Hey yawl have a 1965 283 w,/420 heads. I want to hop it up a lil bit nothing to crazy just want to get a good 300-350 hp out of it with a pretty decent sound (ya know a lil lopey not real rough). Not even sure what I am putting it in yet. Leaning towards a 55 Plymouth but not sure yet. Any suggestions????
300-350 HP from a 283 by "hopping it up a lil bit"? Try putting a clothes pin on the fuel line. That should work... and please pass the pop corn.
There are a lot of ways to build the 283, but getting 300-350 hp without nitrous, blower or turbo will mean very poor street manners, high compression, big cam, etc. Much easier to start with a 350 or even a 327. Nothing sounds like a high winding 283-301 though.
Yes - you will need compression, and 283 dome pistons are getting tough to find (kb makes some small dome hyper ones) heads are next - power packs have a small chamber for more compression but small valves and ports too - im using a set of 1.94 fuelies milled down to 62cc and an nos set of trw l2275 pistons for 12:1.....a lot of people run ho 305 heads but they wont look traditional with acc holes. Then choose a cam (im using a 30/30) and some dual quads and voila 300hp. Im running mine on alky, as stated above a traditional looking n/a 300 hp 283 wont like today's pump gas and you will want to run a lot of gear. Mine is going in my b/a Bantam
250 - 300 HP more realistic especially for the street. That is plenty of pep for a light car. If you have a heavy car, or want more HP start with a bigger motor. Don't waste your time and money on the 283. For your Plymouth I suggest you get a real motor like a Dodge 360
Hey bro, got some jalapeno/ cheese p.c. here ..Good excuse to break it out now. Was gonna comment on the SBC /Mopar thing but we don't know yet so I'll watch. Dude , Pretty sure they're 520 heads....
Realistically 250 honest HP is more like it for a warmed-over 283. I'd say 300 is kind of out of reach for something that's expected to run on today's pump gas with Power-Pack heads. I agree with the poster above, if you want 300 to 350 HP start with a 350. This thread reminds me of another one started a few weeks back, a guy wanted to hop up his Ford flathead six and said he really only wanted 300 HP, nothing too radical.
Duntov cam ( off road corvette), FI and 11:1 compression. You should be able to get about 1 HP per inch maybe 1.15. Manners well not so much but snappy. Find a small journal 327 block, up your compression to about 9.5 or 10 to one. Load the 283 lower into it. Balance and blueprint. Find a better set of heads, perhaps aluminum but 327 Fuel heads to say the least, larger valves and a Z 28 cam shaft ( off road is good but probably a little too gnarly for good manners). Still not 300 HP but it would be fun.
Keep in mind chevy had the 315 HP 283 in '61 - that was 11:1 with FI, 461x heads and the 30/30 cam....the bread and butter power pak motors were 9.5:1 and rated at 220hp.....maybe the factory numbers were optimistic? - I would think a well built (qualit machine work and parts) 283 with flat tops, .035 quench, 60cc pp heads with a little work, a modern cam and adequate carburation should make an honest 250hp as noted above.....
Like that statement 300-350 HP out of a 283 without doing anything crazy. Does that mean something crazy would get you in the 400-500 HP range? I'll take some of that popcorn please.
a buddy had a '66 chevy II with 283 power pack (4bbl, dual exhaust, 220 hp) and a 4-speed that would lay rubber if you started out in 2nd. also smooth running.
Assuming .030 over, 58 cc chamber, it's gonna be 10 to 1. Healthy cam , 600 carb, and improved manifold, it should make 300 easy. Still, this is just a bad idea, and a fantasy I suspect, and we don't even know what it's going in and whether anyone will actually see it.
so, what is condition of 283? you list that it is in a OT ride now so, how does it run now? you going to build motor yourself? mention possibly putting in a '55 Plymouth - is that something that you have now? you also ask what is the best gear ratio - for what? need specific car, drivetrain, etc to try to figure that out.
Not running at the moment. 1965 Chevy 283 2-bbl engine. Research shows it was originally installed in a 1965 full size with an automatic transmission. All casting numbers were checked and verified. Engine has been disassembled; you build or have built as you please. The block F0804GF (1957-1966 283ci 2-bolt main, 1965 283 Full Size with Powerglide transmission, cast 3 August 1965 and assembled 4 August 1965) is a seasoned block with original bore with no discernible cylinder wear. TheThe block is dirty and needs cleaning. The original cam bearings are in place and must be replaced. The crankshaft GM 12 is the correct cast piece with a thin parting line. The cylinder heads 3884520 (1960-1967 283ci/327ci; Intake: 1.72”, Exhaust: 1.50”; 60cc chambers) have been disassembled and inspected. Each valve was painstakingly lapped into its seat using lapping compound and each head was reassembled using the stock components (poor man’s valve job). The heads are dirty and need cleaning. The intake manifold is the original GM 20 (1964-1965 283 2-bbl). The camshaft, lifters, pushrods, timing set, valve covers, and oil pan are missing. Most bolts are accounted for although there are several missing bolts (see pics). New TC-1544-030 cast pistons H35590 (0.030”) are included which will yield a stock compression ratio with the stock heads. New hydraulic lifters and a new timing chain and gears are also included
The 55 Plymouth Savoy is not an option as of now, sat that on the back burner for now. Have my eye on a 65 Chevy p/u. What would be the best rear to run with the 283 w/ 4 speed trans. Also I am not trying to get a rocket but I know Chevy made a 283 that had 250+ hp so I am sure I can get 300 fairly easy with the right combination. I was saying 300-350 as a ball park figure meaning something close to that and if it were possible. So put some butter on that popcorn and get it good and greasy ball it up tight and stick it up your candy ass. With all due respect lol
300-350HP out of that little thing's gonna be a pretty "angry" 283. But, if you go thru with it, I wanna hear that bad bitch. Especially if you go 350HP
Appreciate it Groucho. And I will get at least 300 or I will use it for target practice. Once I figure out how to upload anything on here I will keep yawl updated.
