What Can Be Done With A 283 ??

[MaroonMali-boo]

I just recently found out that my 305 is really a 283. It was kinda a shock, but now I want to know, what can be done with it??....I am not looking for huge horsepower, just something that will sound good and run good on the road. I show this malibu all over and it gets good gas mileage so does anybody have any ideas that are better than my friends who say I should pull it infavor of a 350 and use the 283 as a boat anchor. Thanks in advance for any help I can get.

ps
I have not touched this engine, org. intake and carb..nothing has been done to it...yet.

 

[Randy W]

You can bore most 283's .090-.120 , the 301's rev like a turbine and make good power, it was a very popular drag engine in the late fifties to early-mid sixties. Worked real well with 283 power pack heads or 327 camel humps. Modern heads and a roller cam can make a real screamer of them.

 

[t5montecarlo]

Are you sure it is not a 267? I ask because you stated "I have not touched this engine, org. intake and carb..nothing has been done to it...yet."

 

[SSedan64]

58-62 283's can be Bored .125" for a 4.00" Bore, 63-67 can be Bored .060".

What are your Block Casting & Suffix code #'s?

 

[MaroonMali-boo]

Yes, It's a 283, Me a friend of mine ran the numbers we found (# 3849852) This one say it's a 220hp 283 built between 1957 & 1966 for Cars and Trucks. We found another number but I cannot find anything on it (F0328D). Unsure if it's a zero or an O. I was thinking of boring it .30 and maybe installing a 327 or 350 crank and a set of double hump heads, Unsure of what I will get ??....Help!!

 

[t5montecarlo]

What characters are stamped on the front right side deck in front of the cylinder head? The other numbers you provided (F0328D) may be a date code. Was it cast between what looked like 2 screw heads?

 

[MaroonMali-boo]

1964-68 3849852 283 low-195 High-220 2bolt mains car & truck.
Yeah it's the date code, F=Flint, March 2, 1978. Can't find anything on the D.
..and the other number is: 3849852

 

[t5montecarlo]

If you are reading the number that is stamped on the front pad, I think you are misinterpreting the date. It is more likely March 28th. They year is not in that number. The "D" is the code that will relate to the original application. Are there more characters after the D? If not, then it is either a 1958 or 1960 283 (internet searches).

There should be a date code cast on the left rear of the block near the casting number (near bellhousing flange).

 

[SSedan64]

Code---Year---CID---Vehicle---HP----RPO-----Trans--------Carb----------------------------------
D-------58----283---Impala---185---Base---Power glide-----2Brl-----------------------------------

 

[lilbowtie]

I just recently found out that my 305 is really a 283. It was kinda a shock, but now I want to know, what can be done with it??....I am not looking for huge horsepower, just something that will sound good and run good on the road. I show this malibu all over and it gets good gas mileage so does anybody have any ideas that are better than my friends who say I should pull it infavor of a 350 and use the 283 as a boat anchor. Thanks in advance for any help I can get.

ps
I have not touched this engine, org. intake and carb..nothing has been done to it...yet.

If your happy with it drive it as is, you can always do some exhaust work. If you really want to rebuild it get some paper and pencil and start adding up what it would cost to go through the engine right with boring,line hone,cam bearings,pistons,resized or new rods,crank,heads,cam,lifters, you get the drift. And then price a crate engine w/warranty and done. You can always sell that 283 to off set it more.