found a 283 that i was plannin on buildin for my pickup. ive had alot of people tell me that the 283s make great revvers, and ive seen this personally. so, what all is needed for a nice revvin 283? this motor will for sure be hooked up to a 4 speed, and will be runnin a set of 410 gears. what kinda specs on the cam? i had a guy tell me that small chamber 305 heads work well on the 283. this true? also, would a low heigth single plane work well?
there just was a thread on 265's , and if you do a search you will find a couple threads on building a 283 i like dual plane manifolds on street driven cars
Even the solid lifter dual quad engines had dual plane intakes from the factory. Remember that it's a small cube V8, and doesn't have gobs of torque to give away, so a 180 degree design is probably the way to go. I don't know what sort of truck you've got, but most trucks need torque more than high rpm horsepower.
well i didnt want mention the make of the truck since it isnt HAMB friendly. it is small though. 2300lbs. so i was thinkin a high revvin 283 and 4 speed would work pretty well for a highway blaster...
that sounds like a lot of fun , but you will still be better off with a dual plane intake manifold..in my opinion. i'd give the 283 a basic rebuild,...bore, new pistons ,recondition the rods , check the crank and turn if needed ( a forged steel crank would be nice) , redo the heads (power pack would be nice too) with new springs etc , new hardened seats (at least the exhaust) flat top pistons will give you about 9:1...power pack about 9.5:1...that's enuff for a street driven motor as for camshaft , i won't recogmend one...i know what works for me , but if you ask a 100 different guys you will get about a 1000 different opinions..from mild to wild you have to be honsest with yourself when you select a cam....what RPM range will you REALLY be in most of the time? don't put in a cam that makes power at 7000 rpm when you will be in the 1500-4500 range 99% of the time just my 2 cents
yeah i know what you mean. im just tryin to get a starting point. my buddys got a comp270h in his 305 and it runs pretty well. it would run better with some 410s, but thats neither here nor there. i was thinkin somethin with a low lift (.450ish) and like a long duration(270ish). i guess ill just look in the summit catalog till i find somethin i like that will go with everything else. now i was lookin at the weiand stealth intake. another buddy of mine had one on a 355 and it ran damn good. weiand says it flows to 6800. im thinkin thats the intake im gonna go with. also it pretty low profile, which will help keep it all under the hood. do the 2in exit ramhorns work well with the 283?
With a four speed and 4:10 gears in a light truck, I'd run a single plane on a high winding 283. Something like an Edelbrock Torker II, it's got a low carb mounting height and curved runners...it really works well even on lower RPM, small cube motors! (I used one on my old 305 with excellent results, so I just bought another to use on my current small block build) Top the intake with a GOOD Holley carb. My favorite is the somewhat obscure 650cfm vacuum secondaries square bore carb with electric choke. It has dual metering blocks the way the old 780 carbs did, center hung float bowls, dual feed fuel inlets, and all metal parts. It's not the cheapest carb you can buy, but is well worth the money. I just picked up one of them as well and highly recommend it for anyone running a single 4v on a hot small block! You have boundless choices when it comes to the camshaft, but I like to stick with Crane myself. Isky makes a great second choice, and Comp Cams has a few nice grinds to offer, but for your application, I'd go with something like the Isky 280 MegaCam or one of the hotter Energizer grinds now offered by Crane. (The Energizer cams are ground to specs formerly offered by a defunct company known as Cam Dynamics. Crane bought them out and makes new cams to their specs under the old CD "Energizer" name). I talked to a rep at Crane a couple weeks ago about their different offerings and this guy knew his shit! He answered all my questions about today's oils and lifter quality and we agreed on the best approach. He said all of their cams are ground in-house and that the anti-pump up lifters included with mine were as good as or better than they've ever been. He did strongly recommend running only Shell Rotella T oil in the engine (which I already do), and said to add a quart of GM's EOS (Engine Oil Supplement) to the oil for cam break-in. There was a pretty good thread about this issue a while back here on the HAMB, and the guys at Crane are on top of it, and will gladly take the time to help you make sure you not only select the best cam for your application, but that you get it installed and broken in correctly as well. Top notch folks. I've been using mainly Crane cams for years, and I just bought another...I have complete confidence in them. Other than that, I'd tell ya to deffinitely look at the 305 heads. They have small chambers and all 305s are compatible with unleaded fuel...which you will want. 283 heads were never designed to run on unleaded fuel. Althought they can be modified to work, why bother when 305 heads are dirt cheap and plentifull?! As an alternative, World Products offers an S/R Torquer 305 casting with the small chambers as well, if you want to buy a brand new, quality casting assembled and ready-to-run for about $350 each! Top it off with a good ignition system (I'd use an HEI unless you're worried about how it looks) and a set of headers with dual exhaust and you'll be happy with it. Thos tall gears and the four speed will keep that motor revvin way up to where a good combo like I mentioned above (with a single plane intake) will work great!
I put summit grind 1102 in my 283 - have no idea how its going to run - but smallish 350 cam is supposed to be act big in 283.
