So a while back I bought a 283 with 520 power pack heads and a 4bbl intake. I've heard 283s have mostly forged cranks, so I had this nutty idea to turn this motor into something that'd spin 8,000rpm with around 450-500 horses. If it doesn't have a forged crank would a cast crank be able to handle this kind of power and speed?
why not just check the crank and then decide what you want to do.........?????????
Haven't gotten that far yet. The engine is sitting at a friends house until I clean my shop up enough to make room for it
get some spacer bearings and put that crank in a 400 block..
novaderrik wrote: get some spacer bearings and put that crank in a 400 block..
Wouldn't you need to space the spacers? I thought all 283s had smaller journals than the later stuff. Or am I thinking of the rods.
Knurled wrote:novaderrik wrote: get some spacer bearings and put that crank in a 400 block..Wouldn't you need to space the spacers? I thought all 283s had smaller journals than the later stuff. Or am I thinking of the rods.
on the mains: you can get bearings that are thick enough to compensate for the difference.. you can also get spacers to use stock bearings, but those aren't as durable and i think they have heat transfer issues..
on the rods: just run small journal rods.
That'd make a 325. Has that been done? And did it work worth a damn?
My dad had a 283 in a 38 Chev coupe when I was a kid and he had it set up to redline at 7500 rpm. They will spin!
I can't tell you if it was cast or forged. Dad passed away and the car was sold.
DCharger68 wrote: That'd make a 325. Has that been done? And did it work worth a damn?
probably be a bit soggy on the bottom end, but it will rev to the moon as long as the pistons are light... so a set of 5:something gears and a manual trans might be needed, but the "smiles per mile" quotient would be up there if it was in something like a Vega.
If it is an early 283 it has a steel crank and smaller than a 350 journals. A 350 has smaller than a 400 journals. I don't think 283 rods would be long enough to work in a 400 block.
The downside of a 283 is the bore size limits valve size and breathing abilities. The fix for that was to install the 283 crank in a 327 block which made a 302 and those rocked. They don't mileage well and don't have any bottom end torque but will run very hard.
I think if it was me building a dream iron SBC, it would be a 400 block, with a steel crank (LA Billet) destroked and small (283) rod journals to lighten the rotating assembly with long rods. I think this makes a 388, it has enough stroke left to make some torque but will rev up and breathe well reved up. I would also lighten up the rest of the rotating assembly small clutch, electric water pump etc. I would also port inject it.
An insane SBC would be a low compression 400 with twin turbos and some spray to get it spooled up. Water/meth spray to help keep it together. With this motor you would not have to downshift and would probably have a problem with rear tire life and eat diffs for lunch.
I have seen guys "port" a 283 block for valve clearance, but it is a band aid and creates dead zones (think detonation).
If it's an early block, you should be able to bore it .125" and make it a 302. 302's don't have a shortage of torque until people build them for top end power, in which case, pretty much any small block Chev will be torque deficient.
novaderrik wrote:DCharger68 wrote: That'd make a 325. Has that been done? And did it work worth a damn?probably be a bit soggy on the bottom end, but it will rev to the moon as long as the pistons are light... so a set of 5:something gears and a manual trans might be needed, but the "smiles per mile" quotient would be up there if it was in something like a Vega.
It's going in a 77 Camaro that the sale fell through on. And it'll probably be in front of a Super T10 if I can get it off my buddy.
If forged, then turbo.
Are you building an engine that is cubic inch limited? I have some short stroke SBC stuff. Love the sound they make over 8K. Piston weight is an issue. Valve train parts must be premium.
DCharger68 wrote: That'd make a 325. Has that been done? And did it work worth a damn?
yeah, it's called buy a gen3 5.3 and don't bother 
patgizz wrote:DCharger68 wrote: That'd make a 325. Has that been done? And did it work worth a damn?yeah, it's called buy a gen3 5.3 and don't bother
the 5.3 is a small bore/long stroke motor- and definitely better all around- but it is a totally different beast than the old school big bore/short stroke stuff being discussed here..
some other things i've seen in this thread:
283 rods aren't "too short" for the 400 block: all stock small block Chevy rods from 1955 to the current crate motors are the same 5.7" center to center length, except for the 400's that were 5.565" center to center and the "baby LT1" L99 4.3 that was put in 94-96 Caprices, which are 5.94 center to center. aftermarket 6" rods (or longer- people used to put small block Mopar 6.125" rods in small blocks in search of a better rod/stroke ratio) would probably be needed to get a lighter piston.
the "283 bored .125 over" was called a 301 until Chevy started doing it at the factory for the Z/28 in 1967 and called it a "302".
novaderrik wrote: the "283 bored .125 over" was called a 301 until Chevy started doing it at the factory for the Z/28 in 1967 and called it a "302".
Well to be fair, that's also what Ford called their 3" stroke/4" bore engine.
Knurled wrote:novaderrik wrote: the "283 bored .125 over" was called a 301 until Chevy started doing it at the factory for the Z/28 in 1967 and called it a "302".Well to be fair, that's also what Ford called their 3" stroke/4" bore engine.
Chevy put the 283 crank in the 327 block in 67, Ford didn't do it until 68 when they put a longer stroke crank in the 289 to keep up in the Trans Am series- so Chevy made their engine smaller to meet the rules, but Ford made theirs bigger to catch up.. Chevy added the extra inch of displacement in what they called it to differentiate it from all the home brewed 301's that were running around out there so people knew it was a factory engine..
novaderrik wrote: the "283 bored .125 over" was called a 301 until Chevy started doing it at the factory for the Z/28 in 1967 and called it a "302".
That's what my dad used to call them, and technically, it's correct at 301.44 cubic inches displacement. They had been building those for years before GM did it.
The only thing about building a 301 with a 283 block is there is a high reject rate on the blocks, if you hit a casting void the only option is the junk it or sleeve it back down to normal, not enough wall to bore bigger for a 4" bore sleeve.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: The only thing about building a 301 with a 283 block is there is a high reject rate on the blocks, if you hit a casting void the only option is the junk it or sleeve it back down to normal, not enough wall to bore bigger for a 4" bore sleeve.
Yeah, but a regular 283 is still only worth it's weight in scrap so another block is still cheap.. or just get a small journal 327 block- or a 350 block and bearing spacers- and save the aggravation..
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