This may help. I built a 301 for a Willys a few yrs ago and it has the same short stroke as your 283. What I did for the best of both worlds was a 3.00 rear gear and a Saginaw 4 speed that I believe was from a Vega. It had a very LOW gear set in it with 1st gear being around 3.30-1 as opposed to Muncie's 2.20 or 2.52. So in the 1st 3 gears it felt a lot like 4.11's except with the hi gear cruisability on the freeway. And don't let anyone fool you, the Sag can take a beating behind a 3" stroke motor
Keep in mind the 283's ratings were gross hp, no accessories, open exhaust, tuned for better gas than you can get now. Figure about 30% less for real world driving, and the small bore limits the valve size. Couple that with your poor heads and desire for a lopey but not real rough cam and I hope you can accept some more realistic numbers. Putting that engine in a fairly heavy brick will mean lousy performance unless you put in fairly steep gears, then you will pay at the pump. If that floats your boat enjoy, but remember the original heads will not last long on unleaded gas in that kind of heavy use.
All of the factory HP ratings were 'perfect world' ratings, open exhaust, optimized timing, no fan, no accesories. None of those 283s or anything else GM in those days put the rated HP to the Flywheel except in rare instances (usually a few rare performance engines were underrated for an advantage on the race track). The days of 11:1 street engines have long been over with, anything much over 9.5:1 is getting more difficult to manage with declining fuel quality. Good luck with the 283, you're going to need at least a 4.11 gear to let it work if it is close to putting out 300 HP.
Well if you are yielding stock compression for a lo performance 283 in '65 you are looking at 8.5 :1 and about 195 ponies stock. In '66 they made a hybrid 2 bbl motor that made 220 it had higher compression (9.5:1) and twice pipes. If you want to make zot with the small bore motor you will need to get your compression up. 9.5:1 min and better @ 10:1 (or more) you can make it survive on pump gas @ 10:1 if you keep it cool enough and keep your gears low enough to never lug it. The truck in question stock with a small block and a standard tranny long bed is a 4000 pound brick. I love 'em but they are heavy. I was running 3.08s in my '65 and 28" tall tires. But I had a lot more engine than you are building, I would go deeper like say the 3.55 to a 4.11:1 range. With a tall tire the 4.11 would be your lover. If you got really tall tire like mud truck tall you are going to want the 4.56 to 5.14 range. The last 283 I put together was a 9.5:1 .040 over motor with power pack heads ( cleaned up the bowls and a 3 angle vale job on stock size valves) and a Lunati *RV cam. Set it up on the tighter side of loose. **Single 4 on an Edelbrock.Ran a 4:11 behind a properly set up 700R and stuffed it in a '60 Elky (comparable in weight to your truck). I guarantee the mill didn't produce 300 ponies. Maybe made 250 (I doubt I achieved 1 per cube). It was snappy and fun to drive, it wasn't going to show well on the strip but it was fun to drive and it made the owner happy. A goal of 1 pony per inch is probably a more attainable goal with a carb if you want to keep sanity in the profile. Crazy is a nominal term, a Navy Shrink pronounced me sane. I think he may have been mistaken, but I am not crazy in his world. * I used the term RV but I don't like it think mild but not stock. ** the owner supplied the intake and carb he likes Edelbrock stuff.
since the vehicles that you are thinking about putting this 283 are on the heavy side of life it does not seem like putting in a lot of go fast parts will not really change your world. plus, if by using go fast parts you have to run a trans/rearend with low gears the fun of driving will only be good in town. if you want to really drive it add a good upgrade hydraulic cam, 3 angle the valve grind - hardened seats, upgrade dual plane with 4 barrel and strong ignition and shorty headers to performance mufflers. run a trans with a wide ratio and 3:50 or so gears & a tachometer. but, to spice things up a little put in a solid lifter 30/30 copy cam. had a very stock '54 Ford PU with a small block Chevy and solid lifter 30/30 cam. It was fun but, not going to break any speed records. but, when I would be at a stop sign and the sound of that cam, with blown out glass pack mufflers , people would look all around for a nasty Corvette - now, that was fun.
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