The Crane Energizer 272 cam is right up your alley then...272 degrees advertised duration (216 degrees @ .050") and .454" lift. It's a square pattern cam, so the specs are the same on both the intake and exhaust side, like your buddy's 270H.
Other than what has already been said, Don't forget to balance the rotating assembly and Full roller rockers will reduce drag in the valvetrain... and attention needs to be paid to oil control, and windage tray will help keep oil from slowing down the crank.
Good advice. As I stated in another post months ago, when I worked the counter in an aftermarket parts store, I spent more time talking people OUT of buying a cam than into it. They'd look at the cam chart in the Crane catalog, then choose one of the "rough idle, 4000-7200 power range" cams for their '76 Malibu with a stock low compression 350, TH 350 and 2.56 gears. Once I told them that that cam in their car would allow a Chevette to kick their ass from 0-60, they usually straightened out and behaved.
That's a good point to consider, but with 4.10 gears, he's gonna be crankin' the rpms! (My car has 3.42 gears with 15" tires and cruises at 2000rpm just motoring along surface roads like Telegraph at 45-50mph. On the freeway, it cruises at 2600-3000rpm, depending on speed of course. 4.10 gears would knock that up a bit, so the cam he's thinking about will be right in it's "sweet spot" most of the time!)
A cam that dies at 4500 rpms SUCKS - A cam that also is designed to rev to 7 K really doesn't have that great a bottom end - I had a 292 and man it liked to rev but wouldn't hardly peel out. if you can find a cam for 2500 - 6500 you'll be happy 2500 RPM is nothing- make sure you use a 3000 stall for the most fun.
i agree , that cam he was considering sounds like it would be great..that's real close to what i'd use the cam maniacmechanic used is an edelbrock 2102 and the peak torque/HP is around 5000 rpms..over 300hp and 300 foot lbs..i'm impressed BTW , the edelbrock 2102 has the same spec's as the Summit 1102 Tudor said he used. i've installed several of them in sbc's and i'm very pleased with them..i have one in the 283 in my `36 ford , and one in the 350 in my `28 ford like i stated in one of my posts , i know what works for me..but , i don't usually make sugestions..too many variables
36!! How does it idle? what are the differences between the cam inthe the 350 and 283?? what kind of RPM range to do you get in both of them? when does it stop pulling in the 283??? It seems the only way to learn cams it to install different ones and get real experience!!!
On the subject of heads.....try to find a set of the 461's (64cc chambers,2.02&1.60 valves with intake ports165cc..) or 461x(same but with 170cc's)......I'm not a big fan of 305 heads only because I've seen alot of them go thru head gaskets at the track. Only down fall of the 461's if this matters is there's no mounting holes for accessores. So if you need these accessory holes you could try the 462 or 186 heads they have them and still have large valves and 64ccchambers. I hope this helps.....good luck with the build!! I also run a 283 and they certainly do like to rev!!!
64 CC combustion chambers on a 283 = low compression. You also have to watch the big 2.02 and 1.6 valves on a 283 becaus the pistion bore is only 3 7/8 - there is a chance to get the valves in the piston wall -
both idle nicely at about 800 rpms , with a slight lope...not real wild , but you know it has a more than stock cam. no real difference between the two that i can see as for rpms , the fastest i've seen one on the tach is 4800 in my `28 with a 350 , during a burnout....th350 tansmissions and 3:1 rear gears after reading your response to Fat Hack , if that's what you want you may want to get a bigger cam like i said , i don't like recogmending cams..too many variables , too many different opinions , too many different expectations
My cam is already in and waiting for start up. Just curious to get you to describe the characteristics you've experienced with the same cam. Really to compare it with the advertised performance description. Not asking for recomendation - the deal is already done I just think real life experience someone has had with a cam is the best information for your cam library - cam tech phone line is bullshit too - I think everybody tries to be way too conservative with cam recomendations. this 283 with the 1102 is hooked to a 3:80 rear end and a 4 speed - it ought to be able to rev - Summite advertises its rpm from idle to 5500 rpm - have you ever floored your car and let it run out? I was just curious what RPM you felt the power band run out at. I figured 5500 would be good in a light car and still leave me some bottom end. When I had my 292 H cam in my 350 it really cam on strong from 3500 to 6500 but didn't like it out of the hole until I got a loose convertor - then watch out it was awesome - this was with a holley 4 barrel 287 HP at the rear wheels. I changed to a 268 XE becuase I need more vacuum to suck idle gas through my 3 - 2 set up when I installed it. It wouldn't idle with the big cam since it didn't have that big 4 barrel dripping gas on it. After the cam and intake change I lost like 65 HP at the rear wheels. Seat of the pants was still pretty good because of the torque I gained at the lower RPMS. The 268EX has alot more low end and runs out of power starting around 4000 RPM but will still pull through 5500 just with power falling off - and not building like the 292H.
