The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Differences between car and truck engines?

I've been thinking about doing a period correct V8 mod to my truck since the 235 isn't original. I know the V8 trucks were stamped on the VIN, but I have access to a 1957 283 out of a Belair for $150, not seized and looks pretty clean under the valve covers. What is the main differences between the V8's installed in cars vs. trucks?
Here are some pics:
http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk214...m%20a%20Belair/

Hy nickcs2004, you didn't say what year truck you'll be transplanting the 57 283 into. The 55B and 56 trucks in Canada had 265s in them, 283s came in 57s. My 59 truck salesmans data book lists at least three different compression ratios, however the parts book lists only pistons with a different class of fit, and they only list one cylinder head for the Chev V8S, so how they come up with different compression ratios is a mystery to me.

The Resto-Packs contain some of the information that you may be needing. It looks as if 1956 and 1958 are the only years (of the V-8 era) where both the truck and car specs are available.

Hoyt

283s were primarily passenger car engines in '57, light trucks (1/2-1 1/2 ton) got the 2bbl 265, which was also the base V8 in the passenger car. I have heard of '57 light trucks with "factory 283s", but beleive those to either be a dealer install, or possibly a special order made by someone who knew the right channels, or a later aftermarket swap. There is also the possibilty that they were late year trucks, as the way I understand it, the 265s were mainly leftover '56 engines that were only used until the stock was gone.
i wont say "they don't exist", but the 1957 Truck Shop manula only lists a 265 in the lighter trucks, with the 283 in 2 ton and larger, plus the Loadmaster 322 V8 (actually a Buick engine) used in the largest Tandem trucks.

Sorry, I didn't post my truck specs. I need to add that to my signature. My truck is a 1957 3100 with a 1960 235. The truck came from Napa Id with no rust and was an Army base runner before it went to the school district. Also, I believe it to be a Core of Engineers truck, which would have some symmetry seeing as I hold a Masters in Mechanical Engineer. Unfortunately engines aren't covered in depth in our schooling.
I know for a fact that the 1957 283's were used in the '57 trucks. I had the pleasure of running around looking at parts and found a guy between Bend and Redmond here in Oregon who has an ALL original 1957 3200 Napco with the factory installed 283. Been in his family the whole time. All he did was take it off the ranch and gave it a new paint job/spruce up. Oh yea, it is the big window deluxe cab with the deluxe heater and radio. Beautiful. Another neat fact I found out from him is that his Napco was put in at the factory, which only in the tail end of '57 this was happening. Prior to that it was installed as an accessory by the dealer.
I ran with the casting number the owner provided (can be seen in the pictures) and it seems is 1957 specific, which is pretty neat. Of coarse the serial number will identify it as a Belair application, but I think since it is date stamped correctly it would make a cool V8 mod.
I've looked into those Resto-Packs before but unfortunately the 57 truck is one of the few years they do not have. I have an original shop manual, original factory assembly manual, and original owners manual for the truck. I have tried to arm myself with as much history as possible when working on my truck.
Comparing the car data from the resto-packs to the information I have:
283 Truck:
Taskmaster
Compression: 8:1
Valve face angle: 44
283 Car:
Turbofire
Compression 8.5:1 (basic, many options)
Valve face angle: 45
This is just a quick look. Still need to dive deeper.

Bump.
Is $150 a good price?

There were no 3200 factory 4x4s, and V8s were not available in the factory 4x4 until 1960. While there were 283s used in '57 Chevrolet trucks, they were not used in trucks under 2 ton., which is the Taskmaster engine you give the specs for. The 1/2 through 1 1/2 ton truck used the Trademaster 265.
Now, to answer your question, if it isn't locked up, $150 for a 1957 date coded 283 doesn't sound bad to me. Grab it before some Ble Air guy gets wind of it! While it may not be the correct engine for a light duty '57 truck, it would still make a period correct V8 as far as appearance goes.

Its worth $150 even if it was seized up (assuming no catastrophic damage). You will also find that parts are relatively cheap for a 283. Sounds like a great deal, ditto Bill, snap it up.

Thanks, I'll save up for it.