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Hi I have a 57 6100 with a 283 in it and I was wondering what does the original 283 Look like and what options did they have besides the power pack. and what color was the motor for the big trucks. Mine's is blue.How much are the worth. I was just wondering. Thanks for the info

I don't know that the power pack heads were an option on a 2-ton truck.

'57 was the first year of the fuel injected 283 horse 283 and there was a dual four-barrel option for cars. But again I doubt very much any of this left the factory bolted to a 2-ton truck. Riding on one maybe...

The stamp on by the door suggests power pack maybe? but i think it just shows the horsepower with the power pack.

The engine should be green, IIRC. The Power Pak was a Passneger option, not offered on trucks. However, the Taskmaster 283 did use the same 4bbl Rochester 4G carb as the Power Pak cars did, only with a manual choke. But that's about as close as it gets, cams and heads are different.
The only Power Pack reference (note the different spelling) I've ver seen inreference to trucks is the Napco conversion, which was also referred to as the Mountain Goat in the AD trucks.

OK what year models came with a blue motor? I don't think mine is original then? have a hard time seeing the #on the block.

cars of that era had blue 235s, no V8's were blue .... after 52 years who can say why yours is blue? would be unusual if the engine hadn't been out for major work some time - numbers are the only way to ID the year of it and if it's "original"

Bill

Sometimes certain engine rebuilders would paint their engines a certain color as a trademark. I've seen green, black, red and yellow smallblocks over the years.

The smog engines of the 70's and up where blue,
Scott

Jasper used to use a green color on theirs, lately it's been a medium gray. I do know that GM used a nasty greenish yellow on the '57 Passenger use 265s.

Whats the price of a good running 283? thanks

Puryear,

The easyest way to tell if you have a 1957 283 is to look for the "side" motor mount bolt bosses (the 3 raised nubs on both sides of the block that the motor mount bolts to). 1957 is the only year 283 that does not have them, they still used the front mount. ALL SBC's from 1958 and up have side mounts.

As for value, if it's a true truck motor it's worth about what any running SBC is worth. If by some chance it's a car engine the value could go up. The stamped number on the passenger side tab in front of the head will tell the tail.

Mike B

.... I think he is looking for an actual number. I would say a complete 283 that needs rebuild a good price would be $300. No more. I know a guy not far from me that has one for sale.... he is asking $300 but hasn't sold it in the past 6 months although I will admit he is not advertising it....just word of mouth.

That could be a hard question to answer. 283's are still all over the place and rebuildables can be had for $10 to $600. A running 283 could be from $10 to $1500. I've spent $600 for a numbers correct block before. Power pack head are out there and you will spend more on them than they are worth unless numbers matching is your game. How specific do you want to be with correctness when you place it in your truck? If numbers are not important, I would find a 350 (cheaper and easier to find and rebuild) and dress it up to look like it belongs there.

Here is a couple of blocks.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/pts/1503740963.html

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pts/1498230929.html

http://joplin.craigslist.org/pts/1492962928.html

Ok I checked the side of the block and it does have the 3 holes so not original. I got a free 283 recently from a friend and he said the motor had been rebuilt. But it did have some rust in the cylinders but I manage to get it out(sat out side for ruffly 15 years but it was all sealed). so hopefully I will have it running this winter. Its time to replace my worn out 283 with something a little fresher. Thanks for the info!!!

For the power pak heads look on the front of the head for a triangle, that id's them as power pak 194 intake.Double hump/camel hump id's them as 202 intake.Price of a good 283 is what ever someone will pay,most go for the larger CID.327,350.

Power pack heads did not have 194 intakes the intakes where 172. power packs where found on 283 and 250 hp 327 engines. 300 hp 327 had 194 intakes. 375 hp and fuelie 327 had 202 camel hump heads.

Guess I'd better read up on my manuals, My bad.

Something else to keep in mind, not all camel hump heads are 2.02 valves. There are camel hump heads out there with 1.94 valves. It's a case of using the same casting for a different application.