whats a sweet lil 283 chevy combo for street . i have this 1972 vega been sitting in my back yard for like 6 years with a 283 in it and id like to re do the car and engine and drive it maybe even race it some. whats a good soilid lil 283 combo ? or dosent any one do them lil motors anymore. /

There are a few of us that still LOVE the little 283s! Smooth, reliable, and of course there is the nostalgia factor. The first engine I ever rebuilt (24 years ago) was a 283; in fact, the one I am doing now is the very same engine!

I'm not really answering your question directly, but I am in the middle of putting together a 283 combo right now. I think I am doing it right, but won't know for sure until it's in the car. I welcome opinions from the experts here to weigh in! It is not going to be an all-out race unit- just a street engine with more beans than a stocker. I will still manage to have more fun than the law will allow!!!

It's a '63 block, .060" over for a displacement of 292 CID. Stock forged crank, ground 10/10. Stock rods, cast Speed Pro flat top pistons, 4 valve reliefs, Speed Pro says 5cc but they measure more like 3cc. Power Pack 1.72/1.5 heads, 3-angle valve job and I am porting them out from an intake volume of 137cc to 147cc. (On this part I am flying blind, as I don't have access to a flow bench. But once you've done one port, you can't quit. Gotta do 'em all.) Going to run the valves with a Crane 266 H10 cam, with .440/.440 lift, 110* separation, 210/210 duration @ .050". Heads were flycut and have chamber volumes of 57cc, giving a static CR of 9.67 and a dynamic CR of 7.83 according to the Kelly DCR calculator. They also received hardened exhaust seats and the chambers will be somewhat polished, somewhat opened up around the valves, and the sharp edges rounded off. Block was decked to 9.008", leaving a deck height of .028" and using .015" steel shims leaves a quench of .043". Topping it off with a factory iron 327 Quadrajet intake; exhausting through Ram Horn manifolds.

I am hoping this will be good for 260 or more horsepower, but who knows? I expect it to be able to rev right up to 6500-6700 rpm before the valves start dancing around due to running hydraulic flat tappets. It should have a noticeable idle, but hopefully not too lumpy. I think it will be right on the edge of being able to run 87 octane cat pee, but if she pings, I can always throw some E85 in the tank too. I am also expecting decent economy out of it at cruise. Yes, I am greedy and I want it all!

They are not real popular, but they still have there fan base. The problem is since they are not so main stream, the market does give you the wide range of choices, like you get for a 350 or 383. That said, I would pick a more modest cam like the comp 270s solid. A nice dual plane ie performer/performer rpm and if you can swing a set of heads maybe something like a set of HO 305 heads or the world products SR 305 head. You need a small combustion chamber volume (56-58cc) to keep the compression up in a small engine. If new heads are not in the picture the 283 heads are old style but should still give decent results. Add a set of headers and a holley 600 and you should be most of the way there.

I'm onna those guys that has a great big soft spot in my heart for the little motor than CAN!!

Both guys are right, but I'm gonna build another one more like 68 says to.

AND don't forget that the old Duntov, -097 solid cam is about THE best little solid cam there is for the little motor!! IMHO...

You are looking at up to 7,500 rpm with no more than a cheap $25 to $30 set of Z-28 valve springs!! I ran the Duntov in my old junk301 for several years up high like this!!

pdq67

PS., I'm going to put a 280/246, 108/108, .500"/.500" net lift with 1.6 ratio rockers in mine so that I can shift her at 8,000 rpm or a schosh higher!!

It's gonna be onna those, "When are you gonna shift her?" motors!!

Anyone want to bet on how long it takes PDQ67 to jump all over this?
It's like waving a bone in front of a dog!!!!!!
The man loves screamer engines.

He beat my post by two minutes!!!!!!!
The alarm went off in his house.....

I have one-Shift Her when the oil light comes on:)

Yeah, I was tempted to go wilder too, but with the cast pistons already purchased, I had to stay real.

However, I have two more 283s and a 307, a nice set of 283 TRW forged pistons, and some 305 -601 heads... look out!

I have to chime in here too. The iron in my 59 Vette is essentially a stock 270 hp. combo, 30 over 283, 10.5 comp with 461 heads, dual point dist., factory dual quads, the old Duntov solid cam rams horn exhausts, 4 speed, 11" clutch, yada, yada. It is still the most fun to run through the gears. Just shift it about a thousand rpm's after your buddy grabs hold of the arm rest or white knuckles the grab bar in the dash!!! With your butt about a foot from the pavement, it feels like you are going 200 mph!
These sound like a sewing machine at any rpm. The carbs are a PITA if they set for a while, but they sure have the "sound of the day". OLDED