I'll just copy/paste from a similar thread (over on CF) and add this;
-all those people "back in the day" boring out shoebox chevy 265/283's to 4.00" were drag racers who built them to the ragged edge, ran the snot out of them on the tracks and retired them shortly afterward (theres a reason you never saw a 301 in endurance racing). Early 283 cylinder walls were quite thin at 4.00" and were usually a hassle to keep cool on the street. Unfortunately, these same race 301's were gaining publicity and are what wide-eyed kids saw tearing up the drag strips, fondly remember, and perpetuated the legend forward to future generations. No doubt they ran like snot, but certainly at the cost of longevity. GM began casting thick wall 283 blocks in the 1964-65 time frame that could stand a 4.00" bore safely for long-term street use without the need for Caterpillar radiators ..or a mop
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Follow standard rebuild practices, build sensible (275-300 hp), keep the stock power pack heads (1.72" valves), resize/replace the rods and use good ARP fasteners. Stock 283 cast pistons (no 283 ever came from GM with forged pistons) can still be had, or Ross etc. can make a set of forged for you. Forget roller cams and all the other Jegs/Summit go-fast goodies, you'll never see any benefit from them in a sensibly built 283. The motor will rev to 6k with no trouble (like the 302's, 283's love to rev) and you'll be happy. Now if your looking to extract maximum power from the mouse, their are a few points to keep in mind re 283's;
-1957 283 blocks cannot be bored to 4.00 inches (+.125")-they're thinwall castings.
-1958 & newer 283 blocks
might stand boring to 4.00" ..if the cylinders were centered in the block during casting ..and you don't mind the likelyhood of a hotter running engine.
-Late 1964 & newer 283 blocks will accomodate a 3.25" stroke crank. To save costs, GM intro'd the nodular cast crank this year (for both 283 and 327) that required larger diameter counterweights than the denser forged cranks needed. GM merged the 283 and 327 machining lines & began shaving the main saddles and cylinder bottoms to clear the larger counterweights. GM also changed 283 castings to allow the extra meat for the grinding (ie. don't attempt clearance grinding a pre-64 283 block to clear a 3.25" crank).
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Any SBC head with valves larger than 1.94" will suffer from
"shrouding" (intake valve too close to cylinder wall) if used on the stock 3.875" bore 283.
-Crower (possibly others?)
can supply custom 3.25" forged stroker reciprocating assembly with cranks that will clear the pre-64 283 blocks (within their "enduro" product line) ..for about $2500+ last time I checked.
As you can see, you'll be dollars and sense ahead by going straight to a 4.00" bore block (327/350/400) to build a strong SBC without breaking the bank.
283 motor guys: A little theoretical bench racing for fun!
I've been thinking about building up (eventually) the old 283 that my dad has left over. It's just the short block, so I'd have to add heads, intake, etc.
I was thinking about using vortecs for heads and a Perf. RPM intake, but I wanted to know about the bottom end components and cam selection.
Do aftermarket companies have rods and pistons available, or is it just stock replacement stuff. I suppose that prepped stock rods would be okay to use, but considering how long the motor has been sitting I don't know their condition. Ditto the crank and pistons. I'm looking for a 6000 rpm safe redline.
Now on the cam, I was thinking about doing a retro fit for a hydraulic roller, and using the Magnum cam with 206 duration (.050) and .500 lift. The duration should be low enough that it won't be too wild a cam for the small motor. I checked it out with desktop dyno and the power peak was at about 5000-5500 IIRC, but I could always retard the cam some if I need a little more top end.
(This motor would be going in a 3rd gen Firebird w/ a manual trans btw)
Anyhow, I just wanted to see if anybody here had experience with a 283 and could comment on my bench racing combo here!
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