Thread: Building a new motor

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Ok so after all the help with the 327, I finally did a compression check and my reading are all over the place. Lets just say I need a rebuild. Well I went over to my fathers house and I had a 283 that I built back 25 years ago. I never put it back together. Its a 66-67 283 block. I had the block zero decked and the internals balanced. I have flat top pistons and a 3863151 cam(327/350hp cam). Everything is there and never been run. I think Im going to put it together. I have read that that may not be the best cam.....so what do I need to look at? I also need to get some heads. Do not know if I want 64cc or 72cc heads. Looking for input.

What is the bore size? What is the piston part number and manufacturer?
Assuming a +0.030" overbore, a -6cc piston crown, a Fel-Pro 1003 head gasket and a 64cc chamber, you'd be at 8.43:1 Static Compression Ratio with a 287.4 cubic inch motor, so the 3863151 cam wouldn't be the hot tip, it was designed for either 10.5:1 or 11.0:1 SCR.

If I wanted to run iron heads, I'd look for a set of one of the following.....
World S/R 170cc intake runner, 65cc exhaust runner, 58cc chamber (cut to 54cc chamber to make 9.5:1 SCR)
Racing Head Service iron, part #12407, 170cc intake runner, 1.94" intake valve (cut to 54cc chamber)
EngineQuest iron, part# CH350A Vortec 1.84" intake valve, 1.50" exhaust (cut to 54cc chamber)

If I wanted to go to aluminum, I'd use one of these....
Edelbrock part# 60979 E-Tec 170 1.94"/1.55" 64cc chamber (cut to 54cc chamber)
Edelbrock E-Tec Cylinder Heads 60979 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing
Trick Flow 305 (cut to 54cc chamber)
Trick Flow® Super 23® 175 Cylinder Heads for Small Block Chevrolet TFS-30310001 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

My personal choice would be the Trick Flow 305 heads cut to 54cc for a 9.5:1 SCR, then I might try using your 3863151 cam, along with some solid lifters that have oiling holes EDM'd into the crowns. I'd probably use a Cloyes cast aluminum 2-piece front cover with the removable window so I could easily change the phasing of the cam and experiment where to put it in relation to the crankshaft for best overall performance and good manifold vacuum.
Cloyes Quick Button Two-Piece Timing Covers 9-221 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing
Here are the bushings that you use in the cam sprocket to phase the cam. You drill the cam drive pin hole out to the size of the bushings....
COMP Cams Degree Bushings 4760 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing
I would likely add a 2500 to 3000 rpm stall converter into the mix just to hedge my bet on the cam.

Read through this tutorial concerning using flat tappet cams with today's motor oils....
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ips_and_tricks

There are fellows who will urge you to use Chevy production iron 305 heads such as 14022601 or 14014416, but they were thin castings and didn't flow all that well in the first place
in my opinion.

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It is a .30 over bore. It has the sealed power flat tops with 4 reliefs. I believe the rods are the chevy pink rods. When I bought the motor years ago it had from what I can remember the crane fireball heads with angle plugs(2.02/1.60). I remember the guy said he built it for a 55 chevy pickup. It sounds like a lot of work to run that cam. With what I have done to the bottom end what can I look at getting out of the motor? Should I look for another cam, if so what one? I will be running a turbo 350 tranny and a 9" rear with a 350 ratio. I will probably put a new gear and bump it up a little.

Back in the days, the Fireball heads were the HOTEST street/strip heads you could buy. They had all the good stuff in them, screw-in studs better springs, higher flow, exc..

If I were going to buy a cam and lifters for your motor, using aluminum heads, (at 9.5:1 SCR), it would be a Howards CL110235-12 Retrofit Roller...
Intake opens (-1.5) BTDC
Intake closes 34.5 ABDC
Exhaust opens 44.5 BBDC
Exhaust closes (-7.5) ATDC
Intake centerline 108
Exhaust centerline 116
Lobe separation angle 112
Howards Cams Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Camshaft and Lifter Kits CL110235-12 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

If you wanted to take your chances with a flat tappet hydraulic cam and lifters and iron heads, it would be a Crane 2050 (114142) cam and lifters. This cam uses considerably more exhaust duration than intake duration to help evacuate the cylinders on iron heads with less efficient runners and still keep the intake closing point in concert with the static compression ratio to make good cylinder pressure. You can see this by looking at the exhaust open numbers, this cam begins blowing down the cylinder earlier than the Howards roller cam does.
Intake opens 1.0 BTDC
Intake closes 35 ABDC
Exhaust opens 51 BBDC
Exhaust closes (-3) ATDC
Lobe separation angle 112
Crane CompuCam Cam and Lifter Kits 114142 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

You can pick any cam you want to for the motor, just stay around 35 degrees or a little less on the intake closing point with the SCR at 9.5:1.

