Found this rebuilt 283ci locally for a great price. Still anchored to the rebuild crate from JASPER. It has side engine bosses for a typical SBC engine mount, so it will bolt right in my 1965 C10. I need to source some valve covers and accessories.
I purchased a rebuilt 307ci and turbo 350 as a package deal. The tranny will likely go in my son’s 1968 C10. The 307ci is a 1968 block with an Edlebrock performer manifold. It won’t make a lot of HP, but I got such a good deal that I couldn’t resist. Here are some pics. I don’t know what year block the 283ci is yet. Maybe the casting number will help. Also, I see 3 holes at the back. One is for a distributor. Holes A, B, C.
Hole "A" is for the road draft tube since 283's were made in the pre-PCV days. Hole B is for a vent canister that prevents liquid oil from being splashed out of the draft tube. It's about 2" in diameter and 6" long, with baffles, similar to the vent tube on the side of a stovebolt six. Instead of a road draft tube, there was an adapter made to convert to a PCV valve. The PCV attached inline with a couple of 3/8" diameter vacuum hoses, one to the adapter, and the other to the intake or the base of the carburetor. You can probably find a vent canister on Ebay.
Edit: The canister is available, GM part number 3728502, but it's pricey. Here's a link:
There's also a couple on Ebay today. With a little bit of fabrication skill and some exhaust tubing, it would be possible to make one- - - -it's VERY low-tech!
If you can post a photo of the end of one of the 283 cylinder heads, we can probably make an educated guess about the compression ratio, valve sizes, and the type of carburetor it's supposed to have. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I don't know the history of my truck. From the engine I.D. number it is the original year engine (1957)truck 283. Mine has the crankcase vent canister under the intake manifold and then a rubber bushing in the hole in the top of the block, an elbow then steel and rubber hose with a PCV valve inline before it connects to vacuum. Being a 2 ton with a 2 bbl. and factory governor I don't know if the PCV was factory or a later modification to help keep the engine clean. It was born in Flint and has always been a Michigan truck so I can't see emissions being the focus. Mine also has the early heads with the offset valve cover screws, valve covers and timing chain cover are stovebolt screws - not hex head so I'm thinking it's all original.
1957 Chevrolet 5700 LCF 283 SM420 2 speed rear, 1955 IH 300U T/A, 1978 Corvette 350 auto, 1978 Yamaha DT175, 1999 Harley Davidson Softail Fat Boy
The internet tells me the casting number 3896944 on my 283 is 1967 Chevelle. 195 HP. I’ll keep looking for confirmation. I hope to bore scope the cylinder walls tomorrow.
OK- - - -looking good! Those heads were what we called "Power-Pack" back when dinosaurs roamed the earth! They were also used on the 4-barrel carb engines. A "195 HP" engine would have been manufactured with a small-bore Rochester 2-barrel carb, one of the best carbs GM ever built. I believe those heads gave a 283 a compression ratio around 9.5:1 or so. 40 over will add a little bit of a compression bump over a standard bore engine. An aftermarket aluminum intake and a Carter AFB (NOT Edelbrock) carb somewhere in the 400 CFM range would be an excellent choice for carburetion if you don'r run the OEM 2 barrel.
Give those cylinders a good shot of oil and spin the engine with the starter a little, and that surface rust should polish away very quickly. Good score! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
No honing- - - - -just oil them well and spin the crankshaft with the starter, or tap the crankshaft snout for a bolt and washer and turn it by hand several times. That light surface rust will disappear very quickly. If you're going to store the engine for a while, plug off the spark plug holes, oil the cylinders heavily with something like 90 weight gear oil and duct tape all the ports, and/or loosen up the valve adjustments so all the valves stay closed. Humidity cycling in and out of a cylinder past an open valve can cause massive rust damage. I had to tear down an otherwise pristine Oldsmobile engine once, and sleeve one cylinder after it had been stored for a few months with a valve open to the atmosphere. The rust pitting was massive, but only to one cylinder! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Lugnutz Your 307 has a 327 shaft that should be nodular iron big journal,in 67 would have been forged small journal. Gotta watch rightin there changes took place. With nodular shaft more trouble with end play if stick. Hope that is right,others will chime -in.
. . . . . . or tap the crankshaft snout for a bolt and washer and . . . . . . . Jerry
All done tapping the crank snout. I used that kit I bought from you (Jerry) about 2 years ago. I'll add some oil and prime the engine with a screwdriver on a drill down the dizzy before I hand turn the crank.
Here's the write up I did about that kit a while back. LINK HERE
Power pack heads? Looks like I only have one power pack head. So this might mean I have a mismatch of heads. The DS has the casting mark with a rectangle and with a pointy triangle on top. The PS has the rectangle. This website shows what the casting marks indicate. SBC heads casting marks If the heads are as different as the chart shows, then the compression will be different too (according to the chart). Should I pull the heads?
Lugnutz, be aware that spinning the oil pump with the distributor out of the engine will not deliver oil to the cam bearings or top end, it will pressurize the mains and rod bearings. You could do a preliminary with the dizzy out then spin the engine with the starter once you have things put together a little more. With the distributor installed and no spark plugs you can pre-lube with the starter.
