Little engines that can

[VintageMusclecar]

Thought some here might find this interesting.

The oft-maligned 283 SB Chebbie gettin' it done. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[WILMASBOYL78]

Great article...I always love reading about the 283...for many of us this was our first V8! Those little motors had a special sound that I will always remember. A lot of my buddies had a car with a 283 back in the day...my favorite was a 1964 El Camino with a 283/2bbl, dual exhaust, 3 spd on the floor...I learned how to drive a std. shift with that car. It was painted white with chrome slots and black vinyl cover on the bed...that was a long time ago [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

wilma

[VintageMusclecar]

Got a real soft spot in my heart for those little 283's. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

If I may share an amusing personal anecdote;

The very first engine I rebuilt was a 283. My grandmother had a rotted `58 Chevy Brookwood wagon that she gave me when I was 13 years old. I didn't even own any 1/2&quot; drive tools at the time, just a 3/8&quot; socket set and basic wrenches. I managed to get the top half off of the engine (after struggling for several days to get the heads off, only to have the local machine shop inform me of the 8 bolts hiding under the exhaust manifolds [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img] ) and the camshaft out by myself, but I was stymied on how I was going to get the engine out of the car--I didn't have access to an engine hoist.

So, I did what any other 13 year-old neophyte mechanic would do...(or not)..I hack-sawed the core support out of the car, disconnected everything from the trans (the old cast iron Powerglide mind you), hooked a chain to the deck surface via the head bolts, slid a piece of plywood between the balancer and the bottom of the core support, and my father drug it out pulling it with our `65 Cutlass.

Redneck?...you bet'cha. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

If &quot;necessity is the mother of invention&quot;, then redneck ingenuity must be the father. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

Anyhow, I managed to drag the lump home, got it dis-assembled and off to the local machine shop. There weren't funds to do a full-fledged rebuild, so we just hot tanked the block, honed it and stabbed in new cam bearings. Sloooowly, we pieced together a rebuild kit; first rings &amp; bearings, a new rope seal, a timing set and oil pump. I re-used the original cam &amp; lifters (not knowing the lifters were supposed to be kept in order), and not knowing any better, installed a pair of rebuilt 350 large chamber heads. The compression ratio must've been pitiful. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif[/img]

It took me over 2 years to get that engine built, and by the time I turned 16 I had it finished. That's when I bought my first car, the POS `67 SS Chevelle featured on my website. I couldn't bring myself to drop the 283 into the car--I desperately wanted a big block, so I traded the rebuilt 283 to a neighbor who had a `71-`72 GMC Sprint that he'd just pulled a good 402 out of. He had the 283 in and running in no time, and informed me that it ran great and got more than double the gas mileage of the 402 (which is why the 402 came out).

He drove it for at least a couple more years before he moved away.

I never did get that 402 into my Chevelle.

[68l30]

That 283 is getting it done...11.571...WOW !


BIG

[VintageMusclecar]

Yep...and &quot;only&quot; 373 HP! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img]

[John Brown]

Cast crank at 8000 rpm? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img] How can that be.

Those &quot;extra&quot; holes in the bottom of the bores are also quite the trick.

[VintageMusclecar]

Yep, those Stocker dudes leave no <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline">pebble</span></span> unturned in their quest for every last ounce of power &amp; performance they can find.

Cast cranks are lighter than forged, and with proper prep will live at those power levels just fine.

Those crankcase balance passages are very &quot;LS&quot; in their origins. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img]

As I always say...&quot;find 10 places to find 2 HP and what have you found?&quot;

[markinnaples]

That's a great 283 story.

[Verne_Frantz]

Call me dumb, but I don't know how 373hp can run mid 11s in a '66 Chevelle? No matter what's done to the engine, 373hp is still 373hp.
Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif[/img]

[WILMASBOYL78]

Verne is right....I think somebody was &quot;under reporting&quot; the power of this mouse. Perhaps Eric can shed some light since he added the little winky guy [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img] to his post next to the hp figure?

wilma