Conv389drv

It looks like I'll soon have a chance to rebuild a 283, and until then, I'm trying to gather a bit of information. I'm not sure the exact year of this engine, but it was in my dad's '61 when he bought the car; he said it came out of a sedan. I'd guess it's '60-'61 vintage. Anyways, this engine has been sitting in our garage for many years now, and I'd like to rebuild it and put it into my dad's '85 Firebird, in place of the 305.

The heads from the 283 are cracked, so I'd like to use the 305 heads if they will fit. They may not be great for performance, but they'll be getting a little porting work at least. I'd like to use an Edelbrock Performer intake and cam. Hopefully the rest of the short block will be reusable.

There were a few questions I had on my mind:

How difficult is it to find parts for a 283 if I need them?

Will the heads from the 305 fit the 283?
And will the 305 flywheel fit?

Will the 283 bolt up to the Borg-Warner 5-speed in the Firebird?

Any other advice or information you could give would be much appreciated. I want to know what I'm getting into with this swap. I really hope it works out though. The 283 that's in the '61 now is a real screamer. If I can build this engine to run as strong as my dad's I'll be happy :)

waynec

Maybe I'm missing something, but my reaction is "Why???" Wouldn't it be smarter to rebuild the original engine that's in the Firebird? If I was going to the trouble of rebuilding an engine for an 85 Firebird, I'd either use the original 305 (preferable) or find a rebuildable 350 for it (more cubic inches, no parts problems, same amount of work). Save the 283 for someone who wants that size to restore a car that already had one.

plaidside

I am doing a 283 for my 61. Everything is available. The heads should work, but as far as the trans, it should bolt up using the Firebird's bell housing, but the flywheels from later small blocks do not bolt up to earlier small block cranks.

62fuelie

The 283 has a hole in the back of the block that will have to be blanked off. Why not save teh 283 for an early car and use a 305 or 350. Same money to rebuild and fewer problems.

Conv389drv

Well, the reason I wanted to do the 283 and not the 305 is that the 305 is really a dog as far as performance goes (especially the LG4 version I've got). The reason I don't use a 350 is that I'm trying to just use what I've got, and keep other purchases to a bare minimum.

If it turns out that it's going to cost extra to use the 283, I will probably end up using the 305 after all. Though it would be nice if the Firebird could see the 14s in the q.Mi one of these days!

L79vette

You can pick up nice rebuildable 350 cores for very little money. Sometimes even free. Since you're going to do a rebuild anyway, start with something worth the effort. The difference in cost is maybe $200 for a rebuildable 350, and when you get done you'll have much more power.

283's are for correct restos.

305's are for people who have a good running engine and don't want to throw it out.

Vette58

I would use the 283 for a resto too. Cause my '58 has a 327 on board :D

Ulrich