I was planning to add some aluminum heads and a fairly mild solid flat tappet or hydraulic roller cam to a late model 350 I had to replace the oil burning 350 that is in my '59. The later 350 checks-out OK, but my machinist advised against beating on it as I intended, due to my car being a 4 speed and the engine having a stock bottom end.

Rebuilding, or possibly even stroking the above engine are being considered. However, now that the other engine may be getting rebuilt, it's got me thinking about rebuilding the original 283.

Along those lines, what are the possible stroke/rod length/piston options that are available? I'll be running a mild solid flat tappet or a mild HR cam (idle quality must be compatible with rochester fuel injection). I'm mainly looking to pick-up some torque with the longer stroke. For the time being, I'm open to after market heads and am leaning towards a set of 180 AFR heads, although the stock heads may be used down the road. Thanks in advance.

as you are aware the down fall of the 283 is the bore...if you stroke it..you have a 307..not a real performance engine. I will build another 283 eventually..It will have the biggest bore the block can handle and a set of 305 Vortecs

Watch out. I'm having some problems finding parts for the rebuild i'm doing right now.

adman..what you looking for? Ive got some 283 stuff

I guess a few people haven't built 283s or 307s and aren't aware that the bore is an 1/8th of an inch larger than a 305, so they aren't as restricted in cylinder heads as some might report.

To stroke the 283 to 307-317 will require 307 pistons and a small journal[pre '68]327 crank. To stroke it more without spending to much cash, you will again need a set of 307 pistons, 400 small block rods, and a 350 crank with the mains turned down to fit the 283 main bore, just like we've done putting a 400 crank in a 350 to make 383s before the importation of Chinese steel. This will require some grinding for clearance, again like building a 383. With a .060 overbore this'll put you in the 340" range. The biggest one I've done was .125" over by 3.625" for 364". I doubt you can find any of those old small journal stroker cranks from "Hank" anymore.

Thanks for the replies Jim, Adman, and Greybeard. I'm wanting to limit the overbore to the minimum to clean the block up, but I don't mind clearancing the block for the crank or rods. Using a 350 crank with a 400 rod is a possibility. However, if at all possible, I'd like to use a 3.75 stroke. Does anyone know of a combination that will work with a 3.75" stroke? Thanks again, Wes

TTT Does anyone knew an off the shelf crank, rod, piston combo could be made to work to put a 3.75 crank in a 283 block... turning down the rod and main journals isn't an issue. TIA

Wes

Nobody has any "off the shelf" pistons that I'm aware of.

However, there may be another option. I believe the 250 I6 piston has a shorter pin height than the 307 piston, but I have no reference here to be sure. Perhaps there's a combo there with the short 400 rod. The 250 piston was done in a forged unit by TRW for marine use, and as it was dished, milling the top of the piston for deck clearance is a possibility. When milling a dished piston to a flat-top you have to be careful with the end gap on the top ring.

Thanks again Greybeard. I hadn't even considered the use of a straight 6 piston. That combination sounds like a winner if getting the forged 230 pistons and having them milled, isn't too expensive. Otherwise the combo with the 307 pistons, 400 rods, and 350 crank sounds like it would make a nice torquier (if that's a word) combo. Thanks again, Wes

Originally posted by bigjimzlll:
adman..what you looking for? Ive got some 283 stuff Pistons and crank

I have a std crank...no grooves or turned bearings..stock take out pistons and rods and a truck block std bore and a set of 520 heads

I don't get it???

A high compression .060 over 283, (292 motor!), with an old -097 Duntov solid cam if geared and tired right will put a smile on your face that Mr. Clean can't wipe off!!

And if that isn't enough cam, then drop in a 30-30!!! QWon't be worth a hoot down low, but she will wrap to the moon!!

Sure it's still a little motor but it's the little motor that could, in my book!!!!!

pdq67

The F.I. units were different between the 250 hydraulic & 290 solid lifter 283s on the ‘59s. Stroker cranks are an interesting possibility but can get quite expensive. Since it appears that you have a lightweight car (’vette) you might be better off with high compression, a 30-30 and a set of 4.11s out back with Positraction. Punch it out to 292 or even 301 if you like.

