea of about what gear ratio I'm running.

If you want to know exactly, remove the rear end cover (assuming it has a rear cover plate) and count the number of teeth on the ring gear, then count the number of teeth on the pinion gear. Divide the ring gear number by the pinion number and it will tell you the exact numerical ratio.

Then put the rear end cover back on and re-fill with gear lube. After that, you can shower about 14 times to get the smell of gear lube off your body. Burn your clothes, too.

You've mentioned getting a fancy exhaust for the truck. If it already has headers and dual exhaust, changing the type of headers and mufflers won't give you much performance increase, and going to "the largest pipe possible" may actually decrease power slightly.

You didn't mention what kind of carb you have on it. This may be the area where you can pick up the biggest gain, especially if you only have a 2 barrel (as Bill mentioned( on there now.

Now if it was my truck, I'd pull the 283 out (they're good motors, but they're not the most powerful smallblock you can get by a log shot) and replace it with a 350 or 400 smallblock. I'd use good stock heads (461s or 462s or even 882s) or possibly cast iron performance heads like Iron Eagles. I'd also use an intake manifols like an Edelbrock RPM and a 600 or 750 cfm carb. I like the Edelbrock 1406. It's a 600 CFM with electric choke. I've got 'em on 3 out of 4 of my cars I'm using an E-brock 1411 750 cfm on the other one and will eventually convert it to a Demon 750. The other thing I'd do is use a camshaft like the Comp Cams 268 and either run a Pertronix kit in the old distributor or replace the whole thing with an HEI unit.

If you started with a 350 and did all these mods, you'd end up with something that would make about 300-350 hp, give or take a few...especially depending on the heads you use. If you started with a 400, you'd get 350-400 hp, again depending on the heads and cam.

I've built many motors like this and they're real good for a street cruiser. But they aren't economy motors...although I got 17 mpg in my El Camino with 406 on a trip a couple of years ago. But at that time it had a 2.73 gear. Now it has a 3.73 posi rear end and desperately needs me to install the spare TH200-4R overdrive tranny into it. It gets about 8-10 mpg now.

You might want to check out the engine buildups I've shown on my website. The url's in my sig.

Good luck with it.

wow thanks. ill definetly turn the driveshaft to figure out the ratio thats an awesome idea. Im definetly dropping in a new motor, probably just a new crate 350, but my dad wants to buy a short block and build it up to be nice, which, in my opinion, is gona be too much money and burn up too much gas for me even though that would be awesome. just tryin to think logically because id like this to be a daily driver.

About the headers, they have surface rust on them and i think id rather have flowmasters unless glasspacks are going to give me more power. and about the pipe size, i always thought that the bigger the pipe, the more flow you get and more flow = more power?

Im not sure what kind of carb is in it right now cause i havent even taken the engine out, but probably will be in the next 2 weeks so ill let you know at some point.

thanks for all the help.

i would say, since i am a major fan of a 283 (its the only small block thats close to my heart, lol), that it all depends on your definition of get up and going. if you want to smoke everything off the line, a stump puller rear-end like a 4.53 or a 5.13, would definitely do it! however..it wouldn't be very friendly on crusiing the highway. 100 being a top speed. but if you want to keep the 283, which i totally support, i'd say, 202 heads. totally help you breath with or without a 4 barrel. and as for pipe size..some back pressure is neccessary for the engine to run. but thats a controversial issue that i won't get into.

and on mpg's, a 283 is a great option. with the 202 heads, and a 2 barrel, along with the headers, and throw on a fuel pressure regulator. you have a combination that can push into the 20's.

have fun with it! and if you ever wanna get rid of it...lemme know. :p .

.later days.
.desperado.
.sam.

Put on a set of Vortec heads,and an Edelbrock and a 600 cfm carb. Headers clutch fan and a mild cam.That will probably give you about 325 hp.

The method of determining the ratio by jacking up the rear end and counting driveshaft revolutions would only be accurate if both rear wheels were rotating simultaneously in the same direction, difficult to do. Just jack up one wheel, with front wheels blocked, and count drive shaft revolutions per two revolutions of the wheel to get the ratio. The reason two revolutions of the wheel are necessary is a function of the differential.

