The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop machine shop work.....

I took a 283 block and heads (no ridge on the cylinder walls- hardly any miles on it) to a shop- they want to deck the block for $78 and bore it for $96. Only 2 cylinders had a tiny bit of build up rust- not pits- the rest were fine. The heads needed valve guides- I guess thats pretty normal.
Question is- with this situation- I would like to just hone the snot outta the cylinders and use my original pistons. Not sure about getting it decked- is it necessary- or money for the shop? Newbie at this- any ideas?

What really counts, if you go the honing route, is what it looks like after and what kind of skirt clearance there is. If you are trying to save money, the honing is just your time and after you will have your answers.

Boring it will automatically mean new pistons. I don't know about the decking on a 283 but I understand that the sixes don't warp much in the block.

Ask them these questions-

Whats the actual cylinder bore diameter?

Whats the cylinder bore taper?

Whats the skirt to cyl wall clearance?

Actual diameter will tell if the engine's been bored before, or if the stock cylinder dia is within tolerance. Taper is a measure of cylinder wear, as any cylinder will wear unevenly and develop a larger diameter in the center of the cylinder and "tighter" at both ends. Skirt-to-wall tells what the actual clearance is between the worn cylinder and the worn piston.

If the taper is greater than about .007", (depends on engine family) or the skirt-to-wall greater than .0035" (depends on piston design), the engine will need to be bored and new pistons fitted. Keep in mind that if the cylinder is in tolerance now, honing could put skirt-to-wall too large. This will result in large ring end-gaps and piston slap. The result can be noise due to piston slap, or blowby and oil burning due to poor cylinder sealing. In extreme cases, piston skirt or piston ring breakage can happen. The machinist is trying to keep you from blowing the engine up and suing him.

Re-use worn pistons at your own risk.

Decking is where the cylinder decks are cut down to true them up. Performance motors are zero-decked, where the block deck is cut even with the pistons at TDC. Motor is test assembled to get a measurement, then torn down again and the block cut the measured amount. A good idea if you want to improve performance, efficentcy and reduce chances of detonation.

Wow, real pros' here!! Thanks for the info. I was determining if I could sell the motor for what I put into it- but after talking to them- doesn't look like it. Doesn't seem like anyone wants those old 283 v-8's (unless your a corvette due looking for original stuff).

You almost never get your money back selling a newly rebuilt engine, unless you screw somebody with a "spray-can rebuild".

The 283 is worth something as a complete core for somebody's rebuilder project. If you were closer, I'd be interested, as its a great motor in a light vehicle like a 2nd gen camaro or S-10 or something.

Hello all,
I am new here but I've had a 67 chevy v-8 for the past 6 years. I'm the second owner and she has about 71K on her. 283 V-8 under the hood and I have always been told this is a Great motor. Recently she has been running rough and although I tinker and I get by I admit I have a lot to learn. If I were to replace this engine what would I replace it with? Should I replace it?
Everything under the hood is original?
Thanks,

Hey Hestor, welcome, first thing would be to do a tune-up and see if that doesn't sort things out. Then check the plug wires and filters as all those things can make it run rough. Then see if you need a new motor. You could do a compression check and leak down to see if there is an issue with the block itself.

Okay, A 'tuneup'is on the agenda. I plan to dust the snow off and garage her through February to get her straightened out. What do you all recommend? Compression test first? What steps do you all take when you 'tuneup' a rough runner?
I had her into the shop in October for some body work and I asked the mechanic at that time to just tune her then. My time was limited and I couldn't get to it. He compression tested and said I had some low numbers that were corrected with a valve adjustment. She ran great after that but it has gradually gotten rough again. I figure the points need adjusted. If that's the case, I am thinking of getting rid of the points and going with an electronic ignition. Any recommendations?

On the great advice from one of the fellas here, I love Petronix, it fits right in the distributor, looks stock, runs great, for $80. You can get their phone number off the 'net, and they'll refer you to a retailer to order one. Think about a coil, plugs, plug wires, rebuild the carb(almost always easy to do yourself), and a new fuel filter. If the motor's any good, after all that, it'll run great.

Dan 51,
I used a pertronix in an old VW bus. It was great. I just hadn't had any feedback on them for a Chevy truck. I'm anxious to give it a try.

try just touching up the points with a piece of 400 grit sand paper and check the timing with a timing light - that alone can make it run right. Then you can clean off the plugs - that's the low $ tune up and usually works on vehicles of this generation.

I would do the simple things first (afore mentioned) and then see if anything else is required. You can check compression too - that only requires use of a tool to check.

First things first. Tuneup steps: Replace plugs, wires, cap, rotor. In your case, I'd replace the points with a Pertronix and not look back. I've used them in 4 or 5 applications and had good luck in all put one. That one turned out to have worn distributor bushings, so I ended up installing an HEI distributor.

Once that's done, I'd see how she runs. Most likely that'll cure the rough running problems. If not, then the compression check. If you find one or more cylinders dramatically lower than the others, shoot a squirt of oil into the cylinder thru the plug hole and try the compression check again. If it comes up, there's a good chance the rings are worn and it's time for a rebuild. If it stays the same, it could be a valve or cam problem.

But I always do the ignition stuff first, just to make sure.

hth

You know,I have been chewing on this all for a few days because there is nothing else to do here right now but watch it snow. I'm thinking maybe I should compression test it before I spend any money on the ignition stuff. The compression test is gonna tell me if the engine is crap or not regardless if I'm weak in the ignition, Right?
Anyone got any experiences here they want to share? One more thing I want to throw out there,
I'm thinking the engine is gonna be weak in the heads. What should I do regarding fixing it right if I decide to tear them off and take them to the machine shop.

71,000 miles on the engine? Probably 171,000 if the truth be known. I can almost guarantee if you yank the heads with that mileage to have the machinc shop go thru them with new valve guides and seals and clean up the valves you will start sucking oil past the rings where you didn't before. So before you start pulling heads do the easy and cheap stuff others have suggested, compression test, tune up, timing, rebuild the carb. After you do your dry and wet compression tests and get your numbers, go talk to a good machine shop and run the numbers past the boys there. If the numbers are good, then do your major tune up and maybe an HEI.

Okay Stovebolters,
I finally got the snow brushed off and put the old girl in the garage.

First off, 52pu, This old 67 chevy really only has 71K on her. See, I know this because I'm the second owner as I said before. My pop was the first and only other owner and he passed away in March and left her to me.
This trucK is in really good shape and I really want to get her running well.
I did a compression test this evening both wet and dry and 52pu,I'm shocked and disappointed at what I found. You were correct.The compression test wasn't good. Low compression on cylinders 1,3,5,7, and decent compression on cylinders 2,4,6,8,. The compression did improve with a squirt of oil. Okay. So are the rings and pistons shot?
Here's what confuses me. Dad saved every single record and receipt for this truck. So, tonight I checked the receipts and records and in '96 at 54K, according to the reciepts, he had this engine to the shop for an overhaul. Piston, rings were replaced and the crank turned. He also had a valve job done. So, after 21K could this engine really need new rings and pistons or should I be doing some deeper diagnostics.

I can give you all specific wet and dry cylinder compression test results if it helps. I 'd appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks,
Hestor cten.
--once you've smelled the smoke, you're never again free.