Thanks Pat. I've heard that the weakest thing about these paticular motors is the rods. After I took them out of the motor and went to store them away I happened to have an old Ford 302,1978,rod/piston laying there. I put it by the 283 rod/piston and about fell over. Displacement wise,283 & 302 are not to far apart but the rod size difference is amazing.The ford rod looks like a super heavyduty compared to the 283 rod. Pat,are you old enough to remember the days of the sbc 301 build? If so,do you know what rod they used in the bored 283 then?