hi,up here in maine, got a '62 chevy 283 with 283 power pack heads (194s)thinking about boreing it .030 over. maybe a mild cam. what would be a decent vehicle to implant it in. or am I just wasteing my time with it. was thinking a late model s-10, or maybe an 80's camaro (not my favorite choice, but they are cheap up here.)what do you think?  

oh and also, if you have any tips on how to build it, I am all ears,this is my first engine build, my uncle gave me the engine.he has one in his '69 camaro with a 4 speed behind it. heard they were a pretty good engines back in the day.  

Whether or not you're "wasting your time" depends on a lot of things...

Obviously larger displacement engines are going to make more power a lot easier but if you're just looking for an engine to rebuild and looking to keep the costs at a bare minimum I wouldn't say a 283 is wasting time.

You're going to need to get more specific about what kind of help you need. There have been books written on how to rebuild small block Chevy engines and I'm not going to do that here.  

oh, sorry, my mistake, the heads are actually 1.72 intake 1.50 exhaust with 59cc combustion chamber. so I guess they make pretty decent compression.  

What's your budget? Some of these 283 blocks can go .060 over with no problem,s/r replacement heads have a 58cc chamber designed for 305's w/ 1.94's and their priced right.Nice little legendary runners those 283's!    WIEDER  

put a set of vortec heads on it you ll gain a lot of flow.  build it for hi rpm   there was an article awhile back of some guys building one with ford 300 straight six connecting rods  , rod bearing spacers and je pistons in it which created a little screamer that had a short stroke long rod high compression engine.  the long rods make it possible to up the comp ratio because the pistons come to a stop a lil slower and then you can pull a bunch of advance out of it allowing pump gas hi c/r and 8500 rpm   to the tune of 550 hp or so , I can not remember what the bearing spacers were for but i do believe they were off the shelf items. I think the only expensive part that was out of the ordinary was the pistons, but they were only a couple hundred bucks  extra. A while back c/c ran every allowable combination of sbc you could build and there was a sidebar on the ole 283 saying the vortec heads would make it worthwhile to do a 283 screamer. Just remember it will cost you about the same to do the 283 as it would to build a 350 maybe more   but you already lose because of the loss of the extra cubes right out of the gate.  What i would do is splayed mains, the long rods forged je pistons , vortec heads and some headers with a 600 cfm vacumn secondary carb, and a decent cam with a good intake built for the hi revs and expect to buzz the thing into nosebleed rpms arena  

You've got a solid engine to build. 283's were almost indestructable, I am thinking about buying one for my 1980 Malibu. About your build? Depends on what you want to do with it. Don't listen to these guys saying waht  you can't do cuz of the small displacement. If you have the powerpack heads, you most likely have an old 283 from a second gen Corvette. You can get very conservative power gains, while maintaining nice street driven response, with those heads. All depends on what you want to do with it and how much you are willing to spend. However if you want to go with 1.94 intakes/1.50 exhuast, try to find a set of 305 heads, they have small combustion chambers and hvae 1.94/1.50's in some castings. You can pick a set up in a junkyard and refurbish them ALOT cheaper than buying a set of "performance" heads. Also check to see if they'll fit on your engine, as your bore is 3.875," nd the 305's is 3.736. I mean 305 heads fit on 350s, so they may fit on a 283. Heck you want small combustion chambers, check into a set of 267 heads. They are closed chamber, with 1.72/1.50 valves. That engine has 3.5" bore, so it'd be a tiny CC on your engine. Just some suggestions. Heads aren't cheap, and using Vortec heads WILL require you to get a different intake and exhaust manifolds. Sure they will flow better. Just depends on what goal you are shooting for with this engine. Tuning a V8 is never a waste.  

The largest intake valve I've heard of is 1.84 on 305 heads,and I'm sure that all 305 heads are thin cast including 267's.I personally wouldn't invest money into thin cast heads.s/r replacements complete are around $600 w/ the 58cc chambers/1.94 intakes.Great street head and plenty of air for a street 283.  WIEDER  

man, I wish I knew half the stuff that all of you know. all of these are great ideas. now, for the questions. I am working on a very very small budget. I was thinking about just honeing them, as they are still stock bore. im not really looking to build something that is going to tear up the streets. just looking to have a nice "golden oldie" that runs well and maybe has a little kick. sounds like the best way for me to do that, is to use a set of 305 heads and a mild cam. wouldw it be worth overhauling my power pack heads? just so that atleast the heads and block have matching numbers? again, you guys have taught me so much in just the few posts in wich i have recieved. thank you.  

Put it in a chevette  

I don't know if the 305 heads will fit. Your powerpacks are a great head. I was just suggesting some heads that would have smaller combustion chambers. Weider is right about the thin casting on 305 and 267 heads. They are prone to cracking. If you get the power packs worked on, it'll run probably between 400-600 bucks. That is for port-polish, and most likely screw in rocker studs. Call some machine shops and ask them to give you an estimate. If you are going with a mild cam. Lunati VooDoo series and Edelbrock Performer packages not only would be a good chioce for the street, but they can be purchased with a matching intake manifold for a resonable price. Also if you are gion mild you can porbably get away with a 500 cfm four barrel carb. That should help with fuel atomization, since it is smaller carb. Too big of a carb, will just cause the engine to waste the gas it's pulling through. If you decide on a cam, try to post the specs, your cam is the mechanical "brain" of your engine. It determine a majority of your engine's performance. When you call to order your cam, make sure to let the sales rep. know what engine and heads you have, they can better recommend a cam to your specific build.  

sounds good. I did find a set of  H.O. 305 heads for only 100 bucks. would it be worth it?  

Those H.O. heads are thin casting also,install hard exhaust seats on your powerpacks,blend just below valve seats and screw-in studs along with the rest of the rebuilding also gasketmatch intake entry. Buy a complete cam kit also when you get to that stage.    WIEDER