Improving a 283

[Willshook]

It's your engine, but I wouldn't. Scoring isn't likely - and it's not fatal - but more likely the bearings are shot or there's low compression.

For an old engine, the best approach is to:

Drain the oil as much as possible and replace the filter, filling the filter with oil.

Replace the oil with a break-in oil, being careful not to over-fill. Pour the oil in over the rocker arms to be sure they're wet

Pull the plugs and squirt a healthy amount of oil in the bores. Wait a day.

See if it'll turn over by hand. If not...it's probably got Issues.

If it turns over easily, remove the distributor and spin up the oil pump...if you can get pressure, and you get oil to all the rocker arms, you're probably in fair shape.

Time it to 12+ BTDC, make sure you're getting gas to the carb and give it a shot.

Oil pressure and compression will tell you a lot more about the engine condition than "cleaning it out", and few oil changes will get rid of most of that gunk - especially with a little SeaFoam solvent in there.

Having done a lot of "barn finds", I can tell you that this is a case where "half measures avail us nothing" - either start and run it, or tear it down for overhaul. Anything in the middle is just going to end up breaking the engine regardless of it's condition.

Just my $.02, and worth every penny I'll shut up - good luck!

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by MikeB

I certainly remember the 301 craze, but wasn't sure which year blocks would work. In the late 60s I actually bought a 283 block that had been bored to 4". When I took it home and pressure washed it, I discovered a crack in the lifter valley, probably from someone running little to no antifreeze. I then took it back to the junkyard and got another 283 block.

I wanted to go to 4", just to say I had a 301, but the machinist talked me out of it, so it became a 292. With Power Pack heads and stock valves, a 301 probably wouldn't have worked any better. Wish I could remember all the parts, but I do recall it having domed pistons and some kind of Isky or Erson cam. Oh, and Hedman 4-into-2 headers!

As you know, it takes a bunch of RPM for "small engines" to keep up.. The advantage that extra .060" gives you over a 292 is big 2 inch intake valves will clear the top edge of the cylinder.. The 301s I built all had the fuelie heads - 2.02 intakes and 1.70 exhausts, they almost touch.. Stuff the combustion chamber full of piston dome, upwards of 12.5 - 13:1.. .500 lift. 300 - 310 actual duration and lots of overlap to aid scavenging.. Finish it off with the best rods money can buy.. Gear it to run 7900 - 8300 (8500 - 8600 on occasion) at the end of the straightaway, you'll definitely need some good valve springs to do this.. The cams I used back in those days were Reed Cams, ground specifically for short dirt tracks..

[franken]

You can get a cheap borescope for about $20, which is a lot less than reinstalling the heads.
Chances are pretty good that a crate 350 will cost less than rebuilding the 283.
Around here we have selfserve scrapyards where decent used 350s are cheap.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Backpayne

I'm just taking the heads off and oil pan to clean it out and replace the gaskets. There's some sludge in the heads and I want to make sure the oil pickup is clean. If the cylinders are scored I'm going to get a different engine.

No telling what you might find in the cylinders if the engine sat in the rain.

But if they are OK, you should also check the rod and main bearings while you have good access.

[AcampoDave]

Originally Posted by franken

You can get a cheap borescope for about $20, which is a lot less than reinstalling the heads.
Chances are pretty good that a crate 350 will cost less than rebuilding the 283.
Around here we have selfserve scrapyards where decent used 350s are cheap.

My local parts store (Autozone) will loan a borescope with a deposit

[Dead Parrot]

One advantage of a 283 is fuel economy. A 283 matched with an Impala often got 20~22 mpg. And Impalas of that era were not small cars. Sometimes it is fun to wave at the guy with the 383 + wild cam pulling into yet another gas station while you cruise on by. Don't be in a hurry to ditch your 283.

BTW - the truck itself looks pretty good from the view provided.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Dead Parrot

Don't be in a hurry to ditch your 283.

I agree. There's a lot to be said for originality, and there's absolutely no reason why a 283 wouldn't work just fine in that truck.

I'd certainly try to get it running before going the cookie cutter 350 route. I'm allowed to say that because my 69 truck has a 350! But I sometimes wish I would have kept the 307. That 307 really woke up after I replaced the cam, noisy lifters, and timing chain (less than $100 back in 1990) and added a 450cfm 4bbl and dual exhausts. But it had >100K miles on it, so I used that excuse a year later to buy a crate 350.

With a fresh bore and better heads, the 307 would have been better than new.