I gotta go with the majority of the comments here. The only way to make the screaming power you’re after with a 283 is to build one that lives in the 6-8,000RPM range. It’s been a long time since I’ve built a 283 (as I’ll bet it has been for Jerry as well!) - did a few of them in the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s as they were still plentiful and common in a lot of Chevys. When the 350 came out in 1967, everything changed. It was a better engine for a lot of reasons (and the newer heads had great advantages in flow and oh-by-the-way, accessory holes!). Of the 283’s that I did build, I had problems with the high RPM as most people would inevitably miss a shift sooner or later and the valve springs we used were just not adequate so there was a lot of damaged engines as the valve train was the weak link.

The modern components are certainly available to “do it right” and build a screaming 283 – but why? If its nostalgia, build a 350, paint everything Chevy orange, slap stock valve covers and decals on it with a set of reproduction ram’s horn manifolds and enjoy an engine that will start every time, run strong and outperform the 283 for a whole lot less money!

My two cents,
Glenn