1957 Chevrolet 5700 LCF 283 SM420 2 speed rear, 1955 IH 300U T/A, 1978 Corvette 350 auto, 1978 Yamaha DT175, 1999 Harley Davidson Softail Fat Boy
I see the casting number on one head - looks like ---4480, find the casting number from the other head. You can then determine the chamber volume and factory valve size. There is a good chance the valves will probably be the same size but the chamber could be different if the castings are of different years or hp output. I built a 383 with heads of the same casting number but different years, I c.c.'d the heads and found one with about 2 c.c.'s higher volume so I had one of them milled to match the other chamber volume.
1957 Chevrolet 5700 LCF 283 SM420 2 speed rear, 1955 IH 300U T/A, 1978 Corvette 350 auto, 1978 Yamaha DT175, 1999 Harley Davidson Softail Fat Boy
I see the casting number on one head - looks like ---4480, find the casting number from the other head. You can then determine the chamber volume and factory valve size. There is a good chance the valves will probably be the same size but the chamber could be different if the castings are of different years or hp output. I built a 383 with heads of the same casting number but different years, I c.c.'d the heads and found one with about 2 c.c.'s higher volume so I had one of them milled to match the other chamber volume.
Apparently the power pack heads have a 58cc chamber volume. I searched Speedway Motors just for kicks. They only listed 64cc heads. That would reduce compression and performance. Do I need to pull these heads to measure volume?
There's another option, if you want to do a little shopping. Some 305 engine were manufactured with 58CC heads, which will bolt right onto a 283 block. I've got a casting number list somewhere in my computer files that give casting numbers, CC's, and end-of-head casting ID illustrations. They're a lot easier to find than original 283 heads, and they've got the bolt holes that allow more modern accessories such as power steering pumps, alternators, etc. to be mounted onto the 283 block.
Let me know it you're going to attend the July get-together in Lebanon Tennessee- - - -I'm pretty sure I've got a couple of Power Pack heads (with the triangle on top of the rectangle) stashed away that I'm not likely to need anytime soon, as I prefer to use the 305 heads with the same CC's, even on an older engine. The heads would probably need a valve job, but they'd match what you've got. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
There's another option, if you want to do a little shopping. Some 305 engine were manufactured with 58CC heads, which will bolt right onto a 283 block. I've got a casting number list somewhere in my computer files that give casting numbers, CC's, and end-of-head casting ID illustrations. They're a lot easier to find than original 283 heads, and they've got the bolt holes that allow more modern accessories such as power steering pumps, alternators, etc. to be mounted onto the 283 block.
Let me know it you're going to attend the July get-together in Lebanon Tennessee- - - -I'm pretty sure I've got a couple of Power Pack heads (with the triangle on top of the rectangle) stashed away that I'm not likely to need anytime soon, as I prefer to use the 305 heads with the same CC's, even on an older engine. The heads would probably need a valve job, but they'd match what you've got. Jerry
If this post with head casting info shows I have mismatched heads, then shopping for the right 305 heads sounds like a good option.
Yes Jerry, I plan to attend the Lebanon, TN gathering. So don’t go digging until I get more detective work done. I also plan to attend the Commerce, GA swap meet the first week of April. I might see what I need there (if I actually need to shop).
Here are the cast numbers. The DS head has the peak on top of the rectangle. The PS just has a rectangle. The last picture is the date when the block was cast. Looks like 8/3/1966
The results are in but need further verification. Jerry HRL shared a link to help ID SBC heads. You can see the link in my post about the 307ci.
Anyway, both of the heads have cast numbers that coincide with the 1960-67 283ci SBC. Now I just need to confirm that both heads have the same chamber size.
According to 1968ss.com the 3814480 head is 70 cc and the 3884520 is 60 cc. Both have the same valve size.
SimS
Yeah, I need to find another 520 head. It’s a huge bummer. I called Jasper today and they didn’t have any info on the number I gave them. Apparently records only go back 8 years or so. I was hoping to find out some more info on the 283 engine. But all is not lost.
I would think that Jasper would have noticed the difference in heads. Oh well.
I've got sat least one, maybe two of the 60CC heads with the triangle on top of the square box. (Commonly known as "Power-Pack) Drop me a PM. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
"Drop me a PM"- - - - -There's an elementary school program called "Reading Is Fundamental"!
Personally, I would not consider using original equipment 283 heads unless I was building a numbers-correct show car. The best of those heads have all been worn out, rebuilt, and worn out again. There are thousands of remanufactured 58CC 305 heads available on Ebay and elsewhere which work better, and are 30 years newer than those power pack heads. Here's a few casting numbers:
And a bunch more, listed on that same website I linked to before. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Some of those big outfit rebuilds are not good for folks that are looking for factory original stuff. They some times put their stamp on it some place or mess it up some other way. Just saying. Also places like jasper hire low paid people so some times you get what you pay for. Some people praise the engines or transmissions they get from those outfits and some curse them. Just search online the names of the various rebuild places and learn.
Kicking self for selling off my Taskforce trucks. Still looking for an LCF or conventional big bolt in decent shape.
As of 10-26-2022, A 55.2 Taskforce long bed now the work begins
