283 rebuild

[Steve66]

Well it's been a few months since I did it and I thought I would post my results here. I have a 66 C10 that had a very tired 283. It still started and ran but compression was down to about 50% and oil consumption was up to a quart every 300 miles. So here is what I did. It's a fairly standard and mild build and my goal was to have a peppy daily driver and not a street machine.

The cylinders cleaned up at .030 and I used sealed power flat top pistons, moly rings, Edelbrock Performer camshaft, intake (with oil fill tube) and 500 cfm carburetor. I had a crack in the original powerpack heads and scored a set of early 80's 305 heads (416 I think) and had them rebuilt. I painted it with some 2K ceramic engine paint from Eastwood and I'm well pleased with my results. It's hooked to the original powerglide transmission and 3:73 rear end so it's no racecar but power is good and it revs freely. At about 2500 rpm the secondaries open and the thing really comes to life. Mileage is around 12-13 but with the engine revving at about 3000 at 60 mph that's to be expected. The paint is holding up well and seems to be very scratch resistant and durable. And I have yet to see a sign of a leak anywhere. Which amazes me lol. The machine work and rebuild kit came to $1800 and that includes balancing the rotating assembly. The Edelbrock stuff was extra and all assembly was done by me. I'm really pleased with my results and I love driving it now. I think if I upgrade to the TH200 transmission I will be even happier. I would post pics but they are on my phone and I'm on my laptop right now but I can do it later if interested. Like I said at the beginning my goal was to not have a radical street machine and to retain the original engine as much as practical. I'm probably turning out somewhere around 230 hp and for a daily driver that's working just fine.

If you have a question about what I did just ask.

[Steve66]

A few pics.

[LostMy65]

Nice.

[Blue666(2)]

What size are the ram's horns manifolds? What type of 4 barrel?

I really like the built motor in sheeps clothing!

[AcampoDave]

Yep, I know just how you feel about it! I built my 283 with almost that exact recipe exept I used the small Edelbrock 4bbl. But yeah, and I love the way it sounds at that 2500 rpm sweet spot when it's goin' for broke. I have a Saginaw 4 speed connected to mine and I gotta say.... I love hammering it thru the gears.

[Steve66]

The ram horn manifolds are the factory stock ones and the carburetor is an Edelbrock 500 CFM manual choke. The one in the picture is a holley that I had that I used temporarily. I much prefer the Edelbrock. It is the perfect size for this engine. Dual turbo muffler exhaust turned out in front of the wheels.

[Steve66]

I wish I had your transmission. That powerglide sucks!

[AcampoDave]

We both have a 1404 Eddy then. I actually was able to lean mine out by 2 stages in the cruise mode for more mpg and smoother running. The old Saginaws are still out there but becoming a bit scarce and lets face it, not real strong either. When mine konks out I suppose I'll have to upgrade to a Richmond or a TKO....then again, the good ol' Muncie is being made again too (brand new ones like Richmond does with the Super T10)

[Steve66]

So you did have to lean it out? I was hoping to avoid having to mess with that but I think it is running a little rich. What exactly did you have to do? The engine sounds great but the exhaust smells a little strong.

[AcampoDave]

It's hard to explain but there is a chart in the owner's manual, like a graph, and you can use it to richen or lean the carb. The chart moves in stages and then it tells you which jets and/or rods you need to use. Changing the rods and jets is pretty easy and the dvd in the box covers that as well as videos on the net. I didn't mess with the wide open throttle calibration or the rest. Just the cruise mode because that's where you spend most of your driving time. At first I thought 2 stages might be too much, but it wasn't. The carb description says"jetted for performance on 305 cu. in. and smaller" and also for dual quad applications. Edlebrock makes a larger carb (1405 I think) jetted for economy and it sits atop many a 350, so I just went for it and it worked well.

[Steve66]

OK. I understand what you are talking about And I have seen the chart. But for now I think I will wait until I change the transmission because that will change a lot of things. Thanks for your reply. I appreciate any help I can get in the fine-tuning of this carburetor.

[faribran]

What tranny do you plan to use?

[Steve66]

I plan to upgrade to the th2004r.

[chevy2tom]

You're going to love the 2004r, I have one behind a 461 BBC in my 71 C20 with 355 gears & one in my 64 C10 with a 355 SBC that I'm doing.