Thread: 283 w/2 sp glide

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hello all!!I'm new here .I just got a 67 caprice custom from my mom-in-law in Miami.Its in fair shape,runs and it all there.I'm going to rebuild the motor and want to give it some more power.Its a 195 hp 283 casting #389648 ,the heads are 3884520.What is the best way to get the most power out of this engine?should I put a 350 crank in it?are these heads any good for HP?I don't want to change out the original motor and trans.I'm trying to keep it close to original.Sorry for all the questions but it has been awhile since I did any hot rodding.I just finished a custom chopper.This car was an unexpected pleasure.Maybe someone could direct me to a thread on this .I searched for 283 but three characters won't work.Thanks for reading this..Eric

thanks tech. insnpector.,man thats a lot of reading,Read most of it though.Seems to be some strong opinions about bore and stroke.I'm going to use the original 283 and heads and start off with a new vavle train and cam and some head work,new induction system and headers.Going to leave the lower end as is for now.It seems to be a tight engine.I know for a fact it was well miantianed and not abused.I orderd 3 books,How to hot rod a S.B.C.,How to build max performance on a budget,and How to build and modify chevy heads.I'm going to do some head work myself.thanks for the ideas cfs03716 I'll check into it....Now I need to check into that p-glide

tap it out to 287 or 292 add 10:5:1-11:5:1 pistons a 280h comp cam. have the heads lightly worked on add a 600-650 holley and your set. good combo.............scooter p.s leave the 283 crank in it.

keep the 283--bore it .060, use 10 to 1 pistons, use about 270-275 cam, edelbrock rpm intake 600 carb--nice set of power pack heads and hedders--will get you over 300 h.p. run this combo in my 55 it is great.

I would like to add....A cheap head that works extremely well is the 87 and up 58cc 305 head....unleaded seats and decent ports and work very well on 265's , 283's , 307's . 327's , .....enjoy

thanks,this is the kind of info I'm looking for.The books I got don't have much Info on small displacement engines.I would like to keep the same heads( 3884502)closed chamber small valve power packs.Can these be re- worked with unleaded seats and slightly larger valves to make them more efficient without costing more than I should spend($300- $400)?.I can do some minor porting& clean-up myself.What about that power glide ,will a stock rebuild do it or should I put a heavy duty kit in it?It runs fine now should I leave it and see if it gives me trouble first?

I would leave it alone till it gives you trouble....then rebuild it....The heads I mentioned will be cheaper for you than to rebuild your old ones to the newer gas...Plus will give you just a tad more compression....1.94 is the largest intake valve you will want to run in the 283...with enough lift a larger valve will hit the cylinder wall....Now a days the HD kit is about the same as stock...Opt for Hyperutectics and you'll be fine.....

if you bore it you can run 2.02 1.6

I have a set of 338882 0r 388882 can't tell if the third # is a 3 or 8 .The last three are defiantly 882.Would these heads work well on a .060 over 283?If not what is a ball park figure to re-work my 520 heads with bigger valves and hardened seats?

Just for general info.I ran the car at WOT for about 2 min and only got up to 90 mph.It sounded smooth but I felt like it should rev. higher.

I picked up a 68 four barrel intake at a swap meet 3919803 its a spread bore for a q-jet .will it flow good enough or should I get a aluminum aftermarket one?I have a 2 barrel one from a K-5 350,same motor I got those 882 heads from.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 67 caprice
[B]hello I'm going to rebuild the motor and want to give it some more power.Its a 195 hp 283 casting #389648 ,the heads are 3884520.I don't want to change out the original motor and trans.I'm trying to keep it close to original.

I think You went on to say in your 2nd. post that You intended to use the original 283 and heads.That You are going to leave the lower end as it is for now.You did say that You wanted headers, cam,intake and carburator.

Now lets see what You have.
1- 67 caprice, it will weigh close to 4000lbs
2- powerglide transmission
3- 3896948 block- 65 to 67 283 I think you left 1#out of serial
4- 3884520 heads-62 to 67 283-327 small heads 1.72/1.50
valves, I think I had the same head on a 250hp-327 on a 64
SS 4sp.Think this was the biggest motor that head came on.
5- Im guessing here. I would say you have a 3.08 or 3.36 rear.
6- With that much weight, motor ,transmission and rear you
do not want to use a big camshaft. If you do your lead sled
will turn into a lead toad.
This is what I think You could do with what you have,make it run a lot better,still get reasonable gas mileage and I feel with these additions you would enjoy your ride.
1- headers -- use small tube, no bigger than 1&5/8
2- intake-- You could use the 68 manifold you have, a Edelbrock
performer would be better. Its easy to find them used and you
can find them for $75 or less.
3- Camshaft--You almost need an R.V. type cam. You are not
going to be making any hp or torque at the higher RPMs so
you need to make all you can down low. Something like a
performer or You might try a 252 comp. high energy cam.
Rpm range is from 800-4800. No used lifters on a new cam.
4- Carb.--A stock small quadrajet in good shape would work fine
or any good carb between 450 and 600Max. CFM
If that 283 is in good shape and it has good consistant compression on each cylinder, If it doesnt smoke, I would not even pull it down right now. You can spend a few hundred and go have fun. Put the cam ,lifters,timing chain and gear set in it. Put new valve seals in it while you at it. Intake ,carb. and headers,Use good cap,rotor and wires and a good breather. You might consider later going to HEI distributor.

Until such time that you decide to do a full motor job you can go to Advance ,Autozone,Etc. and buy a lead additive to put in you gas to use the heads as they are.

You can buy these matched cam kits or cam, intake and carb kits
from Summit, Jegs,PAW,Competition products,etc for reasonable prices. I am looking at a kit in Competition Product for 129.95 includes cam, lifters,Z28 valve springs,locks umbrella seals,lube.
1-800-233-0199

Its up to You ,how far you want to go, right now.

Have fun! Good luck!

R H 59,thanks for the reply!You are steering me in the right direction.I'm going to go with your suggestion of a R.V.type cam kit for now.With the iron 68 manifold all I need is a 67 q-jet.I'll look for one at the next swap meet.The rams head style exhaust manifold on the 283 is 3747038 '64-'68 283/327.Do you think I could use the stock exhaust for now until I can afford a matched dual exhaust kit?or should I look stock manifolds with better flow.I'm leaning toward keeping the original look all around and making some more power.The car is 100% original maybe I'm nuts but it feels wrong to change it.

the 882 heads have 76cc chambers and will lower your compression compared to the factory heads you have....

I'm not going to use the open chamber heads,I would have to use pop up pistons to get the CR I need.I'll look into getting the stock heads re-worked with hardened seats when I do the total rebuild on the motor.For now I'm just going to leave it as is.I want to get all my ducks in a row before I start the major motor work to eliminate down time.I have lots of sheet metal work to do also.I need to make some extra $$$ before I start anything I can't finish.I wish I kept all my old hot rod stuff I thought I would never use.LOL