R66

OK, one more dumb question. I think this balancer came off of a 1955 thru 1962 Chevy 265 or 283. I can find no numbers on it. Any help??

MikeM

I think it came off a 283 engine that went down with the Andrea Doria. Oh, wait. That happened before 283's happened.

Some 283's used a balancer and some used just a steel hub. Recall is shot so I can't tell you usage.

GOSFAST

I believe all the lower HP units had similarly appearing balancers?

I've done numerous early resto's and they all resemble yours.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. Here's a couple shots of a low-perf '65 100% stock-appearing 327". Looks the same to me!

R66

Thanks Gary, I had 3 or 4 283s back in the day out of 55 - 62 Chevys. My brother scrapped them for me (not what I wanted). Don't think anyone would want this. Thanks for the confirmation.
Ron

plaidside

It looks like Jacques Cousteau found this underwater.
Besides the solid balancer used on some 283's here are the other two that I know of.
Joe

wraplock

I seem to recall that there is someone rebuilding these, am I wrong? If they are rebuildable don't toss it out, someone may need it.

Steve59

Damper Doctors or Damper Dudes both located on the west coast

vettebuyer6369

This picture from Colvin's parts book shows 58-64, although I think they went longer, and the later ones had the holes around the edges. The bottom pic from Paragon shows 63-65 low hp with the holes.

66jack

Yup...

Both of them here in my hometown...

babbah

Man I'd trash that one and buy new.

vettebuyer6369

This pic is off a supposedly unrestored '63. Im not sure when the holes around the edge started, or whats considered correct.

pop23235

It's correct for the 300 HP 63 327 for sure.
Unless the rubber is rotted out, it has value so I wouldn't toss it even though it does show a lot of seal wear.

R66

I'll put it up for sale if someone needs one, it might be worth rebuilding. I don't know if it is really worth shipping, but I hate to scrap anything 50 years old. Guess that's why I am still married.
Thanks Guys.

Steve59

.......yes but not much longer...

rfn026

Keep in mind that the Harmonic Blancer has absolutely nothing to do with the balance of the engine. The consistency of the rubber will go bad after a few decades the damper can no longer dampen the engine torque.

Here's an article I wrote about all of this.

Richrd Newton

R66

Thanks Rich, I learned the hard way years ago about the rubber letting go and the damper walking off of the shaft into the radiator. I then began to pay closer attention to the outer ring movement observed with a timing light and a knocking sound coming from that end of the crank. However, is there a better way to identify a bad damper other than a visual inspection? Dampers are cheap compared to the cost of damage from a bad one.