Technical Chevy 283: Checking it's condition

So I have this 1967 283 that I picked up and plan to run it my '41. Everything is free on the motor and it will roll over. Looking under the valve covers, the rocker assembly/heads appears to be dark, but not too bad, contrary to the nearly new oil that was in the pan.

My question is, what can I do check it over? What should I be looking for? Is there a way l can flush it out without running it ( I was thinking about a pump primer to cycle the oil)?

The only thing that looked a funky to me was was grey/silver crud around the head bolts. Didn't appear to be shavings.

 

Pre lube it by using a drill and a pre lube tool, which you can make from an old distributor, or even a piece of rod with a flat ground on the end, or a long screwdriver with the handle removed, etc. The gray stuff is normal, don't worry about it. Get it running, see how it does. If it puts out blue smoke that won't go away after it warms up, then it's probably worn some. Although if you plan to put it in a car, you might want to do the usual stuff first...like replace the valve seals (O rings), freeze plugs, external seals and gaskets, etc.

 

Thank you.

Ideally it would be rebuilt, but just trying to buy a little time.

 

Voh--What led you to believe this engine to be a 283?
You might want to verify that your engine is a 283 before you start buying parts,
the last production year for the 283 was 1967.

 

Good suggestion, the oil filter would be different. I think everything else besides pistons is the same, though. (assuming it's a 68 307, not a 67 283. But if you read us the numbers stamped on the front of the block, just in front of the head, shown in your picture, we might be able to help you figure it out).

 

I mistyped the year. It's a 1967.

The numbers are as pictured below.

 

L 15 5 is Dec 15 1965, so it's a 1966 engine. Should be the same as a 67 as far as parts go.

 

Thank you.

They had said it was from a 1967 el camino.

 

It could have been swapped into a 67 el camino. Lots of stuff happens in 40+ years.

 

Who cares what it was in. Glad to have the year sorted out. Thanks for your help.

 

You might find that the gray crap around the head bolt heads is lead from the TEL that was in the gasoline way back when.

Stuff got past the rings and into the oil which was natural back then if not mistaken.

pdq67

 

Few more questions...

This "balancer" has no center bolt, so how do they go back on?



The back of the crank has an oddball shape, of which reads it's not a 283 crank

 

you can drill and tap the crank for a bolt, or you could hammer it on.

 

put a wood 2x4 across the damper before you apply the big hammer to it.

Pretty hard to see what the crank flange looks like in that picture....

 

It Looks like that black n white photo I posted.

 

You could take the pan off, clean out any sludge and inspect for rust. If it is as clean as the top end, install in the car and see how it runs. If it is decent, use it to drive the car around until you check it out, fix all the bugs, and get it the way you want it.

Then figure out if you are happy the way it is, or want to rebuild or hop it up, or really want a bigger engine like a 350.

Why not make things easy for yourself.

 

It's got 283 heads on it..Either 520 or 896



If your gonna pull the pan then might as well pull the front over and change the chain and gears..I'd pretty much guarantee it 'll need them

 

Just so you know be careful when you hammer it on don't hit it real hard you can mess up the trust bearing and end up with to much end play and the crankshaft will move back and forth on you. Just 2 cents more.

 

We did a budget build for my son over the last couple of years. His first engine was a 283 with an unknown history, other than it had been sitting for a long time. We didn't do anything to it other than an intake swap from 2bbl to 4bbl since I didn't have a 2bbl laying around. It actually ran pretty well, but earned the nickname Smokey Joe for going through a quart of oil every 60 miles, until I finally got pulled over by a Ranger one day for polluting his environment because it was smoking so bad. The rings were absolutely shot.

After that we found another 283, known good runner original to a 66 Chevelle that a coworker was swapping out for a 350. Original mileage was under 100k. We tore this one down and went through it as inexpensively as possible. We put rings and bearings in it, machine work was limited to a hone and hot tank, new cam bearings and freeze plugs. I had snagged a set of 416 casting 305 heads from a buddy's scrap pile previously with this engine in mind, knowing they were relatively fresh but his bottom end had a knock. Those heads with a small solid cam 264/270, 230/236, a Performer RPM intake and 600 vac sec carb all come together to make this thing an absolute blast to drive! Mileage before a swap to 4.10 gears was around 20, now it's about 11.

Devin

 

Here is a pic of the numbers off of the crank...



It looked pretty clean inside.

 

X2 on what 38 2DR Sedan said. I would go a step further and say DO NOT hammer on a harmonic balancer. They make a tool that works opposite the puller you take it off with to press it on. The center bolt screws into the threaded hole in the end of the crank, and then the tool presses the harmonic balancer onto the crank. You can rent the tool at any good parts store or buy one for around $45-$50.

 

His crankshaft is not d&t.

 

That isn't pretty clean inside....................................................it is very clean inside!

 

I should have said that the early 283 and 327 cranks are not drilled and tapped for a crank bolt but I think that was mentioned earlier. I'm going to say us old schooler's know that, but I have hammered them on but you have to be careful and go slow so you don't damage the thrush bearing. Just take your time they will go on, the best way to do it is have your crankshaft drilled and tapped you can use the same size bolt and washer to hold the pulley and balancer on. See it things like this that get by people who haven't work with the older stuff. Remember if you don't know, no question is a stupid question.

 

Do you know when it was run last? That's a pretty clean motor, may be low miles on it. Since you've got the pan off, it's a quick deal to look at the bearings, or at least a couple of them to get an idea of wear.

 

Anybody know what the last picture is?

 

Cam lobes.

 

What is the best way to remove it? A little heat and careful bi-lateral prying?

 

the casting numbers might say 283 but GM used leftover 283 blocks for 307's! had a 71 nova 4dr. i bought from original owner with low miles that was wrecked and sold engine as 307 and guy came back saying i had sold him a 61 283 according to casting numbers. the stamped numbers said 71 nova 307 2v so .....!

 

the damper is tapped so you can use a puller to get it off.
i have drilled and tapped the cranks, the center of the crank is not hard.