283 SBC Rebuild Ideas

[Mike's Classic '65]

I am in the process of rebuilding the original 283 out of my '65. It is currently tore down to the block for a good clean up. My stepfather had the engine rebuilt about 15 years ago and only drove it a hand full of times before it was parked. It is currently bored .060. I really don't see a need to send it to a machine shop other than to have it dipped.

My question is this, how should I put it back together? I'm not wanting to pull the gates off of hell or run 12's at the strip. Definately NOT expecting to get 350HP out of it. Just looking for a sweet cruiser that has a nice, mean sound to it.

Honestly, I have no clue on what pieces need to go together to achieve this. Any suggestions?

[Captainfab]

There is at least one other current thread on building a 283. The info you are looking for can be found there.

[DPowers]

He is the thread Capn was referring to:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=711810

[Mike's Classic '65]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

There is at least one other current thread on building a 283. The info you are looking for can be found there.

Originally Posted by DPowers

He is the thread Capn was referring to:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=711810

Thank you both!

I read through that thread and many others last night before making my post. Honestly, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me and kind of put my head into a tail-spin. Also, most of the other 283 threads were folks wanting to remain totally stock or go to the other end of the spectrum and build a non-realistic flame throwing unstreatable engine.

I will take one thing away from the thread the Captain mentioned, and give the folks at Summit or Speedway a call. Hopefully they can give me a list of parts to purchase for my ol' girl.

Thanks again, fellas!

[Captainfab]

he build being discussed in that other thread I mentioned, is not stock nor is it radical. It would be a very streetable 283. I just questioned the suggestion of cam as the OP said he may tow with his truck. The 283's don't make much torque to begin with, so you need a cam that will produce good low to mid range torque in a small cubic inch small block. A cam specified as such for a 350 will not perform the same in a smaller engine.

Originally Posted by Mike's Classic '65

Thank you both!

I read through that thread and many others last night before making my post. Honestly, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me and kind of put my head into a tail-spin. Also, most of the other 283 threads were folks wanting to remain totally stock or go to the other end of the spectrum and build a non-realistic flame throwing unstreatable engine.

I will take one thing away from the thread the Captain mentioned, and give the folks at Summit or Speedway a call. Hopefully they can give me a list of parts to purchase for my ol' girl.

Thanks again, fellas!

[andyh1956]

Go back & read the recipe I posted. Guaranteed goooood Runner!

[Softpatch]

The 283 is a sweet "little" small block and is not a 350
That being said put a 1500-3500 (RV) cam and drive it..
just know at 4500 you out of pony's
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[scootermcrad]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

he build being discussed in that other thread I mentioned, is not stock nor is it radical. It would be a very streetable 283. I just questioned the suggestion of cam as the OP said he may tow with his truck. The 283's don't make much torque to begin with, so you need a cam that will produce good low to mid range torque in a small cubic inch small block. A cam specified as such for a 350 will not perform the same in a smaller engine.

What Cpt. said. In that thread I'm looking for a streetable and dependable recipe that will have the ability to occasionally pull a small car on a trailer or simply be able to pull a small trailer with a load of "whatever".

The other thing that I was looking for was "era correctness" since the truck is going to have a certain vibe to it. So visual details will be important in my case.

I think the specifics that I'm digging for in my thread apply to the same questions you're asking, but your cam selection will be different. Give Summit or Comp Cams a call and they will point you in the right direction for those specifics, if you don't find what you're looking for. Summit had a recipe for me within 10 minutes of discussing the details of my build with them.