petervs

I have a 58 Corvette and was wondering what people thought the proper price for a rebuilt 283 engine is. I believe it was built in June and would like to buy as close to that date as possible. Might have to settle for a while though. Spoke to somebody who has a 59 built in December. Looks like it was built in the Towanda plant so from what I'm reading here it would have not have been built for a Corvette. Has X58 on the side. Can anybody let me know what that means and an idea of what I should pay for that engine. It only has a few hundred miles on the rebuild.

5thvet

Definitely not a Corvette 283 if not made in Flint but I'll let the experts decipher the X58.

Gman58

It sounds as though you want to buy a date correct motor for your car but you are willing to put in a 59 283 block. Is your current motor bad just curious. Why not consider a newer 283 block or even a 327. There are a lot of motors around that may or may not need some work Hard to put a price on a motor you have to have faith in the person your buying it from. Greg

petervs

I'd prefer to buy a date correct engine but might settle for this one for now. It's $1000 and the guy selling it is an enthusiast and honest. Just bought the car and it has a 72 camaro 350 in it. Runs well but blowing some smoke. Have to have it checked out. I like the idea of having a 50's engine in it though.

Gman58

The Price tag sounds fair for the motor. I do agree with you. I would rather have a 283 then the 350. There are some who will disagree. Will you install it yourself or have it done. Greg

emccomas

$1000 is a reasonable price for a correct Corvette engine for your car. It is way overpriced for one that is not a correct Corvette engine.

However, $1000 is a reasonable price for a rebuilt 283. You can't build one yourself for that.

58 283 engines out of passenger cars are not that had to find. I ran into the exact same situation while looking for properly date coded engine for my 56. I put an ad in the Classic Chevy magazine. Got lots of calls about it, ranging in price from $150 to $500 for a motor needing rebuild, depending on how complete the engine was.

283 engines are much easier to find than 265 engines.

Viking427

"X58" on the side of the head (vs block) probably indicates 1958 3748772 heads.

67L36Driver

Why not just rebuild the 350 that's in iit now? If you stay away from the fancy extras (decking, align honing etc.) and just stay plain vanilla you end up with more snot than a 283 for the same money.
The heads would be the most expensive with new guides, valves and springs and it sounds like you can use them on a correct block in the future.

CWPASADENA

If your final gole is to have a "correct" 283 engine in your car and you have some issues with the 350 that is in it, I would consider buying the recently rebuilt 283 and installing it. This way, you can go ahead and get the engine compart looking correct with all the correct accessories. Down the road, you can find a correct dated block and heads and build a numbers matching "restoration" engine.

$1000 is not bad at all for a good running 283, and if you can do your own installation, it should not cost much more to make the change.

I would not even consider putting any money in the 350 if, in the end, that is not what you want. The 350 will have some value as a core. I would try to sell it locally but offer it for sale while it is still in your car so the buyer can have a better idea of what he is getting.

Just my opinion.



Chris, CWPASADENA

OC-1

1k for a rebuilt 283 with heads is reasonable for sure. Question is in the details. What was done to rebuild the engine? Why was this engine rebuilt as in, what was its intend purpose after rebuilding.

Rods were a weak point. What is the compression?, pistons used? etc, etc. Forged crank still in it?

Cast date on the back of the block? Ton or Flint? heads are Tonawandas but what is the block? Tough to move a non flint 283 and recoup your investment after you get the correct date 283 engine.
Always a market for flint blocks to vette guys.

I have a perfect date 548 block for my 57 but it is a tonawanda block. Tried selling it a bunch of times for $50 bucks with no takers. Some boat racing classes require a 305 or 283 and boat guys have an interest if racing in that particular class. I have 283s in my cars that came with a 283 but try selling one.

emccomas

Good points here. What quality rebuild was done. Check to see if the engine was bored, were new pistons installed, were new valve guides installed.

There are lots of ways to rebuild engines cheaply, and not necessarily good ways over the long run.