tudor , it looks like you have good experience and a handle on what you need for cam for your application. i've never really floored it and let it go so i have no idea what the cam will be like at 5000-6500 rpms , but i suspect 5000 is the peak. take a look at the graph maniacmechanic posted i tend to be mild with my own stuff , because i just like cruising around,,but have done some wilder stuff for others. like i put a 350 with a Lunati bracketmaster cam (.480 lift , 230 duration at .050 lift) , edelbrock heads , edelbrock performer RPM intake , MSD ingintion ,3000 stall convertor in a `32 ford with 3.70 gears and THAT pulls real strong up to 6500.... that sounds like more of what you are looking for
- Thanks 36 - I just read to go easy on the cams for the 283! So there you go 1102 - we'll see what it does
I agree that real world personal experience teaches you the most about cam selection, and I've put my fair share of aftermarket cams into small block Chevys (and others) over the years, so my only recommendations come from what I've learned in my efforts. That said, the tech lines at the various major cam companies can be helpfull, too...it all depends on who you're talking to. I've had nothing but GOOD experiences with Crane cams and their people, so I stick to their products for the most part, although I have used others. In one of my 305 engines, I ran a TRW replacement cam for a 350/400 small block at first, and then it got a Comp Cams 270H. I didn't like the Comp Cams at all...it had a 'funky' idle to it (not really 'lopey', just kinda...I don't know..."messy"!) and was just not a strong running cam at all. I pulled it out and gave it to a buddy (with the lifters properly numbered) and he put it in his 350 and reported the same thing...a pretty lame performer. I replaced that 270H cam with an Isky 256 Super Cam and the car was much better throughout the powerband. Idle quality was okay as well. My current ride now has the factory cam in it (with one noisy lifter!) and it is just plain DONE by 3000rpm...right where the motor is when you step on it! Of course, it's a total smog motor so I expected that...but you can actually feel it "lay down" at three grand...after that, it's just making noise! I just bought a Crane Energizer 266H (266 degrees advertised duration with .440" lift) for that motor, and it'll be supporting a Torker intake, Holley 650, HEI distributor and dual exhuast. With 3.42 gears and a TH-350 in a small car, it should run strong. I went to the conservative side...the Energizer 272 would have worked okay, but I drive this car daily so a smooth idle and decent fuel economy were important considerations...although I do want it to run hard when I need it to. The thing I like about the Energizer series is that they're a great buy for the money...the cam and lifter kits will only set you back $119 through JEGS, vs $169 for most others. If you want a budget-minded dual pattern hydraulic cam (I've long preached that they're far better, but in a mild application with a good exhaust system the gains are minimal at best) Crane also sells a few good choices under their "Blue Racer" line, which are specs and names that they purchased from Wolverine. They're only slightly more than the Energizer series (about $124 for cam and lifters), and they're all made in-house by Crane and come with Crane's standard waranty. Like I said earlier, the sky is the limit when it comes to cam choices for a small block Chevy, and you won't find a shortage of opinions, recommendations and advice from people who have run various grinds in their machines. Like 36 says, though...there are many variables that can alter results from one guy to the next, so take everything you read and hear, analyze it carefully, and make the best decision for you. I think that you would DEFFINITELY be happy with a single plane intake, good carb and a cam with roughly 218 to 225 degrees of duration @ .050" (likely 270 to 280 degress advertised) and lift specs in the .450 to .480 range given that you've got a light vehicle with a four speed and 4.10 gears. That 283 will wind up quick!!
A little OT, but I recall the guy who taught me most of my machining skills in the auto machine shop that I hung out in during high school, would occasionally build 283 "specials". Actually no more than a good 283 block that could be bored to 4", making a 302. This was before Chevy Z28's were on the market, making it kind of unique. He had a fondness for the old Duntov 30-30 cams and they worked well and sounded good. I suppose there are new cams that are a lot better now. I really miss that guy sometimes. He sure taught me a lot about engines.
Ah, the famous "301". For some reason, when hot rodders did it, they called it a 301, but when Chevy did it, they called it a 302. Really, it works out to 301.6, so it rounds off to 302. A good many '55-'57s made street racing history with such a setup.
Only had two 283 based engines, one was a stock bore-stroke 63 model, flat tops, 1.94 intake 300hp heads, Isky revmaster solid lifter cam, Edelbrock Torker, 780 Holley. In a 68 camaro with a T-10 fourspeed and 4.88 gears, it was so much fun, about 4000 rpm a highway speed then, never bothered it at all!! Nothing sounds neater than a small block with headers and solids!!!!! It's music I tell ya!!! Only thing better is a 12.5 to 1 small block with solids!! Heheh.
The old 327-350hp hydraulic was an excellent cam also if a hyd is what you want. They are pretty cheap. I realize there are a lot better newer grinds out there, but for my money, GM cams were always good. Isky was always my second choice. I had an Isky 7000T billet flat tappet in a Ed Pink 354 hemi that had a gozillion passes on it and ended up in two other engines before it got sold!! Ah, the good old days.
True you lose alittle on compression but the right piston will make up for the lose compression and yes the larger valve heads do run closer to the piston wall but they will work but should be checked out at the machine shop before throwing them on. I know because I have run 461 heads on a 30 over 283 for over 25 years and have had no problems at all with great performance. Here's a pic of the old girl. Good luck to what ever you decide on in parts.
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