chevy 283

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86montecl

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Sep 11, 2009
38
0
0
warren MI
i just bought my monte last month and found out that is has a 1965 283 in it is that worth building? or should i just buy a 350? thanks
 

SLICK79WGN

G-Body Guru
Nov 6, 2008
707
7
0
LaPorte,Tx
hell yea build that thing build it right and have it ballanced and it will never wrap up
 

nycutlass

G-Body Guru
Jul 29, 2008
584
139
43
NY
86montecl said:
i just bought my monte last month and found out that is has a 1965 283 in it is that worth building? or should i just buy a 350? thanks


great motor if you do it right ,you will have a little screamer ...
 

Mike P

Master Mechanic
Aug 7, 2009
446
208
43
Arizona
I would have to say that it pretty depends on what you want the car to do, but chances are you will be better off with a 350.

The 283 was a great engine in its day......unfortunately its day is pretty well past. The 283 was pretty much Chevy’s bread and butter engine for many years and used in a lot of cars much like the 305 that eventually replaced it. The big problem is the short stroke and lack of displacement. This was pretty much overcome with a deeper set of gears than is generally run today.

The 283 can be built to pretty impressive horse power numbers for its size but usually at the expense of being really streetable.
 

fodoimp

Master Mechanic
Oct 8, 2006
370
2
0
Southern New Jersey
I love 283's I have 5 of them. Had one in my 63 impala for years and am putting one in my model a street rod with TPI. I never look for major horsepower though so its all in really what you are trying to do with the car. THe best thing to do is slap a 327 crank in it then you will have a nasty little motor that wont break. I think it becomes a 307 stroker at that point. driven in 2 cars that had this done and its very impressive power for little money. As long as the block is newer than 62 you are ok with crank clearance which you have so you should be good.
 

Phoenyx

Royal Smart Person
Jun 27, 2007
2,392
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Alberta, Canada
I love 283s. But to make it good in a gbody you would want to build it as a high RPM motor, and put a set of 4.11s in it.
 

megaladon6

Comic Book Super Hero
May 29, 2006
4,006
15
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Danbury, CT
i think it'd be to expensive as you'd have to invest a lot of money in high RPM parts. and the high RPMs would kill the streetability.
for cheap and easy, get a 350, but keep the 283 till you want a track motor.
 

DRIVEN

Geezer
Apr 25, 2009
8,062
14,479
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I LOVE 283s! I don't know that they are a great choice for a Monte though. It really depends on your intended purpose. If it isn't tired and all you want is a cruiser than it will be fine. All 283s featured forged cranks and the truck variants had beefier rods. Their heads have small valves and port that were intended for velocity, not volume. Even in base 2bbl form they made more power than most 305 4bbls. They are very hearty and get good mileage in stock form. Don't expect to win many races :lol: . In modified form they respond well to speed parts as long as they are well matched. I built one several years ago based on the DZ302...the main difference was the slightly smaller bore. I used 11.5-1 forged pistons, ported 461 heads with 2.02 valves, second design off-road cam, Z/28 copy intake and a Holley 780. It was in a 2600# vehicle with 3.50 gears and a wide ratio Saginaw 4speed. It was insane above 4000rpm and revved to the moon but made very little power below that.
Honestly, a 350 would be much cheaper to buy/build and has loads more torque, which is what you need with the stock gearing, automatic and weight of the Gbodys. Like I stated in the beginning, it depends on what YOU plan to do with the car. Let us know what you decide.
 
Sep 1, 2006
6,687
31
0
Tampa Bay Area
I have nothing against the 283, but I do not feel it is the right choice for a G body. It has too little displacement for it's weight, and with the inefficiency that is endemic to the GEN I SBC compared to more modern engines, I would not think it a wise choice. Most of it's life it was a mild engine upgrade from the 194/230/250 line of L6 engines in a variety of underpowered GM cars, and only saw performance use for the first few years of it's existence. The biggest issue will be the small bore, just like in a 265, 267, 305 or 307. It's not a bad engine for an early Nova/Chevy II/Acadian, but it is not a good choice for a 3500lb G body. I wouldn't even run it in a Vega. The performance increase would be outweighed by the handling decrease, and I would rather run a Buick/Rover aluminum V8 or a high output 4 instead.
 

86montecl

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Sep 11, 2009
38
0
0
warren MI
thanks for the help i think im gonna look on craigslist for a 350 and build it this winter an save the 283 for a s10 project.
 
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