Finally got the '62 283 all apart.

[Nads]

Despite the sludge on the intake valley this sucker's super clean inside. The thing's obviously been rebuilt, the rods are marked and the pistons are .005 over????
I've never heard of .005 over pistons.
All the crank and main bearings look to be perfect, the crank's not scored.
I did have to ridge ream the cylinders to get the pistons out. Obviously the machine shop can tell me if the thing needs rebored or if I can get away with a hone and re-ring.

The bad news, the cam's shot as are all the lifters, ditto the timing chain, rockers and pushrods, all cheap stuff. I'm assuming the heads will have to be rebuilt.

The cam journal and bearings are fine.

I guess now's the time to put in a mild cam of some sort, whaddaya recommend? I intend to put AC and tow my trailer and boat with the '60 wagon the engine's going in.
Any ideas on a good timing chain set?

Do I really need to put in new cap and rod bolts?

Thank you, you SBC loving homos.

[Mass Butcher]

I just put an edelbrock performer cam and lifter set in my 66 283. Works great. Just enough power to keep me happy on the low end, and plenty of top end power to be cruising. The edelbrock dbl roll chains are good and I've been using them for the last 10 years.

Signed,
SBC loving homo

[porknbeaner]

[ QUOTE ]
Thank you, you SBC loving homos.


[/ QUOTE ] Hey I'm just trying to get in touch with my feminine side. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif [he rolls his eyes]

Probably sound like a broke record but the L-79 cam is about the best street cam you can get. Crane sell an L-79 blueprint cam for about 80.00 less lifters.
it'll idle (just a mild lope) and pulls strong throughout the RPM range. I still run Cloyes chains. There is probably someone out there that makes a more modern raceing chain but I've always run 'em and never had a problem with 'em.
Single four (say 600 cfm) and you're in there like swim wear.
[He says while grinning and moveing his eyebrows up and down.] http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Tudor]

I used summit cam #1102 and lifters (like 50 bucks for cam and lifters)- the desktop dyno put some good numbers on my 283 with 58 CC 305 heads. I should have about 300 flywheel HP and 275 ft-lbs of torque. I forget the exact numbers. If you get me the cam specs and stuff you want to use I can run them in the dyno for ya. I know the computer dyno is probably not the most accurate thing in the world, but I think it is better than nothing. It shows you where the power curve will be. I have all the summit cams and a good number of Comp cam profiles.

Those 283s don't like big cams. The power drops off quick if you get too radical. The heads don't breath for shit. Try and find some 305 heads with small combustion chambers. 64 cc heds will kill a 283's compresion ratio.

I would surely have the machine shop change the cam bearings for the new cam, along with freeze plugs. Get the deck lightly surfaced too.

I would not buy new rod caps. I recently reused my rod bolts and main bolts per the advice of the old fart at the machine shop that did my block work. He said no problem, I knew better but still listened to him. Obviously it can't hurt to change them and I probably should have. I had already spent enough money.

SBC lovin homo #2
everybody hates em so bad they are cool now

[Roothawg]

I'm not sure what the p/n was but I used a 350hp/327 cam in mine. It lumps at idle and still pulls good. I agree with most everything here so far except the part about the 305 heads. They are a small chamber but they don't flow any better than what you have. If you're overhauling the motor, bump up the compression to compensate for it/. I have a set of 461's going on my next 283. I'll be running the TRW flat top pistons. Should bring it in around 9:1. You can't go wrong with a 283....just don't overcam. They like lift up to .450 or so and not much duration at all.

[Homeresque]

Homo,
In my 327 I had a CompCam Magnum with 280/470 which was pretty lumpy for the street, never even got close to winding up to the sweetspot. For my 283 I got from Summit a CompCam Extreme kit thats 268/4-I-forget, with lifters, springs, retainers, keepers, timing set, and cool stickers for the fridge for $310. Then I got a Holley 450 no-choke mech secondary for $188. Im gonna use a cast-iron Holley intake(off a 66-67 Chevelle) but your cheap-ass could use any old dual-plane aluminum. Should run smartly for a small engine. Keep the powerpack heads, have a valve-job done.
And get some ARP rod bolts, head bolts too.
kiss-kiss.

[Fat Hack]

I still swear by a factory 300hp cam for a 350 engine (1969-70) in a 283. Dropped one in my buddy's old "driveway rebuild" 283 and it ran HARD...with a TWO BARREL on it yet!

It's mild in a 350...but "just right" for a 283...especially for what you need...strong low end and mid-range "ooomph" to keep it rolling!

If you have the block hot-tanked, it will need new cam bearings, and that will be part of the machine work bill. Boring engines over a small amount (lik .005") was not at all uncommon...especially years ago. The wisdom was just to go enough to clean up the bore and correct any taper, yet still leave enough 'meat' to do another rebuild sometime down the road.

Hot rodders tend to bore big the first time, but average engine rebuilders liked to only go as much as needed. Neither way is 'right' or 'wrong'...just two different philosophies!

[Hot Rod To Hell]

Not tryin to Hijack, but while we're on the subject of "little" motors, (alright guys, I know I should know this... actually, I KNOW that I DO know this, but my brain's not workin so well lately! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif), What year did they go to screw on oil filters???

[36-3window]

[ QUOTE ]
What year did they go to screw on oil filters???

[/ QUOTE ]


1968..the year of the first 350..as far as i know, all 350's had spin on oil filters ..if you want to convert a canister type to spin on use a GOOD adapter , not one of those cheap ones...i've had good luck with napa # 4061

[Homeresque]

...or an earlier Nova block. Mine is a '66 and its a factory spin-on, one of the 'eccentricities' of the Nova block.

[Nads]

Thank you good homos all.

The dude at the machine shop (an old timer fer' sure and deaf to boot) told me a different story. He thinks the engine's bores are pretty worn. He'll give me the lowdown after it's hot tanked and miked. What the hell, it's time for a rebuild, I reckon I'm not gonna do the job again for a while. It'll be nice being able to merge into traffic without without having a bunch of rat racers piling up on my rusty ass.

I'm excited about ditching the faithful ol' six, but I will still give it props for hanging in there even if it's more worn out than Glenn Dobkins presence.

Only Mike knows the significance of that inside joke.

[Antibilly]

HAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAH "hey let me weld that" fuck man your blowing holes everywhere!!! "sorry man Im a little fucked up" ahhahaahahahahahaha

Hey Nads I guess you found your way to "the Machine shop"
good luck
well see ya after work

[Tudor]

Root, When I took my 283 heads to the machine shop, the old guy showed me where they were cracked.I got the 305 heads because of the small 58 CC combustion chambers to raise the compression and because they was cheap (140 each reabuilt). They have to flow better than the 283 heads. I agree 461's are good castings, just hard to find and more money.

[choprods]

Yep 450 /460 lift Max....plane heads a little COMPRESSION is the Key 10-1 is good...no more than 500CFM carb with auto trans-650 CFM with stick only.....also NO increase in combustion chamber size works best!