Projects Am I on the right track with my 283?

LOL they also came with a 6 and a powerslip.

 

Hello steve, I've been exactly where you're at before. Mine was a 1962 chevy c10 long fleetside bed & cast-iron powerglide. I loved that powerglide & I hated it, if that makes sense? Nice truck by the way. 31 Vicky is right about the RV cam & the intake. That RV cam will scream up to about 75 mph & then it falls flat on its face. I would rebuild the 283, get a TH350, decide how much top end you really want to figure out what cam you want & whether you want bigger valves, a cast-iron factory 4-barrel intake won't hurt anything & use a 500 cfm carb of your choise.

 

6000lbs?!~, maybe with a bed full of bricks. The curb weight of a Fleetside C-10 was 3,235 lbs, quite a bit less than 6000lbs and about the same as the mid size Chevelle and Ford Fairlane.

The Aluminum Powerglide can be built for performance and was/is a sought after transmission for bracket racing.

Personally if I was building a Chevy 283 I would try to use period (up to mid sixties) parts, power pack heads, old intake designs, points, old cam grinds,ram horns....I would build a performance 283 like it would have been done in the early-mid 60s. Honestly I think it would be surprising how good it could be.

IMHO that's the point of building an older engine.....not to compete with more modern performance but to replicate what it was in that era.

 

Just to further "stir the pot" about the 283 in a '67 Camaro..... I've always heard that the only 283's used in Camaros were for export / foreign built models only. This subject seems to pop up from time to time. Another 2 cents...

 

Well so far I think I learned a few things. Mostly that a small performance cam, intake and carburetor is all a 283 will want or handle and that to never say out loud around here that you have a 283 from a Camaro.......Trust me I didn't know.

 

So they DO exist however.... Is it not possible that one was shipped to the states at some point ...or perhaps 1 or 2 were released here or special order?

 

I would get in touch with a company that grinds custom camshafts . They can grind a cam specifically for your application that will work better than something off the shelf. as far intakes and carburetors, a cast iron 4 barrel intake and a quadrajet would work nicely and not look out of place under the hood.

 

[QUOTE="HillbillySteve, post: 11147986, member: 271648"the cylinder heads on the truck are 520 PowerPack heads"[/QUOTE]

Welcome to the HAMB, looks like you have a set of heads. Find a good machinist. I would tear down the original engine and see what you got. Pick the best parts and take them to the machinist. Consider either set of heads will likely need valves, guides, seats etc, so be sure you like the choice it'll be expensive.

I've used a lot of the northern auto kits, you can upgrade the cam and pick from their grinds.

 

<<<<< 283 and Powerslide in my truck. Keep the PP heads. Add hardened seats and 1.84" (305) valves. DO NOT go bigger than .450 lift and [email protected] duration! Summit's 1102 "rv" grind is about the limit of what will maintain good low-rpm power and driveability. It's a 283, not a 350 or 327, and too much cam WILL make it a dog on the bottom. Use an Edelbrock Performer EPS that has the oil fill tube or another older intake that has it (bonus points for finding an Edelbrock C3B). That way you can keep the rocker covers with no breathers and the PCV on the back of the block. Find a cheap Holley 1850 carb, and it'll look (and run) like a 283 should. You'll get lots of advice to go with more cam than you need for a truck. Don't do it. You'll hate the "performance" you end up with from the old 30-30 or L79 cam grinds. Sell the Powerglide to a drag racer and swap to a TH350, and let the bitch sing on the highway. You'll probably end up getting better mileage that way than trying to lope a 283 down the road in OD.

 

You don't want to hear this but this is the best advice on this post.I understand the need to be able to tell everybody "I did it myself" .My experience is that unless you are familiar with engine rebuilding it is a lot of money and quite a bit of work. Do you have the tools to do this? A couple of magazines just did a article on one of these,intake and cam got them over 300 h.p. Just my opinion ,best of luck.