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Hard to argue the roller cam kit if you're torn down or gonna tear down. Especially when you consider where oils are headed. Most likely, in next few years we will all be running roller cams.

Yes the motor has been apart for 20+ years. Im cleaning everything now. The block looks really good. Everything else is cleaning up. Im going to look into a different cam....dont know which of the 2 Tech recommended. I guess I need to decide what heads I want and see how much money is left. Thanks for the help and any more info is greatly appreciated!!!!

Although both cams tech recommends are similar to the 3863151, they will give much quicker throttle response over the 3863151 cam because of their quicker ramp speeds. MHO, the OEM 3863151 cam while it performed well back in the days, it was lazy by todays standards. If you can afford it, go with the roller cam. And as I remember, this is going into a T Bucket, they don't need a lot of low end torque with their light weight to get up and scoot.

I have no idea where the intake valve closed on the 151 cam, but I would think somewhere around 40 degrees ABDC or maybe a little later. It had to close later in order to modulate the cylinder pressure with the relatively high SCR. If you use a short closing point with a high SCR, the motor will make so much cylinder pressure that nothing short of alcohol or race gas will allow operation without detonation. It's a juggling act, you need to make enough cylinder pressure to generate good horsepower and torque, but not so much as to need race fuel and not so little pressure that the motor is a pooch. Generally speaking, 35 degrees ABDC works well with 9.5:1 SCR, making a good DCR that will operate on pump gas without detonation, but will still make good power.

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Ok well this is what I came up with. I called Elderbrock to see what they had to help me as far as heads, and cam. After about 20 minutes of explaining why I was using such a small ci motor we came to the conclusion that they didn't have anything that would work. He even said that he didn't think any(manufacturer)of the new aluminum heads would work. Said something about the valves hitting. So, what I'm going to do is use a set of 58cc PowerPack heads that I have. Im going to get them cleaned, resurfaced and valve job. I figure with the heads and a .021 head gasket I can get the compression up to 9.91:1. By doing this I also save myself a few hundred by not having to buy heads. I really didn't want to buy heads and have them cut to work. Just feel like it was wasting money....especially on a small motor like this. May not be the most powerful motor but it should carry the 23 down the road pretty good.

Something to consider: 305 heads are a better head for your application, and they have the hardened seats which your 283 heads most likely do not have. In addition, the 305 heads have a much better chamber design, and will promote a better burn. By the time you rehab your PP heads, you will most likely have spent as much as what a set of 305 heads would have cost.

Which 305 heads?

Originally Posted by sefrayser

Which 305 heads?

See, this is what is so exasperating about trying to help someone. If you had been reading what I wrote, you would already know that there are two part numbers of 305 heads that I might use on a 283 if I had to make a choice. See the bottom of my post #2 on this thread.

The other thing about the 283 heads is that there are no drilled and tapped accessory holes in the end of the heads, so everything that you use as an accessory will have to be anchored off the intake manifold and the exhaust manifolds.

And for the rest of you knuckleheads out there, Edebrock makes heads with 2.02" or larger intake valves and 1.60" or larger exhaust valves, so there is interference with the smaller bore size of the 283 block. That's why I recommended the Trick Flow 305 heads as well as the production 305 heads, because there is no valve interference.

sefrayser, if you're at zero deck, you will not be able to use 0.021" gaskets. The pistons will crash into the underside of the heads when the motor gets up to operating temperature. Use Fel-Pro 1003 (0.041").

Next thing is, do not try to operate this motor at 9.9:1 with iron heads. You're inviting detonation. You might get away with it using premium pump gas and you might not.

Last thing, I have no idea where you came up with 9.9:1 SCR. A 283 with +0.030" overbore, stock stroke, zero deck, Fel-Pro 1003 gasket and heads with 58cc chambers will have an SCR of 9.05:1. Cut the heads to 54cc's and you will have a 9.5:1 motor, like I've been telling you all along. Or leave it 9.05:1, I don't care.

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Tech, while I feel your frustration, the OP is being bombarded with info. Sometimes being new on a forum and trying to get to know everyone can be overwhelming, leading to an occasional whoops. I don't think anyone is intentionally trying to waste anyones time....

Im not trying to piss off anyone or waste anyones time by any means. I cannot see buying a new set of heads and cutting them. If it was something making a lot more power than yes. Im trying to make do with what I have and buy as little as possible. I purchased a MSD pro billet distributor and 6AL-2 today and I hope that may help the 327 a little until I can get the 283 built. While I totally respect TechInspector opinion.....and Im sure he knows what he is talking about, I do not want to spend 1500-2000 on parts for something that may put out 300. This will not be my last build. Just trying to get something reliable so I can get the car painted and other things.