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I am getting my 57 3100 stepside little window project tomorrow...I have been researching task force trucks for a while now, and I gotta say that I am torn on making a few decisions. The truck has a 283 in it from the factory, missing tranny, and unknown (probably stock) rear. I am either going to A)rebuild the 283, figure out which tranny goes in it, get it running and then restore it, B)Figure out how to get a bigger SBC in there safely, O/D trans, and Posi rear. OR C)Keep the drivetrain stock and just upgrade the brakes, suspension, steering, etc. For the guys who have tackled this before...Is it necessary to weld on a clip from a later truck/car to gain all of the modern accessories, or is it fairly straightforward to bolt on disc brakes from donor cars/trucks? Will a later SBC engine bolt up directly to the factory 283 engine mounts? What the heck am I doing funneling $$ into another project? Any help/links/etc would be greatly appreciated!!
Dano

Dan there are a couple of approaches to put disks on your existing straight axle. One switches you to 5-lug hubs and the other stays 6-lug. There are pros and cons, but I think deciding if you want to run 5- or 6-lug is the first decision to make before deciding the rest of it.

If your 283 mounts off the front of the motor any small block with the holes in the front of the block will swap in its place. There are also kits to install a motor with sidemounts instead of the front mount.

Did the truck have a manual or automatic transmission? If a manual most any later GM manual can be put in its place with a little work. If you want to run an automatic you probably want to sidemount the motor and run a more recent transmission.

My '55 1st Suburban is running 5-lug front disks. Someday we'll arrange a meet and you can look that over. I'm still running an inline and stock 4-speed, but have replaced the rear axle with a later run improving my crusing speed and gas milage.

283s are great motors. I'd sure be tempted to rebuild it especially if it is actually the original motor. If you replace it with a later small block keep all the original stuff. Someone will want it.

Yeagh, I see we think alike on this subject. I don't know that a 283 will scoot me down the freeway in this mess we call I-5.lol Probably it's the best thing to do for many reasons. My 69 Camaro came from GM with a 307. The first thing I did was build up a 327 with aftermarket heads, crank, etc and add a shift kit and posi. I suppose I can live with 1 toy that goes fast. I am excited to go pick it up tomorrow! I will post the vin and take more pics and try to decipher what engine is in it etc. I think I'm going to enjoy working on this old bolt! Thanks again for hosting pics, and yes, we will meet up one day. Maybe Scott S can tag along? Thanks again.
Dano

Sounds like you're going to have a nice progect. You don't have to clip it to get modern accesories. There are several power steering and brake kits around that will work with the stock axle and frame. If you really want to have a psi diff, you'll have to swap to either a '63-'87 4x4 rear if you want to keep the 6 lug bolt patters, there are no posi's for the stock diff at this time. Do some searching for the accesories that you want, then you can decide how you want to do it. Don't hesitate to ask us 'Bolters for help if you need it, there are quite a few of us with Task Force trucks.
By the way, if it's a factory V-8, it will be a 265. They didn't use the 283 in 1/2-1 tons until '58.

I didn't know that...

I was going to comment that most modern motors are no bigger than the 283 which is about 4.6 litres. Thats the same size as one of the current Ford V-8's I believe.

For me the 265 is harder to get excited about. But if it has the original tin and manifold and stuff you could still use it to dress a later motor to look like an early one.

What became of the 307 from your Camaro? That would be a good pickup motor. It has a 283 bore and a 327 stroke, meaning its got lots of stroke compared to the bore and makes good torque.

If the 307 is a small journal block you could even swap a 283 crank, rods and pistons into it and have a 283. I don't remember if 307's are small or large or both...

I may have a 283 sitting out in the yard that's probably rusted solid. I've wondered if it could be resurected...

I thonk that the 307 was a large journal engine, I'll have to check the spec book to be sure. It seems that there is a common misconception that the '57 V-8's were all 283s. The 265 hung on until the end of '57, as the base V-8 in cars and in 1 ton and under trucks. In cars the block was usually painted a kind of mustard yellow, and had cast iron pistons. They were only made with the 2 barrel carb. I beleive that the truck engine was basically the same, only painted gray to ID it as a truck engine.

I will I.D the numbers off the block later today when I get home...if it is a 265...I may want to upgrade just so I can do freeway speeds easily. The mounts are in the front on this engine which I have never seen before. I will need to read up on how to fab up a "side mount" blocks for a 350 sbc OR I may just try to get a few more HP out of the stock motor somehow. Steve, the 307 in the garage is the original motor out of my Camaro, and I feel like it should just sit in the corner for now. It's so cheap to build up a 350 these days, might just head in that direction...Not sure yet. I really need to find the vin and decode the truck, order the GM truck packet of info, and positively i.d. the engine today. That would be a good starting point,. You guys are great! I'm sure I will have a ton more ?? before this thing is back on the road...
Dano

You should have no problems keeping up with traffic using a 283... I've run them for several years... The Ox will run up and down I-5 at 80+mph all day, then bring me home at night.

