Hey guys... I picked up what appears to be an early 283 with some parts I want...not really interested in the block at first...but looking a little closer it appears to be an unworn (0 Ring ridge) block in good shape as far as external rust anyway. The pistons are rusted in place on several cylinders from a small amount of water collecting, but the block would certainly clean up with a slight overbore. Without a full visual check of course I have no way of knowing if its viable for a full rebuild or not, but the more I think about the possibility the more it interests me! Odd...to me...is the block casting number 3789935 is listed as a 61-62 283, but it is equipped to have a PCV at the back instead of a draft tube. I thought PCV came later than 62 but could easily be wrong. The engine VIN is 9V284169 which I can't seem to find in a limited search. For some reason anything before 64 is much harder to find out about! Can anyone who really knows how to decode that give me a little more info on what I have??? I don't expect its special...just like to know! Thanks!!!
Many of the earlier 283's ( and 327's also ) have been converted to the PVC system using the 66/67 SBC pieces ... I did the same thing on my 57 283 in a 40 Ford.
Supposedly, this engine came from the local trades college at some time and was likely used for student training. The ZERO wear on the bores reinforce that rumour. Seems odd they would change the road draft out and install a PCV...but it certainly is possible I guess! Could be an update for student training I guess, seeing it is such an easy change over.
Probably a conversion. It's an easy way to get a PCV system on that motor. I'm running a 283 in my '33. Great little power plant. Congrats!
Oh OK...what I found on the internet said 61 and 62. I guess I could look for that casting date stamp mark to get the final word on just what year it was made. Any idea on what the 9V284169 means?
hmmm question? how do they convert the pvcs? I'm trying to recollect one having a round canister almost like coil under the manifold? but not all do? I've wondered this also for using a small block 350 but wanting to put on your old intake, valve covers. where would you run the pvc? I need your block. i got a 61 imapala with low mileage pwr pack combo, 4bbl complete to air cleaner but rod through the pan. lol
Put a vertical PCV into a grommet at the road draft tube port. That connects to the base of the carb to suck air in. Makeup air comes from a filtered cap on the front oil fill tube. Simple and clean. The canister you are referring to is an oil migration baffle which the road draft port draws air from.It keeps oil from getting sucked out of the valley and into the PCV.
David...I wouldn't doubt you could have a new block CAST for what shipping would cost from here to there! LoL
Does it still have the original heads on it? Staggered valve cover bolt pattern? If so, there's a number cast in the head that should help you get closer to what it was in.
Don't know for sure about Chevrolets, but Pontiac started to put on PCV valves in 1961 on cars sold in California - I would guess other GM makes were similar.
on the space between the water pump and the head on the passenger side of the block there is a pad on it are numbers and some letters . what are they.
No heads came with it unfortunately. I just oiled up the cylinders to see if the rust will eventually break free. Two are bad...3 others have minor rust. The outside of the block has no noticeable cracks or even rust. I just can't imagine someone letting an engine as nice as this get rust in the cylinders! It's a real shame that it will likely need to be bored if used. There is ABSOLUTELY NO ring ridge. Zero. A caliper shows it to be 3.875 right on the money.
Hacker, In my first water soaked 265, in rebuilding I used Marvel Mystery oil to saturate the rust, then a scraper to get the rust out. After honing and fitting stock bore pistons, the cleanup left only a few small pits. The motor ran great with no smoke, and good power.
The date code of the block is cast into the block to the right of the 3789935 number, below the distributor hole...should be a letter and 3 numbers. What are they?
Could be! Whats the break down of the number that leads it in that direction??? Three intakes came with it...two 2 bbls and an early Quadrajet 4 bbl that was the reason Jason bought the engine in the first place! One of the 2 bbl intakes is the exact same color and look as the engine finish so I'm pretty sure it was a "rare" 2 bbl engine...and not one of the millions of "Corvette" engines apparently built in that era. I wanted it for the 2 rebuildable 2 bbl carbs that came with it...the canister oil filter etc. Gotta admit though, the thought of building a .030 0ver 283 is growing on me!!! This sickness never goes away does it??? Hope not!!!
Also, if I remember correctly, the 9V is Canadian...the rest of the number is Canadian specific and wouldn't be in US parts books...I could be wrong.
Couldn't see anything right there Larry...but on the right side of the block below the head theres a slightly raised strip about 4" long with 2 J 15 spaced along it. Could that be a date code???
My book says 3789935 is Late 1961 Corvette, 1962-1964 Truck and Passenger car. The numbers you gave would suggest October 15th 1962...2 J 15. J is the 10th number of the alphabet which would be October...2 is the year and 15 would be the day...so your block could be 1963, because any block made after September would roll over to the next year...just my 2 cents.
Before you do a rebuild, check this out. I got this 283 out of a 57 Chevy that had been sitting with the hood off. Water got into the carb and drained into # 5 and 7. The other cylinders had their intakes closed and were dry. It did not have wear ridges, like yours, but, as you can see, those two cylinders looked like a science experiment! I took some emery cloth, oil and WD40 to those two cylinders and got most of the junk out. Keep in mind that this engine was frozen solid when we started!! I had a valve job done, and replaced the junk intake and carb with a two barrel unit. I also flipped it, removed the pan and rear main. The bearings looked fine, but the rear main seal had been installed backwards. I slid another two piece seal in, put it back together, and it ran fine. It did smoke a little at first, but those rings cleaned out the cylinder walls, and it quit smoking right away!! Great engines IMO.
Depending on when it was at the local trade school the instructor may have been trying to teach the students about positive crank case ventilation.
9V is a V/8 auto transmission engine. The date code is on the side of the block near the frost plugs. Here's a 1957 283 My 283 was red in colour so it must have been a Pontiac engine. Somewhere on the engine there is probable a square with a M in the middle of it showing it was cast and built by McKinnon Ind.
I scraped off the rusty goo from oiling the cylinders and tried to turn the crank a fraction to see if it was actually stuck fast. Moved easily but I just went 1/2" so as not to clog up the rings!!! I rolled it back to the original point and I'll leave it alone now until I can get it on a stand and really clean the bores. I have a feeling those two cylinders are not as bad as they looked! This engine is also red instead of orange Bob! I'll look for that M too.
65 and newer blocks had a rubber grommet in the breather hole for a pipe to push into. This pipe ran to the PCV Valve. I don't remember the 65+ blocks being drilled and taped for the bolt to attach the blow-by pipe. Bob
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