 

Steve
In your budget for the rebuild, set aside $30 to have the distributor setup,(even if it is a new one),check around your area for a shop with a Sun distributor machine.
It will be the best investment in whatever engine you build, make sure to tell them the engine specs. the transmission, rear gear ratio, and the weight of the truck.
BTW...I have a 66 Suburban that was an original 283/glide truck, I put a mild 350 in it with a turbo 350 transmission, and that thing was like a whole different truck , much more fun to drive.

 

I appreciate the advice and replies. I really do. There's a lot of knowledge on this board and that's why I signed up here. I do have some experience with engine building. Mostly overhauling old tractors but the internals all work about the same and I do have a nice 30x50 shop with concrete, water and electric along with a pretty good pile of tools that I've accumulated over the years. So I'm not a complete newbie with big ideas and no ability. I've been pretty far into things before. So I appreciate the crate motor advice and I know that's the cheaper and easier route (I've done it before) but I'm an independent sob and I'll insist on doing as much of this myself as I possibly can. So there
My big concern is matching the right parts for a good running and drivable 283 because I know the wrong combinations won't get along with a powerglide very well. I do intend to upgrade the tranny someday but that's a ways off. I know this engine and transmission won't make this a fast truck but that's not really the point. If that's all I wanted I would have snagged the 396/th400 I saw on Craigslist last week. So I've been taking notes and have a whole piece of paper full of ideas, pros and cons and a bunch of other stuff and I'm getting a pretty good idea of what I think I should do. There's a big swap meet coming up this weekend and I plan on stopping by there and seeing if there's anything I might need laying around. Once again I appreciate the replies and value the advice I'm getting here.

 

Did you guys ever consider that the 283 was swapped into the Camaro before the seller acquired it and he didn't know or care enough to investigate it, so he assumed it came in the car? The OP just said the engine seller said "It's a 283 out of a Camaro", which is a very different statement than "This Camaro came from the factory with a 283."

I knew a guy in high school that had a 77 (that's right, 1977) Camaro with a 283 in it. Go figure.

 

I know of at least 1 firebird with a 401 nailhead in it.

 

Well shit Steve, I know of at least two 1931 Ford Victorias with Chrysler hemis installed in them, but only one came from the factory that way.

 

Thank you! The whole Camaro debacle was such a distraction that I was sorry I ever mentioned it.

 

You need to get used to that kind of stuff around here. Guys will build an entire house around a dust bunny, if you catch my drift.

 

Can the derailing tag teams get past the Camaro & back on track.......

 

It's all I can do to get past your avatar picture(s).

 

i think your plan is just fine , the mild 283 and Powerglide will get you around

as for rebuilding vs crate motor...i'm like you , id' rather rebuild the motor myself even though it will probably cost more. i have a 283 in my `36 3-window and have a rebuilt 283 ready to go for my `30 ford coupe project. i have more than the $1499 the crate would of cost in it...but that is what i want

 

Amen

 

Yep, it doesn't take long for the Can Rats to appear...

 

We've all been there, or around it, a car with a non-original engine, imagine that. Locally, in the early 70's, there was a guy that cruised around in a 69 Nova SS, 396, 4-speed, 12 bolt rear end car. Only thing was, the 396 was long dead and replaced with a 2 barrel 283! Not a lot of people actually knew that about the car. Sat kinda high in the front too for some reason, and the car was beautiful black on black. If you want a 283, then that's all that really matters, and you'll learn a lot more rebuilding one than if you just swap engines out. It seems I've managed to collect a lot of small journal (265, 283, 327) engine stuff than I'll ever need/use, and it was't intentional. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Man, I know what you are talking about. When I was young, I helped buddies disassemble old engines, reassemble them when they were back from the machine shop, installed a few cams here and there, but NEVER did an overhaul by myself. I really needed to do that, so I know just what you are dealing with. I say go for it and have no fucking regrets. You will have plenty of bench-racing fanatics offering good and not-so-good advice while you are building your mill. Personally, I have always loved the lowly 265 and 283's. Super engines and nothing quite looks like them. Simple, pure, and KOOL. Good luck..

