school me on 283's and their balancers

[chromedRAT]

i picked up a rebuilt 283 from HAMBer booboo last week to replace the smoky 283 that is currently in the impala. he had gotten it with a nova he bought a while ago, and wasn't sure what was up with the balancer deal, not being the one that had it rebuilt, so i figured i'd ask you guys. tonight while swapping parts over between the two, i noticed something. the "old" engine has a balancer, the "new" engine doesn't. the "old" one is presumed to be a '65 283, 2 bbl. the "new" one is a '64 powerpack 283 from a nova. it has the recessed oil filter boss, which is about all mortec told me. another detail is the timing tab. it is a "C" shaped piece of metal, with top and bottom tabs marked as timing tabs. the bottom tab is longer and extends into the area that a balancer would fill.

first off, i wondered if some 283's were externally balanced, and some internally balanced. my '61 manual speaks of a balancer on them, yet the '64 manual shows a picture of a 283 with NO balancer and the SAME peculiar timing tab as the "new" engine has.

when we pulled the nova pan off of the "new" engine, the counterweights on the crank had been machined, evidenced by clean, tooled metal, as had some rod caps, my friend helping me told me. this leads us to think that maybe this engine had been balanced. but still, i'd kinda like to know what's up so i can hopefully get any parts that i might need so that we can finish the engine swap by friday.

anybody know? i'm going nuts driving my dad's toyota pickup, reaching for the lap belt that's really a shoulder harness and kicking the floor when i try to turn the brights on...

[Crosley]

283 motors are internally balanced.

The balancer and flywheel should both be neutral balanced

[chromedRAT]

gotta pardon my ignorance, man, whatcha mean by neutral balanced??

[fab32]

Meaning the balancer and the flywheel are not part of the balance of the engine. They are balanced by themselves and have no counterweights.

Frank

[chromedRAT]

ok, so it's ok to use this new engine without putting a balancer on it?

[36-3window]

i'd take the balancer off the "old" engine and put it on the "new" one and not give it anymore thought

[FWilliams]

put the balancer on from the old engine, it is what the oil seal in the timing chain cover seals to,

[Tudor]

I think all the SBC cranks were internally balanced except for the 400.

My 283 had holes drilled in the crank counter weights which led me to believe it had been internally balanced. It also came with a goofy looking dampner on it. I just ordered a plain intenal balance SBC dampner from summit. You may have to drill and tap the end of the crank for the bolt. Mine wasn't threaded.

Check which flywheel or flex plate you have. That should confirm internal/ext balance. I want to say a flex plate for external balance will have weights welded on it where a internal one doesn't have any. Somebody check me on that.

[burger]

I had to thread the crank on my '57 283. The factory balancer was pressed on, something I didn't feel too comfortable about.


Ed

[chromedRAT]

thanks to everybody for their help. i think the biggest problem is my lack of knowledge in terminology. the SBC's i have seen, as a student of this hobby, haven't been 283s! when i thought of a balancer, i was thinking of a metal ring with rubber to dampen vibrations. the 65 motor had this, albeit a small one. the 64 motor had the hub, like what the dampener was riveted to on the 65 motor, there's where i got the idea that it had no "balancer." i wish i knew more about 283s, late vs early. like i said, a picture in my '64 supplement manual shows a 283 with the bottom crank pulley bolted to the hub piece, the part that goes back into the timing cover and engages the seal and etc. it has the double timing tab thing as well. the '61 manual shows a balancer with the larger metal ring with rubber between the two, riveted together, oh, and with the single timing tab. i just don't understand the difference in the two, why the 61 manual shows a rubber dampened setup and the 64 manual shows one without it. oh well. we put the 65's rubber dampened balancer and flywheel on the fresh 283. fucker runs. we'll finish tuning and break it in tomorrow. thanks guys. i feel like an ass asking questions like this with so many pros on here, but the greated part of the HAMB is that the pros take the time to answer. i appreciate it.

[booboo]

thats cool . hows it sound?im soory i didnt have any more help for you but im glad it runs.you should post that oil pan and pick up tube on the HAMB classifieds

[chromedRAT]

sounds alot more crisp, i tell ya that. went from bloppa bloppa bloppa to vrappa vrappa vrappa. i like vrappa. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[booboo]

can you do the sound too?