265 crank in a 283 block with 327 heads

[TheFroFactor]

I was recently at a car show and someone told me that back in the 60’s and 70’s an old trick was to take a 283 block with a 265 crank the high performance 327 heads he said that it would run at around 10 thousand rpm and push out an easy 375-400hp when built right. This makes sense to me (apart from the 10,000rpm) He did say that these engines did not last long but you can also find a lot of 283’s and 327’s in junk yards so I am thinking of trying it. I was wondering if anyone has ever done this or heard of it being done.

[Matt167]

you were wading in bull crap. a 265 and 283 use the same crank.

[chevydrivin]

265 crank in na 283 is a 283.

[TheFroFactor]

What about a 327 or 350 block with a 283 crank? Or is the crank virtually the same in all small blocks.

[chevydrivin]

That would be a 302.

[TheFroFactor]

Is there any advantage to building it that way or is it virtually the same as a production 302 and on a separate not how about a 400 block or is the idea of a shorter stroke crank even worth doing or efficient at all.

[Matt167]

a 302 is a 327 block with a 283 crank, Chevy built the 302 for trans Am racing, as the CID max was 305, and they only had the 283 at that time. The 302's were meant to wind up quick and sustain fairly high RPM's, they worked very well for what they were built for, but if you want a engine with a lot of power on the bottom end, you do not de stroke an engine, you stroke it.

[poncho62]

The 302s had much better heads, 4 bolt mains , solid cam, etc....................They were made to rev, not give bottom end torque

[Stu Cool]

There were a lot of small inch SBCs used in the lower Modified Production and Gas classes in NHRA and IHRA competition. These were often 265s and 283s that were actually destroked to bring the displacement down. They were high winding, screaming banshees and 10k RPM was not out of the question. Many of them were using gears as low as 6.17-6.33 to get the heavy mass moving. The advent of the Doug Nash 5 speeds helped too and some were wheel standing monsters. A freind of mine's brother had an old Willy's sedan that they actually added weight to to make G/Gas. I used to sit at the top end of the track and listen to them come across the finish line. No other sound like it.

Pat