hewlett2002000

Hi, I just happened to come across a 1962 chevrolet C10 pickup with a 283 and a powerglide. i am going to rebuild the engine as it is missing and smoking. i want to have a decent mix good performance and good everyday driver, should i rebuild stock? i have a friend that is going to help me and he has all the parts on hand to rebuild it stock. how much money am i looking at to have the heads redone and what else am i going to need to do? if i can get all the parts how much money am i looking at spending, i am on a limited budget.
please help,
John

76Guy

Watch for some 283 "power pack heads" if you don't have them already. They were 283 performance heads and usually not all that hard to find. Also, in some 283's you could put in a 327 crank, and end up with a 307. Cost to do your heads depends on their condition (are they warped, how worn are the valves and valve guides, etc), but a few phone calls to your local machine shop can give you some answers as to costs for them. And of course a bit more aggressive cam, and a 4 bbl carb. You can do more, but this alone wil give you an impressive difference. On cam selection, find one for a 350 that sounds like what you want, and then go DOWN a level or two for the 283, or it could be overcammed.

You may wish to put bigger valves in if your intake valve is 1.72 diameter, but it may be cheaper to get a set of heads from a 350 and have it milled so the combustion chamber is right for a 283, rather than have a LOT of work done to your heads, and have to pay put all new valves in too. I've seen some pretty cheap '882 heads (the last 3 casting numbers on one set of heads from a 350) out there in decent shape and dirt cheap, with the 1.94 intakes and 1.6 exhaust valves (not sure the narrow bore of a 283 can handle 2.02 intake valves, or if they'd hit the block. I hope this helps. As you can see, there is plenty you can do for more power and keep the cost down too!