Hi Guys, tried a search about this subject but couldn't find anything! I'm building a 38 hot rod pick up, it came with a factory 1964 283 SBC from an Impala. The goal is to rebuild it to get some more performance out of it but using only GM parts except for the intake ( Offy 3 deuces already there ). What type of cam, heads and pistons should I be using to bump the performance of this little rascal? Please chime in with any advises! Thanks in advance. Ben
Thanks I'll see what Amazon got to offer! Was looking for a more done this worked out great type of advises but this is a start!
You want GM pistons too ? What's the overbore? And that will be like fishing instead of heading to the market. Period vintage Gm heads or any GM head? That book has plenty of "done that worked great" stuff.
327/350 Horse L79 cam is a great in a 283. Nice lope, good pull. You'd be surprised how much just a cam swap will wake up a 283. Your stock heads/pistons are probably fine unless you're wanting to build a bracket racer.
Hmmm.. Fuelie heads, Duntov cam. Whatever pistons to get compression you can live with. Dual point Corvette distributor. Your basic 60 Corvette motor.
One of the better street engines many of us old timers remember is from a Corvette. Look up the 245 two four and the 270 two four engine. They were the hot ticket back in the day. The 245 had the bottom end covered, for a short one block drag it was king. The 270, or a 245 with a hot aftermarket cam and good valve springs would turn up to 8000 going through the gears. When you heard one of those going through the gears off in the distance on a hot summer night, you knew all was right with the world.
If it's stock bore you wont be running the 2.02"/1.60" "fuelie" heads. Need to stay with 1.94" intake so they clear the bore. Flat top pistons will work well with today's pump gas, so don't get anything with a dome or you'll be running race fuel. The old heads have a small 59-62cc chamber, and compression will be too high for a mostly street engine with any domed piston.
Here is the ultimate small journal thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=416175
Wow, alot of answers, thanks guys, the engine bore is only a 0.30 overbore, wich is quite impressive knowing the mileage those cars could have! The bores are fine just need a good scuff for new rings!
Prolly aftermarket pistons, -0.30" overbore. Want the engine to appear stock but with a smart twist inside.
Fuelie heads are quite hard to find aren't they? As far ingition, it already have a old mallory wich we are going to keep! As far as compression ratio, 10 to 1 is what I had in head for street use, we have 98 Octane here at the gas station!
Maybe in your location (France). But we come across them a lot over here. They are sitting around due to guys running newer and more efficient heads.
I usually add a windage tray, at least on the 327 and larger. And glue the valve cover gaskets to the covers (only). Stamp the front & rear block-intake mating surfaces, on the block w/a light center-punch, prevents the seal strip from walking out. For street use the .194" four-barrel heads are the way to go, good mid-range power.
Not exactly, even when using a power pack head with combustion chambers as small as 55 cc's it would be difficult to make a great deal of compression with a flat top piston. Factory HP 283 Corvette motors had domed pistons in a configuration similar to the L-79 piston in the 327. A "camel hump" 1.94 head as mentioned is going to be in the 60-62cc range. This combined with the general lack of small bore shim head gasket can easily drop compression below 9:1 with a flat top piston. Ideally, you would want to deck the block square and to minimum height. Lacking having a custom piston made you could find a TRW forgings and have a portion of the dome machined off to suit your needs. Camshaft selection play s a big part but my experience has been that 283's like at least 9.5-10:1 compression.
I'll be watching this thread, some good info so far. I have a 283 in my roadster and two more on stands in the garage....
Finding a performance piston for the 283 is the biggest challenge; they just don't make them anymore. There is a NOS set of 283 pop-ups on that auction site we all know and love ($350.00!). Silvolite/Keith Black may have something, otherwise it's special order time ($$$$). Some #601, 305 heads with 53 CC chambers, and taking some off the heads surface will help to raise the CR. Some had 1.84 intake valves. 283 rods were weak; go with some aftermarket Scat/Pro Comp/Eagle, and have them checked before using; you can get them cheaper than rebuilding the stock rods, and adding ARP fasteners. Just don't over-cam, over- carb the little engine, or it will be a dog. And don't forget to throw some low gears at it in the rear end. Butch/56sedandelivery.
Be very careful with your cam selection like 56sedandelivery has said. If you don't have the compression and heads to support a larger camshaft you might be building a dog. Small cubic inch sbc motors require a bit more planning than a larger sbc. Rear end gears, tranny gear ratios, rear tire size all need to be included in the overall plan. My '57 283 is .040" over with flat top pistons, 60cc powerpack heads, stock early 4 barrel manifold and carb, .025" piston to deck height w/.015" steel shim head gaskets running about 9 to 1 compression ratio and .040" quench. The cam is the smaller 300/327 cam so many sbc motors ran. Hope to hear it run soon. Good luck!
If it is about bragging rights I'd use the "097" cam. Solid lifter and a nice sound. There are probably better cams today for performance and hydraulics but the nostalgia of the 097 is what it is all about for me. I have some power pack heads and I'd top it off with the "270 set up" dual WCFBs The L79 cam was great but it did not come out until the 327 was king 66. When I think 283 I'm thinking 1960ish. I'm guessing this is a street engine. My 63 Corvette was 327 340 solid lifter and I drove it to work every day. No big deal. It's not like you have to adjust the valves every other week. I'd put a 2 piece cap Mallory or a window point original dist. (converted to electronic) It's fun to talk old Corvette parts. I'm guessing nobody here is racing so optimal performance is not a serious consideration. Are there better options??? Maybe but being able to talk trash with an 097 cam is worth something to me. It's all about what you want. The 327-365 cam (30-30) was a popular cam but it was a 327 cam.
MAD 034 makes a good point. Small motors do take more planning, primarily due to the "one fits al"l parts these days. His recipe sounds like a very good combination. I would keep in mind though, for the math for compression ratio to work out, that .015 head gasket has to be the right .015 gasket. Generally most shim head gaskets retailed today are based on a 4.100 bore, put those on a 3.900 motor and those 60cc heads become 64-65cc's. Everything else being equal this would drop compression from 9:1 to 8.5:1. Attention to detail is the reason some small bore motors run like a scalded ape and others are disappointments.
my 283 is bored .060 over with 305 heads (not sure of the specs on those) and has a (Duration 298/298, Lift .466/.466) cam.... too much cam? It does sounds good.... but could use some more power.
had a buddy build a .060 over bored 283 (292), flat tops, ported 305 ho heads (1.88 intake valve) and a comp cams 270 magnum cam. it ran pretty damn good for a small motor.
Couldn't agree more. I have a crane copy of the 097 cam in my 283 with power pack head's. Engine is in a model A and it run's so damn nice and sound's good to boot. Gregg
What you say is absolutely true. My heads actually cc'd at 63 and I did not mention the fly cut in the pistons for valve clearance or the larger diameter head gasket which does in fact reduce compression ratio. My heads were surfaced at least once for a gain of .005" or so and with the .040" over bore I picked up a bit more compression as well.
Keith Black has Slivolite dome pistons, I bought mine through summit racing. With european gas you will be fine with a 10,5:1 or 11:1 cr @ 95 to 98 octane, some gas stations here in Germany sell 102 octane ( I think it´s Shell V-Power..) Regular is 92... My .040 over 327 and 060 over 283 have dome pistons and I never had a problem with detonation...just use good gas and let it rev
http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/uem-kb166ktm-060/overview/ these are the ones I have in my 283..
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