So a buddy gave me a free complete engine (unknown miles, etc, he got it from somebody else who got it from somebody before that) I've been drawing up some plans to build a one off unconventional hot rod (it's gonna somewhat resemble a early 30s 4 door sedan from a distance, more like a chopped, channeled 30s suburban) and I'm gunning for a 2000 pound dry weight. I'm trying to decide if this free engine will do what I'm trying to accomplish. The casting numbers come up as a '65-67 283 block. I want to punch the cylinders to 4.000" and replace only the pistons, cam, intake and heads (thinking a 650cfm eddy 4bbl and aluminum intake, as well as aluminum heads to aid the thin block in cooling. Question is, can I get 4" pistons (for a 327 or 350) that will give me a proper deck height with the original late 283 crank and rods (going to get new bearings and gaskets thru out obviously) or will I need some funky custom pistons? Will this work to give me a fun little peppy rev-happy motor? What heads will give me the best results? Cam? Intake? Trying to keep the parts budget below $1200 (counting machine work separate as I've got a hookup) planning to use a early 90s t-5 manual trans out of a F-body.
Pistons for the 283 shouldn't be that hard to get. I'd be more conservative on the bore however. I have a stock 283 (nos block) in my cabrio and it's all the car needs. On the other hand, "one off rat rod" is an oxymoron and will be harder to deal with than the engine question. Tim
So you are getting a free block that you want to bore to 4" and a cast crank, oil pan and rods. In my opinion just rebuild the free 283 or pay for a 327, 350 motor that you can use as is. It's highly chancey boring those year 283 out to 4" they are thin wall castings. I'm sure someone will come on here and say I'm full of s$#t but thats my opinion on what your asking. Pat
custom wrist pin location is one of the easiest thing to change when making Pistons ( within reason) . We bought a set from Ross when we stroked our T , and the price was reasonable.
I was under the impression that the later year 283 blocks were the thicker walled casting? If it's the thinner one then I may just do a stock rebuild (or maybe just ~ .030" over if it needs it) for the car I'm going to use 4x2 aluminum rectangle tubing for the frame and 20 gauge flat sheet metal for the skin (mostly flat panels, just rounded at the rear and where the sides meet the roof, so it might end up looking like a super stretched jeep, using the 'cowl' and windshield and doors from a old Triumph Sprite) in any case, it should wind up a pretty lightweight short height, long little buggy.
You can buy pistons but 350 or 327 pistons probably won't work. I have a source for the pistons you desire but the late block probably won't take a .125 cut. I would take it out .040 or .060 is I wanted to make it bigger then you probably need to. But that is just me what do I know. So tell me what are you building your POS car out of? We don't lean toward POS cars here that much but maybe you'll learn to build a decent car or get tired of us ragging on you and leave.
I really should let this one slide also ,like Saxman did , but consider the " core shift " on that block ( check how "centered" the cam hole is in the casting boss ) with input from your machinist before you decide on bore size before buying pistons , then after receiving the pistons your guy can bore fit each to the perspective holes for proper clearance . My 2 cents ,hope it helps..........
The 327 or 350 pistons won't work because the compression height is wrong and it would give you a very low compression ratio. If you are going to bore it to 4.ooo then use pistons made for a 3'' crankshaft. Just my advice is that smaller bore cylinders that stay round will make more power than Bigger bore cylinders that get out of round and don't seal as well after a lot of heat cycles. I ran a 301 small block in NHRA D/altered with success and it was an early 283 block. But, it only racked up miles @ 1/4 a mile at a time.!!! Have Fun !!
You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of this outstanding project in the plans you've been drawing up would you?
1. Numbers man, numbers? 2.What's the source to conclude your assumption? 3.You won't have a snowballs chance in hell boring a 283 block .125 over unless it's an early Nova block, and then it's still possible you'll be too thin. 4. We kinda shy away from the rr category of cars here.
This is the one my friend is building. I figure I've got a half rusted out Sprite parts car to steal some sheet metal from, and I've got a spool gun as well as a mig welder, what's stopping me? Sure it'll probably be an ugly little fker, but it sounds like fun to me. Well maybe I'll just go .060" over with it then if it's the thin block, that gets me halfway to 301/302, should be about 292" which should do the trick. Not aiming for something crazy like 500hp, but ~290hp and a 7k redline would be nice. My buddy is putting in a bone stock injected '90 5.0 and trans/rearend/electronics out of a Mercury Cougar. I figure the weight savings of using $200 worth of aluminum for the frame should give me a hp/weight advantage, even if I'm making 1/2 the hp. Plus I just like doing shit a little different, maybe I'll get a wild hair and polish up the frame...
So does that mean I've got the thin casting? If I'm gonna spend the money for pistons and boring, might as well go for .060" and get the extra 5 ci.
I just like little motors that can rev. Thinking I'll get a 9" rear at the yard outta a truck and gonna aim for 4.10 gears if I can find it. Coupled with the t5 ratios it should do ok for both cruising and holeshots.
Back before the 327 days a lot of guys built "301" 's and a lot of them held together. If you like the 302 number, a 327 with 283 crank is a lot easier and safer.
The extra 5 cu in won't mean squat for horsepower, but will insure that there is no material left for a future rebuild. I'm an advocate of beeping overbores to a minimum.
What you gain in displacement will be offset by the thin cylinder walls and poor ring seal. Stay as low an overbore as possible. Back in the 60s I had a badass street 301 in a 57 Corvette. Knowing what I do now Id go .030 or .060 overbore even in a 57 block. A block plate hone job is the way to go these days
Well maybe you guys are right. So I shall rephrase my question. How would I go about hitting 300hp at the crank with a 283, and minimal overbore? I want something that can peak about 7k rpm, and I want it to last.
Don't worry about hp. Just rebuild it with minimal overbore, stock heads with 3 angle valve job, Duntov cam, 4 barrel and headers. You will have plenty of power for a light weight rod especially one where top speed is not an issue. If you want more punch use lower gears. Suggest starting with something around 3.5:1 but go to 4:11s if it isn't fast enough to suit you. Sheer HP is only part of the equation. 283s are zippy and love to rev, they make 350s feel sluggish even though they are faster. Use a 5 speed with a lightened flywheel and you won't have to eat much dust.
I think (based on the pics of his buddies build), he has HR and RR all confused, his buddies build is not looking like the typical RR, more like a HR to me. I think it's an issue that I have seen talked about before here on the HAMB, guy pulls in somewhere with a nice '32 HR, fellow comes up to him and says "Nice Rat Rod". Okay, enough of that, I don't know (wasn't there) when 283's were punched out .125, but I don't think they were done for driving much, but for racing...just trying to get he most cubes possible a 1/4 mile at a time.
There is not much use trying to get big HP numbers out of a 283. Build it mild, using as many stock parts as possible, and have fun. If you want big HP don't waste your money and time on a 283. Get a 350 to start with.
Cool thanks for the info guys! Yeah maybe rat is the wrong word, a "untraditional hot rod" might be a better term. Should I go with flat top pistons to try to eek out a couple extra ponies?
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