"and on mpg's, a 283 is a great option. with the 202 heads, and a 2 barrel, along with the headers, and throw on a fuel pressure regulator. you have a combination that can push into the 20's."

would this also give me enough power to stay up w/ highway speeds and be good for cruising around?

Okay -- Here goes --- If the 283 is original, I absolutely would not replace it. It adds value and a ton of old school cool to your truck. Go with the 202 heads others mentioned, a small quadrajet, a cam for one of the hotter 327s, and dual exhaust running through 2" inch pipes and 18" glass packs. Back your stock 3 speed up with a posi-trac 3:42 differential, and you'll have an old school hot rod truck built the way we built-em when the 64's were common. It would be plenty fast and very quick. It would sound AWESOME. Gas mileage would be okay, and you won't be stuck with something as pedestrian as a 350. Just my 2 cents.

Boo

bowtie - as I pointed out, highway speed has nothing to do w/ power and everything to do w/ gearing - my 58 w/ bone stock 2bbl 283 and stock 3spd and 3.90 rear will do 65-70 all day, but the rpms are too high at that speed, which is why I'm gonna put 3.38 gears or the OD 3spd, and then it'll do 75-80 all day at lower rpms, and still spin the tires if I'm foolish enuff to want it to - have you driven your truck? at highway speeds? 283's are quick accelerating and high winding - rebuilding one for higher horsepower isn't 'easy/cheap', but changing the rear gears is

Bill

oh ok i think im finally starting to understand this stuff haha. no ive never driven it at highway speeds but jsut at lower speeds. how much does it cost to change the rear gears to what youre getting? that sounds like something i might be interested in getting in the future. i think im gona leave it stock for right now until i get it running safely with new brakes, suspension, body, etc. before i put any big changes into it like the rear gears or the engine/tranny.

w/ the 64 your best bet will to hunt for a stock 3.07 rear and switch'em - can't do that w/ the TF series cuz they never had but 3.90 and 4.11 - rebuilding yours to whatever other ratio will cost 4x more - the gear set I'm lookin at costs about 600 new, like Patricks, who sell the gears for ADs and TF, but there's a 'rear-ends only' place here that has'em - that's why the 1st choice right now is the OD 3spd, which are scarce, but also available for your series - I happen to have 'inherited' 2 of'em

Bill

what is "AD" and "TF"?

geez bowtie! pay attention!
AD= what majority here are stuck w/, the 48-54 "Advance Design" series
TF= what a few have and most are getting now [or want! ], the 55-2nd - 59 "Task Force" series

Bill

oooh so it doesnt even apply to my truck, except ive heard of TF series trucks in my year range. ill probably check the gear ratio this weekend when ive got someone to help me get it up on jacks. hopefully either this weekend or next weekend i can pull the engine/tranny and really start tackling this project.

"Im not sure what kind of carb is in it right now cause i havent even taken the engine out, but probably will be in the next 2 weeks so ill let you know at some point."

Don't take this the wrong way, 1964BTS, but: If you can't tell how many barrels your carb has just by opening the hood and looking at it, you might be getting in a little over your head by pulling an engine out to rebuild it. You sound really enthusiastic about your truck, and are getting some great advice here, but take it one step at a time. Unless you HAVE to pull the engine out for some other reason (or if it's smoking like a banshee), why not drive the truck around a little, and see where it needs help before going nuts on it? A 283 is a good little motor with decent top end power, and it may not need a radical build.

If it's running a stock 2BBL and has some low gears, you can really wake it up with a basic 4BBL intake, the 1406 Edelbrock carb that was suggested before, and THEN maybe look at a gear change or tranny swap to use it in the RPM where it's happy.