I ran the rings out of a junk yard 283 in a 66 GMC, including a trip to the east coast and back.. (@ 55-60 mph)

Boy did I get alot done today! i swept out all the 6" mess of pine needles out of the bed, got the vin#, positively found out that the engine is actually a 265... and ordered my kit from Chevrolet. I found a handful of old coins, 'jujubees', bandaids, and a vintage condom still in the wrapper I also found the horn cap for the steering wheel, upper door panel, window cranks and a door lever!! I think the first order of business is to have some keys made, then try to prep the engine, gas, and battery to try and get the thing to run. I reefed on the fan and got it to turn with not too much effort (good sign!) Now I gotta figure out what trans was in the thing and start ripping out the custom deluxr astro turf they glued into the floor of the cab
Dan

I just went up to Victoria, B.C. via Seattle in non-peak traffic hours and all I can say is that if your engine runs at all you can keep up with traffic on I-5. I could have kept up just using the starter, and I was pulling a 36 foot fifth wheel trailer.

I used to have a truck like that.

Well if you are hanging on to the 307 because its original in the Camaro maybe you want to do the same with the 265.

If you aren't expecting hot rod performance I don't see any reason not to stay with the 265. If you're going to pull a big trailer with this truck you might be disappointed, but just running around empty it should do just fine, and even loaded it should do the job.

But then if it were me I'd put a big block in it.

If I can get the engine to fire off with a minor tune up, kroil in the plug holes, new gas, battery etc, then I may just run with the 265 for now...I DO want to figure out how to install a bigger V8 with side mounts so that the hei doesn't hit the trans tunnel/firewall and keeps the geometry correct. I imagine that I will go with a newer (70s-80's) 4 speed. I need to look into what mods are needed to support the new drivetrain.... But I would be happy if I could find a good used trans and driveline and get the thing running so I can move it around when I need to. I built a tarp cover for it yesterday to keep the rain off it, but that doesn't stop rodents
Dano

My brothers and myself ran a lot of 265's and 283' in our day. Good engines. I vote to do the 265 justice and keep it in the old boy. It will get the job done! However I do like the 283 better but if the 265 is original I would do some minor mods to beef it up a little and drive it. Just my dimes worth.

Thanks Achipmunk! The 265 is sorta growing on me now. I am a bit nervous about the mounts being in the front held in by skinny little bolts, but it survived almost 50 years that way, should hold up for a while longer The engine seems to be in pretty good shape. It has a plastic (newer) fuel filter and hose, so it must have been running not too long ago. Now to figure out what trans and driveline was in this thing...
Dano

The original transmission was probably a SM420,it was the most common choice. You should be able to find one from a '55-'66 Chevy/GMC 1/2-1-1/2 ton truck easily,and they'll fit equally well,though some bigger trucks had the E-brake on the transmission,so you might have to remove that stuff. If it had a 3 speed,there again,pretty near any GM 3 speed from '55 to '66 can fit with only slight mods. (Maybe a Saginaw 3 speed w/overdrive?) You're probably set up for an 11" clutch;if so an "LUK #04-064 12" clutch kit will fit and for some reason lists for less than the 11" kit.
Regarding the 265,they carried '55 Chevy cars to 100 mph and more,so it should be able to go as fast as you'd like to go. The 265 didn't have provisions for an oil filter,if I'm remembering right,so you might want to do a search for a conversion kit to remote mount one. Have fun with it,and ask lotsa questions.
Speed

The '55 version of the 265 is the only one that doesn't have the filter provision. They used the bypass filter like the 235. It took it's supply from the front cam bearing. Also be carefull whith the overhaul if you rebuild it. The '55/'56 265 have a specific cam with a groove in the rear bearing journal. This was necessary for oiling the lifters. The oiling system was changed in '57, but the cams won't swap. Or at least not putting a '57 & up in the early block, you can put the '55/'56 cam in the later block.
On the 1/2 ton and most 3/4 tons the parking brake is still on the rear wheels with the SM420. ! ton and up have the trans mounted p-brake, although I think it may have been an option on 3/4 ton.

The 265 can be safely punched out to 283 and 283 pistons used. We used to have the post 1957 Duntov cams machined so that they could be used in the early blocks, all automotive machine shops in the sixties knew what had to be done.

Well. thanks for the insight guys! i have a line on a SM420 now and driveline parts from a guy here in Wa. I have been working on the cab interior getting it ready for self etch primer...
I should be getting a replacement key from LMC this week or next, so I can try to get her running. i would like to keep it stock and just run around town in it for now. i might consider a new suspension/disc brakes and a bigger drivetrain in hte future, but 1 thing at a time for now
Dano

Longbox55, I worked in the Chevrolet Assembly Plant at Van Nuys, Ca. in '57 and '58 model years. All our 1957 engines were 283's, no cars assembled at Van Nuys had 265's. As for the cams you could grind a slot in the rear journal and use the later cams in 265's, I have done it several times, the lifters oiled properly with this modification. I made a 283 out of a 265 by boring it .125 oversize with no problems, ran 8000 RPM plus lots of times at the drag races. The 265 blocks were quite thick in the cylinder walls so a big overbore was no problem. You can also bore a 283 oversize .125 and that makes a 302. The later blocks, i.e. 327, 350, and 400 won't take that much overbore.

The 265 was the base option for cars in '57, from what I've seen it was rarely ordered. The few that went out may have all been done in a different plant. Or at least I can see why a plant in California wouldn't build any that way.

Well...I got my key/tumbler set from LMC today! I was so excited, I ran down and got the gas cans filled, put the plugs back in, wires, got everything set, turned the key and nothing...I double checked everything and tried again. NADA!
I traced the wires and found that the spade connectors have no wires going to them I saw 4 wires coming from the main bundle-2 purple and 2 green. There is 5 connectors fittings, so Now I need to figure out how this mess goes back together...
Dano