boring out a 283 to 4" bore to build a 301

[64Belair]

Hi there, i have a 59' 283 motor that i would like to build a 301 out of, the motor needs the bores cleaned up anyways so it wont cost me much more..

this was a common hop up for 283's but im worried about cooling or structural issues. Is this Safe going .120 over?

thanks!
Jason

 

[W Head]

284 to 4" bore

It is always best to have the block sonic tested, but boring a 283 to 4 " was very common before the 327 (thin wall casting) came out in 62. Ran one from 1959 to 62 in "B" Roadster. These engines also had steel cranks. I have built several 301s and have never had a problem with core shift, but there is always the first time. Good luck.

W Head
59 El Camino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s

 

[64Belair]

thanks for the reply, as it turns out i will be saving the 59' 283 until the winter to build the 301,

a guy i know has a 62' 283 complete runner for $300.. (it was from a 62 impala that the owner wanted more power so he went to a high horse power crate motor)
Im going to get the motor on the stand, clean it up, put a cam/lifters and gear drive in it.

any suggestions on a cam? i would like to go with the most radical cam i can get for the street.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[W Head]

street 283

If this is just a street driver, a big cam is a pain in the butt on the street. You have to make all the engine parts work in unison. ( BIG IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER) You can't just put a big cam in a stock engine. You have to consider carb, intake, pistons, transmisson (standard or automatic), rear end gears, heads and valve sizes and what type of driving you will be doing. If you are going to just change cams, I suggest one with a lot of bottom end grunt and not a whole lot of lift with stock pistons. I suggest you call Comp Cams, Isky, Crane (or the manifacture of your choice) and tell them what you are wanting to do before you spend $$$ and be disapointed . They will help you make a good selection.

W Head
59 El Camino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s

 

[hrlykngt]

I have heard my father speak about a motor my grandfather was boring out trying to go to 4 inches, cylinder walls dented from the cats paws of the boring bar while trying to center the bar up. I dont know what year block it was some may have been thicker walls than others this was about 1967.
I do know that these pistons are very expensive, I wanted to build a 302 motor using a small journal 327 and a 283 crank, the best place I found pistons was circle track magazines, using the claimer motor pistons, you can also get some pretty good compression ratios from these.

 

[tripowerguy]

In 1960 I bored a 283 4 inches and put a Crankshaft Co. 5/8 stroker in it 364 cu. in. It had a Isky RR 8000 roller cam with Jocko ported heads. It pushed a 55 chevy that weighted 3500 lbs to 110 mph and without 600 lbs of ballast it went 117mph. I ran it for a year and sold the engine, I never had a problem with cyl. walls and it ran 12 to 1 compression and I took it to 7500 on every shift. It was common practice to bore to 4 in. then. Roy

 

[hrlykngt]

were some of the early 283s thicker walled than the later ones? any body know?

 

[W Head]

4 inch bore

GM went to thin wall casting in 1962. I punched out a 1962 327 engine .60 over and had to sleeve one hole because of a pen hole to the water jacket. .30 is about as far as you can go and be safe on thin wall castings. My 1959-348 is punched .125 and no problem.

W Head

59 El Camino 348- 3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s