Greybeard, you are a fountain of knowledge! Those 250s were often used by OMC & Mercury Marine on the 165 horse stern drives (2-barrel carb). One manufacturer even offered a 292 six. The factory rating on the 292 six was 175 h.p. It certainly would be more with a 2-barrel. I’m one of the few who give a hoot about the L6. I’m always willing to learn more from the voice of experience.

I used to have a 292 exactly as described above, with the "30-30" cam in it. It was quite the package back in the day; but I think we can do alot better than taht now, what with gasoline at $1.59 a gallon instead of $0.28.

Most 59 283 blocks will go all the way to 4", if they're not all ate up with rust. So, if you get a small-journal 327 crank, you may be able to turn your motor into a std bore 327 that way.

Be aware that the rear cam bearing is different in the 59-back blocks. It's been so long since I built one that I can't remember the details; but it seems like it has to be wider and must have 2 holes in it, or something like that, because the oil passage around it is different. Also, the welch plug behind the cam is slightly larger in that block than the 60-up blocks; about 1/32" different IIRC.

As far as rod length, you can easily get 6" small journal rods; and then all you need is pistons with a compression height of 1.375" in a zero-decked block, to have a 6" rod small journal 327. (those would be the same pistons as for a "390", which is a 4" bore 3.85" combo) Get a set of the old "fuelie" heads, they're pretty easy to find these days, since nobody can run them in modern cars that have the accessories that require the bolt holes in the ends if the heads; you'll end up with a compression ratio of about 9.8:1. That's just about right for modern gas.

Look at the Comp Xtreme Energy solids, or similar designs from Lunati or wherever. Find one with a .050" intake duration around 225°-230°, and about 8 to 10° more exhaust duration, and as much lift as you can get. Use 1.45" valve springs (have the heads machined for them).

Thanks for the additional replies PDQ, Cam, and RB69SS. I wasn't aware of the differences in the rear cam bearings or welch plug. I've considered boring the block out to 4" and am not completely opposed to it... but I'm little worried about boring the block far over. With that much of an overbore, would the block also need decked? Decking isn't an option. I'd definitely have the block checked for thickness before any machining. If the block looks iffy, I'll probably just rebuild the 350 I already have and run some decent heads on it.

Aside from the above concerns, I like the idea of being able to run a 4" bore with a 3.48 or 3.75" stroke and a 6" rod and light weight pistons.

I'd like to keep the compression around 9 to 9.5:1. I'm leaning towards a mild solid, such as an Engle EP22, which has a lift of .491 238* @ .050" and 274* advertised on a 110* based the advice of the F.I. specialist I've been speaking with. Engle recomended the above cam be used in 327 or larger engines to meet the vacuum requirements of the F.I. Thanks again for all the advice so far.

You will be happier with a solid cam of say 265 to 270 b/c you aren't talking about much CR. But I do bet the cam you mentioned will do fine, imho...

I really think you can go upwards to 10 to 1 CR. fine on the little motor plus a .060" 283 runs great as is! VS the 1/8", 301 overbored homemade Z-28 motor!!

I wouldn't touch the decks b/c you aren't going "balls-out" so why bother.

I would also consider a set of -601 305HO heads b/c they have a 1.84" intake valve and hardened seats and 58 cc chambers that better match the little motor. I also would run either the .015" or the .022" shim headgaskets after running the combination through a compression check. program to see if I could hit 9.75 up to 10 to 1 CR. w/o a hassle. Just figure the piston is .025" down in the hole and go from there sorta thing....

pdq67

with a .015 gasket and flat top pistons(.060 OB) the CR is 9.3-1..you cant get to 10-1 with out a dome

Would the normal 350 Vortecs work on a .060 over 283?

Mark, the 350 (062, 906)Vortecs should bolt on just fine and the valves should clear. The one issue you may have is that the vortecs have a 62-64CC chamber and may drop your compression a little.