Welcome to CHR!

The venerable ol’ 283 is quite the survivor – several folks here comment on them on a regular basis. The oil steps are fine and if you’re squeamish about the alignment of the distributor, leave it in. Pull the plugs and pour a bit of oil in each cylinder, pour some across the rocker arms and then turn the engine over by hand. You can buy this tool from summit Powerhouse Products POW103090 - Powerhouse Products Engine-Related - Overview - SummitRacing.com or go to your local NAPA and buy one that’s similar. Turn the engine over by hand 25-30 times and then hit the starter for a few seconds. Listen to the spin and if you have an oil pressure gauge, you should see it register at 5-10psi. Repeat the starter for another 10-15 seconds and everything should be oiled ok. Drain and refill with good oil (new filter too) and you’re set.

As to the carburetor – Edelbrock no longer makes a QuadraJet replacement and a 1406 is a square base. Your QuadraJet is a spread-bore and there will be fitment problems. I’d recommend a rebuilt QuadraJet like this one Summit Racing SUM-210216 - Summit Racing® Remanufactured Quadrajet Carburetors - Overview - SummitRacing.com $270 and you’re set. It’s a 750 but the design of the QuadraJet with small primaries and larger secondaries allow it to be used on a wide variety of engines. This one has an electric choke that is hassle-free and just needs a switched 12 volt source.

I would also encourage you to think about replacing the distributor – 1966 is still a point type with vacuum advance. This HEI is $90 and coupled with the rebuild QuadraJet will be money well spent. Summit Racing SUM-850001R - Summit Racing® Blueprinted HEI Distributors - Overview - SummitRacing.com Again, a 12 volt switched supply. Make sure the vacuum advance canister points in the same direction as the stock distributor and that the rotor is in the same place as the as the existing one. Time to 8-10 degrees initial and you’ll be very pleased with the trouble-free performance.

Have Fun,
Glenn