Thread: Getting HP/Torque from my 283

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283's rule! ........scooter

maybe but its funny when you kick a big blocks ass and then they go cry about it .......scooter

I gotta' get the "Z" runnin'...........

39 Deluxe, It's amazing how many of us have been down the same road with hot rods. Between the ages of 16 to 19 I had a 56--210 --2dr h.t. I bought a wrecked 57 wagon with a 283--220 h.p. powerpack engine. put the 097 Duntof in it ,set up the stock dist. and carb. Had a 4 speed with a 411 posi. I would ring that thing out of the frame with the stock valve springs.Looking back , I wonder how it held up. I would race about anything around.A friend had a 57 Bel Air 270 h.p. with 2--4's ,4speed, 456posi . He had just broke a 100 in the high 13's that day and I put him down that night. A 57 ford with a 383 mercury( im waiting for someone to think ford didn't have a 383 but they did) had just put another 57 --270h.p. chevy down and I was able to cut him out twice in a row. Go Figure! Before I get too old I would like to build a nice 56.

...but hey, boys, I'm back! Sorry, I've started a new job, built a new house, and you know what happens to the car when all this is going on, right?

Anyway, I've also done some homework, and everything that has been posted is awesome advice and right on where I'm going. You're absolutely right - I've gone too big on cam, and possibly carb. I've already sent a cam recommendation in to Crane and have been really studying cam profiles and specs to try to understand the affects that a cam has on performance.

I must admit, I was very close to taking a 4-bolt 350 to the machine shop and begin building a stroked 383. But, I resisted and returned to my roots. There are too many at the track and I wouldn't have as much fun.

Next step - choose (wisely) a cam to fit my needs, visit my brother-in-law who owns a chasis dyno and look at the carb and other possible tuning possibilities. (Yes, I have free access to a dyno...anyone jealeous??)

Anything that I've missed, I'm sure it will be posted, or I will find out at the track this spring. Thanks a bunch for your input!

I'll have to post a couple pictures of my '56. It was pretty cool in it's day. I would like to build a perfect '56 too. I know just what it would look like. It's been in my mind for at least 30 years. I sold my '56 to buy a new '67 442.

I later had a blue and white '55 from Colorado. Very solid with a power pack 265 and overdrive. One day I went to the local Ford dealer to buy a black and white '57 210 2 door that a friend had traded. I came home with a '62 Impala convertible 283 4bbl stick. I should have bought the '57. The '62 was beat to death but looked nice.

The '39 in my avatar had a '55 265 4bbl. I also started a '47 Ford coupe with a 300B dual quad Hemi. Never got that done.

Speaking of odd engines. The local GM dealer used to have a farm where they dumped the "unsellable" trad-ins. One very interesting but ugly car was a '58 Edsel cheapo 2 door post, black with grey interior and a 410 4 bbl with a 3 speed. It was in good condition too but who, back then, would be caught dead driving one?