Pornknbeaner, probably the biggest difference is the down draft tube in the rear and the valve covers without the pvc valve. Honestly like you said most people don’t notice or don’t care. However; if I am walking about at a show and I see a “period” hot rod or even a late 50’s to mid 60’s Chevy and it has a later engine I usually keep walking. What can I say, I like the mid 60’s and earlier stuff. I am bit surprised at the reaction of a small journal 350 on the H.A.M.B. If some said they were building a 301 that would be cool but for some reason grinding a throw away 350 crank is throwing a few guys off. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Don’t let it hurt too much. Although not a normal question I just wanted to clarify. My buddy ran 5.38’s in his 57’ jr stocker in the old days but had a 3 spd OD (strange combo) was on the hwy and hosed the tail housing bushing in his trans. Claimed it was because the output shaft was spinning too fast and wore out. Conversation switched to my 55 Gasser project and I thinking about running an OD with really low gears. I was told it will kill my trans. I was just wondering if it was BS or if someone else had had that issue. I’ve run 4.56’s with OD on a daily driver but never any thing lower. I’ll probably just give fear vendors a call and see if it is an issue. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The drive shaft will be going the same rpm at a give mph with or with out an overdrive. The over drive just lets the engine rpm be lower at a certain mph. Granted it will let you cruise faster, easier. I’ve had several overdrives with no bushing trouble, but never had gears as low as yours. With those gears your rpm is going to be kinda high at the end of the 1/4 mile. Bones
So then even if the engine speed is lower the drive shaft will still be spinning at the same speed as a non OD with low gears. I could see where that could create a problem Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
"I can drive the back roads from house to the Famoso and only have to stop at 3 stop signs and one stop light to get there." With rear end gears like yours, I think I would look for a route with a lot more stop signs!
Bearings and bushing wear is determined by speed and load. The higher of either the quicker the wear. But remember, you are increasing speed, not with your overdrive, but your low gears, hang on.... you are also decreasing load due to your low gears,over stock gears. So it could be a wash. Let’s look at the advantages of an overdrive: less engine wear, lower rpms, quieter ride, better fuel economy. Your perceived problems: may have to replace a $10 bushing and a couple hours work. I vote overdrive. PS. Your driveshaft will need to be perfect and balanced. Bones
turning down a 350 crank might be less of the "long way around" than welding up a 283 crank, like they used to have to do...but yeah, I like the idea of making a 283 that big
That is a good question. This is a long answer because I am trying to explain my thinking at the time. I don't know from personal experience. The first Chevy rebuild and swap, belonged to my buddy and took place in 1959. We were in the back woods, central British Columbia, as far as having access to the latest in speed parts. He had his 265 punched .125. Of all the guys with small blocks, that was the largest increase I heard of at the time. I wasn't aware of anyone punching a 283 more than .030 at the time. I was an avid reader of the speed mags of the time, and vaguely remember articles discussing strokers, but it always looked to be too expensive and too exotic for what I was doing. I don't recall exactly when guys in the local groups I knew started talking about stroking the sb, but I believe it was about the time of the introduction of the 327 in 1962. Because we had to import, and pay fairly extensive duty on speed parts, we had to be very careful how we spent our money. The next years were a fog, because I was busy in university and didn't start swapping engines again until 1968, and I went the easy way to displacement by using a Ford 312 in one swap, and an Olds 394 in another. In 1969, I was looking for a 327 or 350 for my Cameo, but settled for a 283, which I replaced with a big block in 1971. Just my experience, I always took the easy way to displacement. Bob
Just buy a 350 off Craigslist for $100 and tell everyone it's a 283 with a stroker crank. I like 283's for the 3" stroke. I know a 427 sbc will dominate it, but I like the way they sound and rev. It's my happy place.
Ahhh yes, I see. So am I. I own more 283’s than anything else. Let me translate, the 350 pistons were cheap and thus my only other cost other than the over bore was turning down the crank which once doesn’t even know it is in an early block. I won’t tell you about my 383 small journal. That one will make your head hurt as it does mine and it is nowhere near cheap. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I run a 6-speed in my driver. The top two gears are overdrive gears, with 6th being 0.50:1. It has 23,000 miles on it in this configuration. It has been on sustained runs of 85-mph, for 4-5 hours, at a shot (SF-LA, SF-Reno). About a month ago, I pulled the rear cover to change the oil, and inspect for wear. While it was draining, I checked the backlash. It was identical to when it was installed. No play was present in either the pinion bearings or the carrier bearings. The oil was still clean, and the proper color. The magnet on the cover had no particles on it. I have had numerous people tell me that I would not even make it to half of this mileage before it spit out a pinion bearing. My rear gears: 5.13:1 (compares to 2.565:1 with a 1:1 top gear) Rear tire height: ~24.25" RPM at 65: 2300
Synthetic Gear Lube will help it live longer. My manual for a 1998 3500 Chevy pickup with 4.10 gears, has maintenance schedule to change conventional gear lube every 5000 miles when under heavy load, but when using Synthetic change every 50,000. It must be because of the heat generated, NASCAR guys run oil coolers.
Not sure I understand the wisdom of using an add-on o/d in a stick shift car, in order to save a few revs for a short drive to the drag strip. Of course, I don't know how much those GV units can stand in direct mode, with a stick shift, rev-it-up SBC. Squirrel knows, I'm sure. ;-)
I think that for the most part some of us see it as a 20 dollar cure for a 10 cent problem. Actually for an engine that is going to turn lots of revs a small journal motor makes more sense. But that delves into theory that is going to be lost on the masses. Funny I seldom think if road draft tubes in a performance engine. No offense intended here. I have even gone as far as to throw a PCV in the road draft hole on early engines. I like my crank case clean and a road draft tube just doesn't work as well at low speeds. But I am a little anal about that; for example on one of @squirrel 's blower motors I would be running a pump on the crank case. He doesn't find a need for that and he runs blowers all the time. Now here is the irony of your build, if you had said that you were using an early SBC block with a 4" bore and say a Callies crank with a 3.48" stroke to come up with 350 cubes no one would have batted an eye. Hell H beam 6" rods would have put you over the top. There actually is a cheaper route you can take on the rods by the way if you go this way again. If you can leave the rod journals large journal you can get 6" rods from a junkyard Ford 300" 6. A little fine tuning and they work just fine. Just information.
Heck yeah! I will gladly buy any and all the forged crank std bore $100 350’s off craigslist I can find. But until then I’ll keep using what I have. But don’t think I don’t have any love for the 283’s like I mentioned I have more than a few. For this project I was just trying to go as fast as I could with what I had while keeping the outside period correct. Now if domed 292 or 301 pistons had fallen from the sky when I was at that stage I might have gone a different direction but the std 350 pistons were cheap and the block and crank were virtually free. Nothing lost and I get to run cool valve covers without a pvc valve. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have know idea. It was in the 60’s and he was in his 20’s. Could have been tow car broke and wanted to drive to track and switch it out. I didn’t ask the reason. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Awesome!!!! Thank you. That is what I was looking for! Winner winner chicken dinner! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thank you for the Ford rod trick. I will keep that one in mind. I think my small journal 350 is a little more “tri five Chevy.com friendly than it is H.A.M.B. friendly . Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
There are some on the classified right here......and it's for the beloved stroker crank. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/nos-mickey-thompson-283-stroker-pistons.1109447/ Of course they are for a standard bore. Maybe I'll buy em and stroke my 265?
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