230 to 283 switch

[dedjr67]

I found a 283 v8 with only 10000 miles on it for $250.00 bucks and was wondering what I will need to get to put this motor in my 65. Will my motor mounts, bellhousing, starter, and altenator brackets work or will I need to get different ones? Also will an H.E.I. distributor clear the firewall or will I have to get a points distributor and install a Pertonix kit like iI did on my 230? Thanks in advance. Dennis

[retselgerg]

on a 67-72, you have a second mount location already tapped through the frame and all u do is relocate the mouts, as for the bellhousing and starter it should be the compatable with the V8...the alt, you will need brackets, i would suggest gettting a later model belt setup...hope that helps ya out..
-G.Lester

[JohnnyG.]

i swapt out kragens 305 for a rebuilt 283 and had some troubles with starter and flexplate. any alt. setup for a SBC will work with this motor. also i believe you need to use the front mounts for the motor on that frame. hope this helps. what tranny are you using?

[dedjr67]

3 speed manual (still on the column for know)

[JohnnyG.]

if your starter attaches to the bell housing i dont think you will have a problem using the same starter.

[javadoc]

HEI fits no problem.

[Stepside65]

IIRC the motor mounts are the exact same for the 283 V8 and 230/250 I6 I might be wrong but i think the bell housing is different but the trans is the same. A small block should fit no problem on the back mounts as I've heard of bbc's fitting on the back mounts with no massaging. Hopefully someone who is a little more knowlegible on these trucks will be able to tell you if I'm right or wrong. Hope this helps. Just my .02 and should be taken as nothing more. I am by no means an expert.

[greg64]

The bellhousing and flywheel are the same between the 230 and 283. The only problem with flywheel interchange is 86 and up SBs that have a one piece rear seal, and SBs that used externally balance (400). If the starter mounts on the bell, you're good to go. If it mounts on the block, make sure the 283 has the same bolt pattern drilled and tapped. The alternator brackets are decidedly different.

On my 64, the 283 is mounted using the rear mount holes.

Good luck.

[Greg63]

Dennis, I did the 230 - 283 switch many years ago in my '63.
The bellhousing is the same for both. The starter remains mounted to the bellhousing so no problems there.
The motor mounts are the same location for both, but you need the block mount from the 283 to mate to the truck frame bracket.
The alternator brackets differ between the two motors, but if you have the 283 brackets you can do it.
HEI - no problem for fit.

Hope that helps.

Greg

[rickf]

I did a 230 to 350v8 swap, my v8 came from a 71 GMC C20. As others have said, the big parts are just a bolt in swap. The 3-speed bell housing fits, I'm still using the bell housing mounted starter. The alternater itself fits, but the mounts are different. I got by with a cheesy Napa after market affair for awhile, but later got the GM OEM cast irong mounts off ebay for around $25.

You'll probably want to change the clutch. My 230 had this little bitty clutch, 8" I think, 10" at teh most, I forget now exactly. I put a 12" clutch in, that's what the parts store guys said a truck used for a truck ought to have. I was surprised it fit in the bell housing, but it did. When you get the clutch, make sure you get the long throw-out bearing, my clutch pack came with a short and I had to go back and exchange it.

The flywheel of my 6 would have worked on the 8, but it had signs of a hairline surface crack. The cost to resurface was $20 short of a new one (a cheap new one, though) so the gamble did not seem worth it, I just got a new flywheel along with the clutch pack.

My v8 caem with the block-side of the engine mount pads. As was mentioned, you need those, but the frame-side towers for the 230-6 are the right ones, in the right place.

The carb linkage is probably not going to work as is. This is about the only thing you might have to get creative with.

I had cooling problems with the original little 6 radiator. I think my rad was just shot, many here are running the same one with no problems. But I went and harvested OEM mounts for the bigger radiator and got the large OEM size 3-row. It works great.

All in all, it is a very easy swap. God bless GM Engineers and the stingy managers that made them cut costs by sticking with what worked last year.

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by Greg63

Dennis, I did the 230 - 283 switch many years ago in my '63.
The bellhousing is the same for both. The starter remains mounted to the bellhousing so no problems there.
The motor mounts are the same location for both, but you need the block mount from the 283 to mate to the truck frame bracket.
The alternator brackets differ between the two motors, but if you have the 283 brackets you can do it.
HEI - no problem for fit.

Hope that helps.

Greg

I concurr with all of that info... the swap could hardly be easier!

[dedjr67]

sweet cant wait to get it done