Thread: build-up a 283 ?

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this is a 1967 283 all stock , need to rebuild it , any one done this ? any good suggestions? cam ? i'm using that intake , and the 600 cfm holley. thought about the L-79 cam ?

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Nice 67 Camaro, do you have your heart set on the 283 to keep it original or would you swap it . You could always store the 283 and build something . 302,327,350 maybe? the selection of part's for a smallblock chevy is staggering. If you stick with the 283 at least put some solid part's into it . Make a plan on what you want to do . H.P. and torque .Once you decide then buy part's. In my motor's I alway's have a solid valvetrain. Screw in stud and guide plate's are excellent . Crane Cam's are my choice they have a very wide selection .Match your cam with gear's, torque converter etc. Headers are a must for any smallblock chevy. I also like 2.02 intake valves and 1.6 exhaust .Manley is my choice. roller rocker's are also good I like Harland Sharp 1.6 or Crane. Good luck on the motor for the 67.

Well since you asked for suggestions.... I'll give you a couple. Please note that this is what I would do, but it doesn't mean it's right for you or anybody else; but, then again, thats the beauty of it, right? Anyway here they are:

1. Put the 283 in mothballs and stuff a pig block in it, 427 or bigger. Remember, there's no replacement for displacement, and there's no displacement like lots of displacement. Cubes rule!!

2. If you decide to stick with the 283 or go with a different small block, remove the Holley 600 from the 283 and throw it as far as you can......unless you prefer to constantly tune the carb? Actually I don't hate Holleys, I even owned one once......ONCE!!! Now since you asked for "good suggestions", I would actually say, don't throw it away. Sell it as scrap, at least you'll get something out of it that way........

J/K lots of luck with the Camaro. I agree with JET,327. Decide what you want the motor to do for you and that will determine how to build it. ie. If you want lots of horses and torque, you may want to start with something bigger. If not, the 283 will be awesome for cruising reliability (as long as you aren't stupid with it....see one of my previous posts for stupidity with a 283, I believe it was in a thread titled "Naming your hotrod").

Cheers,
Firechicken

Firechicken, funny thing is, thats my feeling with Edelbrock Carbs, I like Holleys, just what works for me.

Originally posted by stepside454
Firechicken, funny thing is, thats my feeling with Edelbrock Carbs, I like Holleys, just what works for me.

Well there ya go!! Send me all your Edelbrock's and I'll send you all my Holley's. We'll both feel like it's Christmas again! I forgot I have one on the Firebird right now that's gotta come off before I trust it enough to make any long drives. So I guess I got 2 of 'em ta git rid of.

Naw, seriously, I know. People like what works for them. I've had nothing but bad luck with Holleys and Edelbrocks have always worked well for me so that's what I'll stick with. Kinda like the whole Chevy vs. Ford thing.

Zactly

keep the 283!!!!!!!! take the 283 bore it .125 over to 301.6 and if you want it knarly put some dz-302 pistons in it a 302 crank and rods and the offroad cam isnt bad either. or if you like you can use a lower compression piston and you can ahve a better gas motor. dont let anyone tell you the 283 is useless. i have one it is bored .125 over with 302 internals it runs damn good. so keep that 283!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we had a 11:1 301 with a holley 600 worked great. the only people who tell you that the holley is bad is because they dont know anything about them. they are the easiest carbs to work on. if you run a higher compression use a 750-780 carb unless you go with dual 4's. if you need helpw ith the 283 let me know..........scooter

Originally posted by gassersrule_196
we had a 11:1 301 with a holley 600 worked great. the only people who tell you that the holley is bad is because they dont know anything about them. they are the easiest carbs to work on. if you run a higher compression use a 750-780 carb unless you go with dual 4's. if you need helpw ith the 283 let me know..........scooter

Don't get me wrong, I didn't say there is anything bad about a 283. I had one in my '55 for quite a while and never had a problem with it that I didn't cause myself.

The main question is what do you want the motor to do for you? It's just easier to get lotso' horsepower and torque out of a pig block than it is a small block....period. Like I said....no replacement for displacement.

As for the Holley, I do understand how they work, and I have actually worked on more Holleys than 'brocks. But see thats just it, in my case, I don't want to have to work on em constantly. I want to set the calibration, and forget about them. With the Holley I had on my '55, I was constantly tweeking it, and I was using the truck as a daily driver. It's not a lot of fun to have to tweek the carb before going to work in the morning just to get it to run right.

