blackLS1

I got a good deal on a 283 from a 64 impala.I have it stored trying to figure out what to do with it.I read in HotRod mag. that with vortec heads and a nice solid roller cam 400+hp could be had.Or I could have the block sonic checked to see if it would accept a .125 bore and 3.00 inch crank I could have a chevy 302.What would you guys do with a 283?I would love to do something different with it.
Thanks guys. :cool:

MoMo

You know how much fun that 283 or a built-up 302 would be in a lightweight little Chevy Monza? My vote is to build it up into a rev-happy little beast and rear drive a light little car and build it around that.
Remember how much fun Vegas were to stick V8's into?

I'd build a fun little street warrior/strip demon around that motor, and take it to work everyday!

I've got a 400 block magnafluxed and checked out. I'm saving it for some kind of cool old rod. I like the idea of a late-30's Studebaker truck.
Then I'd be "The Dude with the Stude".

:cool:

Lt1er

Way back in my younger years when 265, 283, 302, 307, 327's were the only small blockChevys. I had friends who tried .125 overbores in 265,283,307's They are just not made for it and had very short fuses. All those age of blocks had small journal cranks in them. I would not put any money into one unless you need a specific ci for some mid 60's or older car. I used to have some 283's laying around. But they aren't good for anything. You can get more gas miliage and power out of a later 327 or 350.

Even the late model large journal 302's when completely hopped up and like my friends Camero spinning 8000 rpm at every shift. I had him by a few 10ths in the quarter and never abused my 350 or ran it passed 6500 rpm and my car is 400 lbs heavier.

I don't think that people really understand how much better motors are today than in the 60's. :cheers:

MoMo

That's really a matter of opinion though. It's true that the torquier 350's will probably out-pull a stock 302 for example, and without exceeding 6500 rpm. But the flipside of the coin is, the piston speed on a 302's 3-inch stroke allows 8000 rpm without even stressing the rods. And that would easily match the piston speed of a 350 at 6000. I don't think the longer stroke 350's are necessarily a better small block than the rev-happy 302's.

It's just different strokes for different folks. (Pun intended).

Some guys like the torquier 350's, 383's and 400's. Others like the high-revving pizzazz of a fun little 302 or 327. You've gotta admit, torque-notwithstanding, those high revvers are a buttload of fun to drive, and they emit sweet sounds that a 350 never would.

I've had both. I too like the additional torque of a 350 compared with my old 327, but I'll always miss the Ferarri-sounding rev-to-the-sky 327 I used to have. Even though I sped up with the 350.

I'm installing a tricked-out 427 BBC in my Vette now, but I sometimes wonder if I should have gone the other way and built a long-rod 377 SBC instead, built to rev better than the old 327. Hard to say.

blackLS1

Thanks guys.I want to build something that will rev like a angry rattlesnake.
I don't know what I'll put it in but something small.I want to build a 327 one day.Any body else got info/opinions?I wouldn't mind building this motor for the spray. :cool: :reddevil

The Green Rocket

The day of the 283 is long since gone.

That said here is a Jr Fueler recipie from the mid 60's that I like:
1) 283 block, if sound on a sonic check of wall thickness, overbore .125
2) Add a set of outdated Camel Back "Fuelie" heads, ported and 2.02x1.60
3) Top with your choice of Enderlie or Hilborn port mechanical injection.
4) Fire with a Vertex or Scintilla magneto
5) Use a 110 mechanical fuel pump
6) Choose pistons for 11:1 to 12:1 compression
7) Use a solid flat tappet cam/valvetrain
8) Pour 90% nitro in the tank

This is good for a minimum of 900 flywheel horsepower, more when in capable hands with some modern upgrades.

Note: Vortec heads will not work, if for no other reason than the thinness of the Vortec casting, which will cave in from the pounding of nitro.

Who says its hard to make big power out of outdated small engines?

Thomas

blackLS1

Green Rocket that is awesome.A little more than I had planned but :eek: :cool: .I still don't know what I'm going to put it in.But I do want to be able to drive it on the road. I thought about shoehorning it into a chevette.Tubing it out and putting the bottle to it.Then drive around a ruin mustang drivers day. :yesnod:

The Green Rocket

Back in the day, those small cube jr fuelers ran minimum mid 170 mph 1/4 mile, most were mid 180 mph range. Most used a stock 283 crankshaft in a 327 cylinder block. Then there was the Adams and Enriquez (sp?) Team that ran a 305 cube DeSoto Hemi - they oblitherated the class with close to 200 mph trap speeds, and keep in mind the Jr Fuelers were injected only, no blowers.

Nitro is a demon fuel, very weird in comparisson to gasoline. Nitro is an oxygen bearing compound and needs almost no air to make big power nitro to air ratios figure in the 1.7:1 range, compared to 14.7:1 range for gasoline. In simple terms to objective with a nitro engine is to run it just short of hydrolock from all the fuel being pumped in the cylinders. The trick, and no simple one, is how to light off a massive quantity of slow burning nitro. Oh yeah, how about ignition advance curves that can (depending on a lot of factors) be in the 50 to 70 degree range!

I long for the day when hard rubber slicks and in/out boxes were all that any dragster ran - it made for exciting racing where the tires were smoking nearly all the way down the track, sometimes accompanied by a wild wheelstand at one end or the other of the track. This will never really be seen again because all professional tracks have too much traction to safely launch any short wheelbase dragster.

Thomas

blackLS1

I wish I could have seen those times.I love to read the articles about nostalga(sp?) drags in Hot Rod and the other mags. :cool:

gerry c

Thomas, you bring back many memories with this. You remember the Bright Boys that ran (and for a while) ruled Lyons? I saw the inside of thier 301 on a nightly basis almost. Ray lived across the street while I was growing up and I spent many an evening over there. Then they went with a DeSoto and after trading back and forth with A&E for a while went with two 301's injected for a shot at AA/FD. Competion was even semi freindly back then. Enriquez father (Roland) lived in town and would even drop by the garage from time to time.

The Green Rocket

Well, this post is almost turning into a bench racing topic. I only went to Lions a couple of times, I was there when they closed in '73.

Want to fan those Nostalgia flames? Check out http://www.standard1320.com , also go to http://www.drag-city.com (don't forget the - between drag and city, otherwise you will go to a strange site :) ) Check out the links page on Drag-City.com. Drag City itself is due shortly for ground breaking, there will most likely be some cars on loan from the NHRA museum to make it extra memorable. Drag-City is also trying to stoke interest in a modern Jr Fuel class that would have interested parties (like me) who have no interest in touring nationally, but would just like a local track to run nitro on a budget (that is NOT a typo, I really did use nitro and budget in the same sentence!). This is not a good year for me to build a nitro dragster....maybe NEXT year!

Thomas

andy60

Dump the 283 and build a 383, you will not be sorry. My issues with my 383 is too much torque. I can not get my skinny little C1 tires to hook-up, but it is fun trying.

14-Paul

my 63 came from the previous owner with the crappiest, gunked up, wimpy 283 I'd ever seen. :sleep:

I found the perfect solution for "What to do with a 283?"

:lol: I had a low-spot in my back yard and burried the 283 there. I threw in a bunch of stuff I found under my deck too...... :lol:

it's still 'available' if anyone wants to dig it up for a race project... ;)


[Modified by 14-Paul, 2:47 AM 7/30/2002]

oger

Don't bore it .125 it's not worth the trouble. .060 works much better. A 1.94 head is as big as you want to go. keep the cam timing on the mild side and it will run very well. Just remember it doesn't have much torque so it will require deeper gears.