I'm guessing that this is your first project, and it's easy to dive in too far. Just my two cents, take it for what it is- step away from the engine crane, and nobody gets hurt.

i wasnt going to hop it up or rebuild it for a while, just going to take it out so i can clean the frame completely. and dont worry about me going in over my head, i know a few people who restore cars in their spare time and ill have them over to give me pointers and help out so i dont screw up, but thanks for looking in my best interest. eventually i might be replacing it because the guy i bought it from said the motor had been rebuilt twice.

Because there is so much advice being thrown in here, I would like to add my two cents.

I would put in some headers and a 2' exhaust, get a better ratio rear end and drop in a cam, intake and SMALL 4 barrel carb. You can make a screamer out of a 283 with 350 CFM two barrel. 600 cfm is just bordering on too big for a 283 to be a good streetable driver. Big is for strip, small is for street.

Make sure that the brakes and front steering are in "excellent" working order first.

and how much money would it be to do something like that if you have any idea?

actually, would this work for a carb: http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=812&prmenbr=361 . and would you be able to recomend a cam and an intake?

Ya know, I have a 71 and a 56TF(that for now sits in the yard w/o an engine )


MY first thought , and main thought is what builder said "Make sure that the brakes and front steering are in "excellent" working order first."

I feel this is an aspect of all these old trucks that is largely overlooked. I understand it's nice to accelerate fast, but it's even better to stop fast. I personally think that a vehivle(ANY KIND) should be able to stop at least as fast as it goes. Unfortunatly it is often the other way around, as most people put things on/in thier car/truck to make it faster. Stopping is Much Much more important. For roughly the price of a crate short-block(talking stock GM here, not some done up short-block) you can put power disk brakes on all 4 corners. It will make such an improvement it's almost crazy.

Don't get too big of brakes though,as the additional mass and weight takes more torque to get it rolling. Then you're fighting the acceleration again! Just put something better then 1964 engineering tech. in it!!! something like 12" or 14" rotors will be incredible, and not cost a ton of dough.

I know you are asking about making HP, not stopping or handling, but I feel it's an important issue.
Also please don't think I want to discuss this, just think about it quietly!

|<M>|

well actually, making it driveable was gona be the first order of business (new brakes, brake accessories, suspension, etc) before making any modifications. thanks for your input though.

for the carb, this would probably be better:

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=823&prmenbr=361

i thought a 2 barrel would be better?? that looks fine to me price-wise though.

If you really want it to be fast,-1- beef up the brakes and suspension for higher speeds,-2-gear it for speed,then -3-keep building more power into the engine until you can redline in high gear. Then go through steps 1 and 2 again,then repeat step 3 with whatever money you might have left...kidding;listen to these guys-they know their subject well.

If you get a four barrel, you can find a cheap used four barrel intake to go with it (I grabbed a '57 Corvette factory intake for $40 last month, and used Edelbrocks show up at swaps for under $50 all the time...), and when you need to upgrade to a bigger 4 BBL down the road, you'll already have the intake for it. The electric choke is a nice feature too, and a 390 is still a pretty small carb- personally, I wouldn't go any less than that.

Just a little helpfull insite,The 283 came in two versions, 195 hp. 2 barrel, and the 220 hp, 4 barrel. A pretty stout little engine in the stock configuration.The 4brl carb was a rochester, not a quadrajet. Most of these engines had what was called the power pack cyl heads, look at the front of the heads, look for a small rectangular mark,where the head meets the block. If it has what looks like an pyramid on it that is a power pack head. Good starting point, small valves small combustion chambers higher compression. A little better head would be off an early 327, refered to as fuelie heads/camel hump heads. Look for the rectangal and you will see two humps( like a camel), Many different versions of these heads, 1.94, 202, angle plug and so on. You want the 1.94's, the 202's you'll never need to put that much air through the engine, and not sure but they may make contact with the cylinder bores, bringing about a bigger problem.The 283 had a short stroke which means it will rev high and fast, I found from experience a factory 327/350hp hyd. cam and a quadrajet carb made a nice running stock looking sleeper of a motor. if you want a solid lifter cam(which really isn't worth the hassle if you drive this thing every day)would be a factory cam called a Duntov 30/30 solid lifter cam. nice little rump rump to it but still drivable. Both of these cams cam be bought from the aftermarket cam grinders. The 283 is a good little engine and a lot can be done to it for not a lot of money, think twice before you let someone talk you into spending big bucks to make a high performance engine out of it, it will run out at the top end compared to a 327 or a 350, both which have longer stroke and a 4 inch bore. Remember bore x stroke =HP Sorry to be so long winded, but hope this helps you.