 

Actually there were 193 283 export Camaros supposedly built in 1967, and if you have one of those, your engine may be worth more to a collector than to you. Otherwise a 283 is a good little engine, especially in my experience in front of a 4 speed.

 

You passed up the best idea on this whole thread, the 396/th400 opportunity... !

 

while there are lots better performing options out there ,the 283 and power glide has unique character.I remember my dads 66 elcamino with a 283 and a PG. ran very smooth . I am building a 64 falcon, bought a 302 and an AOD with plans for a stroker, but after driving it with the 260 four speed for a while I decided I would rebuild the 260. will be a more expensive to rebuild and only 160 hp but it revs quick and pulls the little pickup just fine.

 

O.K.
Of all the high performance magazines....old farts giving advice...internet builds/comments/ threads.... the best automotive performance advice I have ever read was in the 1961 Mechanix Illustrated "How to do it Encyclopedia".
It was a philosophy I have never forgotten.
Back in those days people actually fixed stuff. Starters, generators, regulators, plugs, distributors, electric motors and a host of other components were renewed and repaired instead tossed away and swapped out.

Here's what I remember. Keep in mind this is from 1961.

90% of the vehicles on the road are "out of tune", even factory new cars. The factory can not afford to spend the the time to properly tune each car to perfection. They are tuned for general reliability. Owners of these cars neglect maintenance, so many cars never reach the performance potential they are capable of. This is precisely why EFI and computer control was developed.
The first step in any performance modification, is getting the factory engine to run perfectly as designed. This is the baseline. Since many have never experienced what a factory stock car is capable of, this may be as far as the owner needs to go.

We have all heard the stories of the "Little engine that could or did". The old street racer who eats everybody's lunch and after the carnage, pops the hood and there sits a 2bbl and iron manifolds.
This is easier said than done. It's much easier to throw "out of the box" performance parts at an engine to somewhat overcome whats ill tuned. In the end though, the base is still not reaching it's potential. It's just masked with sooty pipes and loud glass packs.

The chapter goes on on about rebuilding an engine. Again it's good to start with factory perfect and factory stock and go from there. It talks about port matching, weighing and balancing rods on a scale, each rod was polished and balanced on a table top scale to the same weight and balance point. Each piston was examined. The block was miked.. if it needed boring it was bored if it was in spec it wasn't. Rotating assembly was balanced by a shop and journals turned if need be. The valve springs were checked and replaced if out of spec. The valve were lapped by hand.. if need be they were renewed or replaced.
A good bit of this was done at the home shop except for the machine work. Folks these days will poo poo the old techniques of lapping valves, polishing rods and port matching. A lot of work for little gain....but think, if done correctly all these little old time steps add up.

I can think of no greater "Hot Rodder" than Vic Eldelbrock. The last of the chapter shows Vic with a little 60 Falcon 144 CID 6 popper all dolled up with a multi carb intake. That's a hot rodder right there! Anybody can get performance out of a 409, 390, 327 ect ect of all those Vic was getting all he could out of a Falcon six.
In closing...choose your stuff wisely. Start with a good base and go from there. The foundation is everything and it must be right for all that follows. It is what is. Part of the fun is getting the best you can get out of and engine/transmission. Anybody can order a crate motor and stuff big CIDs under the hood and improve performance.
It takes getting back to the roots to make a 283 and powerglide truly sing.

 

Very interesting read and very true. I was just thinking of my youth and how the old cars we had farted, bogged and stumbled despite the impressive emblems on the front fenders. I remember a guy I was stationed with who had a raggedy 78 Camaro that he was always working on. He put a 350 with a big slobbering cam, high rise intake, 1050 Holley and who knows what else into a car with what was probably something like a 3.08 rear end. It infuriated him that I could effortlessly beat him with my '68 396 Impala. And after he sold it the next owner took all that stuff off, put on a quadrajet and that thing ran pretty strong.

I'm going to a swap meet tomorrow and see if I can find anything interesting. I'm really having a lot of fun with this truck. I forgot how much I used to enjoy this kind of thing and it's a lot more fun now that it's not my only ride lol!