Are Holley's easy enough to work on? Sure, but I think that you'll find that Edelbrock's are actually simpler (in design) and it has been my experience that they seem to hold a tune much better. Thats why I choose them over the Holley. It's not because of a lack of understanding in how Holley's work. It's an educated decision that is made based on the needs of my applications. Simply put, it's what works best for me. That's why I said in the first post that junking the Holley is what I would do, and I even said then that I realized it wasn't something everybody would (or even should) do.

Also, personally, I would say that 750 or 780 cfm would be way too much carb for a 283. You could probably get it to run; but, it would never run right. Using the formula CID*Max RPM/3456 = Carb CFM, a 283 turning at a max of 9000 rpms would only need 736.97 CFM. She better be well balanced....most motors (@283 cubic inches) would fly apart before you ever reached the need for 750 or 780 cfm. Even boring it out to 301 as you suggested, the motor would only require 740 cfm @ 8500 rpms. Now, if you throw a blower on there, it would change things a bit because blower boost would become part of the equation, but thats a different story.

Anyway, I know, it's all about suggestions.

Cheers,
Firechicken

283s can spin up to 12grand not all but some. and 750 is not to much if you have 12:5:1 compression. and what holley did u have that uhad to constantly tue it? we aint touched ours in months what one did you have?

and if you do bore your 283 .125 to 301.6 and do put all 302 internals into it youw ould be safe running dual 4's if you wanted to. the facotry dz-302's had dual 780's on a cross ram....and if you build it right youc an take big blocks...scooter

if your going to be running that signle four tunnel ram your gonna be sorry. either get the dual 4's top or get a differnt manifold. the gas puddles up in those single 4's. try a weiand team g an edelbrock performer rpm or airgap or a holley strip dominator....or find another nice one......

Originally posted by gassersrule_196
283s can spin up to 12grand not all but some. and 750 is not to much if you have 12:5:1 compression. and what holley did u have that uhad to constantly tue it? we aint touched ours in months what one did you have?

I can only suppose that since you are talking about 12000 rpms and 12.5:1 compression, that you're limiting the engine to only making passes at the strip. You definitely aint runnin it on the street with pump gas anyway. But in any event I wouldn't expect the motor to make too many passes @12 grand. It would never hold for sustained periods with that kind of abuse. Especially when you consider the fact that the 283 is a small journal crank shaft. I know that the 283 I had wasn't built for the strip it was just a plain jane 283 and it let go at about 6100 rpms.

In any event, we are obviously talking about 2 different applications here (apples and oranges if you will). I am talking about comparatively mild street performance and reliability for sustained periods, and (@12 grand and 12.5:1) you seem to be talking about 1/4 mile passes. Again it all comes down to what the motor is going to be used for.

If we are talking passes down the strip, I say get the big block and build it instead, while small blocks can take big blocks, this is an exception and not the rule. It really comes down to how both of them are built. Small blocks have to work harder to do the same amount of work. After all, a ricer can make passes at 12 or 13 after lotso $$ and it wont take near as much $$ to get 12 or 13 out of a small block and even less out of a big block.

Like I said though it's all about preference, and thats mine.

Oh by the way it was a 600 CFM Holley w/a Manual choke. It ran for a while on my 283 and it also ran for a while on my 350. First problem I had was when I put the 350 in and was setting the timing. Had a backfire thru the carb and blew the power valve. Replaced the power valve. Then toward the end of it's life on my truck, I actually had to make adjustments 3 or 4 different times in about a 6 month period (from spring to fall) in order to get it to run right. The last time I adjusted it, it had died (got all choked up) on me when I was moving into the new house and was half way between my old place and the new one. Had to make the adjustment in the dark on the side of the road. Good thing I had done it a few times before.

Also in the limited amount of time I have had the engine in my firebird, I have had the float stick on me at least 3 times (another Holley 600) and flood me out. Sure it's as simple as tapping the side of the bowl w/a screwdriver handle to free it up; but, come on.

Anyway, I'll stick with the 'brocks.

Cheers,
Firechicken

i never said mine revved to 12 grand i shift mine at 7500 yea they can last past 6100. our friend eddie had his and it would rev to 12 grand had it for 2 years. and it ran fine. and yes mine runs on pump gas with a little octane booster now and then. it runs jsut fine. and it never runs hot. will run 180 all day long.

a 283 at 12,000 RPM ????? Nascar needs you, there modern hi-tech stuff has problems living at 8500 RPM for 500 miles !!!! Think somebody was either pulling your leg a bit, or had their tach set on 4 cylinders !!!!!