I agree with the Vortec head solution, but I disagree with the largest diameter pipes available. That's a contradiction.
The Vortec is an excellent designed head with a high swirl chamber and high velocity ports to keep torque up. Put huge headers and exhaust on that and you'll kill your torque. 283's could use a little help with torque.

So I'd stick with no bigger than 2.5" pipes and a header with a reputation for torque, such as a tri-Y header...the only one of which I know of today is Doug Thorley.

And the comment that the 350 is pedestrian???
What in the...???
The 350 is one of the best small block engines ever built. Sturdy, reliable, and very torquey.
It's the 283's bigger brother, actually.
But I agree, I wouldn't pull an original 283 out of it, but I WOULD improve on it!

is doug thorley a manufacturer? and how much do these headers run for if you know?

Try here...

hmm looks cool. just gota figure out how much they cost.

Average price. They're not bad. I have read somewhere that first generation Camaro headers will fit the Stovebolt trucks really well. Doug Thorley does make Tri-Y's for the '67-'69 Camaro.

hmm ok ill have to look at them then.

Yes the 350 is a fine engine, and if I was building a station wagon, or a family sedan, I would seriously consider one. However, in an old truck, or a hot rod, personally, I prefer something with a little more character. You can describe a 350 with one word: BORING .
Boo

Only one problem with with you stating the 350 is boring. I have a 406 dressed up with 283 covers and aftermarket stickers and you would never know.It also has a painted cast marine bowtie intake you would not catch at a glance.It looks tame but is not ! You can and are allways tricked. Now if you were to use the new style heads you cant hide it. Forget the 202s on a small motor.The 194s produce more torque and run much better on the street.
2 1/4 pipes with a crossover at about 31-36 inches back from the collector work the best.
What ever you do dont open up that motor till your going to go full boat on a rebuild or you will have problems.
This happens all the time with guys changing heads and cams with used up motors.It will use oil(smoke) and gas and perform badly.
265 to 350 up to 86 can be made to look the same other than the early blocks with now side mont bosses.
Go find a low milage 350 and bolt all the 283 stuff on .No one will know LOL
Best running street 350 i have has a small set of 305 heads on it and runs great with good milage. Big is not allways better. LOL

ROTFL - That's funny - a 350 is boring? I had a nice one in a '76 corvette that probably would have scared the poop out of you. I spent a few bucks making the original engine go - taking it up from 180 hp to around 400. The back end would break loose at freeway speeds (70 mph!) on dry roads - with a good set of sticky tires.

After spending the big bucks on it, I learned afterwards that a nice crate engine was the way to go for cost. Keep your 283 nice and stock, store it carefully in the garage and pick up a crate motor. Drive the wheels off the truck and keep the 283 block pristine. If it ever has any collector value, the stock engine in fine form will help. If you get bored with a 350 - get some professional help. Mechanically or mentally - something is wrong!

A 700R4 tranny was a great addition. Prior to that, the 3.70 gearing left me at ~4000 rpm at 70-75 mph. The tranny swap put me at ~2600 - a vast improvement, while boosting the mileage up over 20 mpg. Swapping out the rear gears for a 3.07 may boost your mileage and freeway driveability - but it will kill your bottom end acceleration. You can't have everything, but try for it anyway!

That's pretty good, Boo. You can tell a 350 from any other small block Chevy at first glance? They all look very much the same. Kind of like trying to tell a 235 I6 from any other I6 at first glance.

There aren't too many cars out there that can keep up with my modified 350 hp, 400 lb-ft pedestrian 350 in my IROC-Z daily driver. That car is anything but boring.

Oh well, to each his own.