w.madd

I have a 1984 Firebird SE with the V6 2.8L engine and 4 speed automatic transmission. I am wanting to put a V8 engine into this car. Originally I was going with a 283 block and crank with 305 heads, edelbrock intake, roller cam, carb etc. I would much rather the 283 because I want something more original than a 305/350. Recently I found that the 305 TBI after 1986 came with roller cam options, were putting a roller cam into a 283 gets messy... I need some advice on what engine I should be putting into this car. I know a lot will be for the 305/350 option but please keep in mind I was hoping for something more original. I am also looking for a 5 speed standard transmission, was originally thinking T5. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

T.L.

"Original" is the 2.8 V-6, and if the car had come from the factory with a V-8, "original" would be the 305. The 350 is the most straight-forward if you don't have a big budget, and that's what gets my vote. If you already have the 283 with the 305 heads, you might as well put that in. It's a nice step up from the V-6 that it came with.

w.madd

I didn't mean original as in from the factory I meant the opposite as in I want something that isn't as common as the 305 or 350. I want something more unique, which is why i was considering the 283. I do not yet have the 283 and am just looking for suggestions other than the 305, 350, 283 options that I already have.

clubber

iTrader: (1)

Well, for a different displacement that is cheap, do a 383. GM never built one stock and it's way easier than an LS swap. It will have WAY more power than any 283 or 305 would have.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Best advice I can give you is:

DO NOT build a 283.

It's not "original" in the sense of "the first time it's ever been done". At one time it was the most common swap there was; more common, percentage-wise, than the 350 is today, BY FAR. People used to put 283s in EVERYTHING until the 327 came out, which of course will WAX any 283 that costs the same. Then they quit doing that when the 350 came out, for the same reason. Then people who REALLY wanted to dominate with a small block, switched to the 400 when it appeared.

It's a small block Chevy. Identical on the outside in every way from every other small block Chevy. Once you wrap the sheet metal around it, the only way anybody will know it's a 283 instead of a 350, is because YOU JUST LOST, and IT'S SO SLOW.

People come on here all the time with this idea. Invariably, first-time swappers, who don't yet know how to predict the outcome of their project. Having been through QUITE A FEW over the years myself, including building ALOT of motors starting in the days when the 350 was beginning to replace the 327 for other people, I can tell you with a fair degree of accuracy based on experience, what's going to happen. Just as a FYI, the first motor I ever built was a 283... in the mid 70s. I regretted it.

Any motor you build is going to cost you some certain amount of money. Machine work like cyl boring, crank turning, etc. costs EXACTLY the same, whether you do it to a 283 or a 400. Pistons cost the same, cams cost the same, valve springs cost the same, etc. etc. etc. However, AT THE END OF THE PROJECT, when you add up all those receipts and compare what YOU got against what SOMEBODY ELSE who spent the IDENTICAL SAME amount of $$$ but made smarter decisions got, you'll deeply regret it. You can't go back and "un-spend" the money and fix the mistake.

The basic hot-rodding equation:

Fun = CID × $$$

It's just that simple. Take the same $$$ and use more CID, out comes more Fun. Or, for any given amount of Fun, you need less $$$ if CID is greater. And so on... so simple, so eeeeezy to understand, so basic, yet people outsmart themselves over it all the time.

DON'T spend your hard-earned (I assume... I know mine sure as hell all are) $$$$ on a 283.

w.madd

Thank you so much sofakingdom, this information was very helpful. I do think that I am going to go with a 305 with the roller cam options over the 283. I am not looking for anything much bigger then a 305 as I am a starving college student. Or I would probably pick the 327. The 305 TBI from 86 or up seems to fit what I am looking for as far as aftermarket parts options and power etc.

cosmick

Get any '87-up 350 block, get the '94-'96 L99 crank and rods, 350 pistons of your choice, have it balanced, you get a modern improvement on the old DZ 302 idea, but with PM 5.94" rods. Choose some light pistons if you want to spin it past 7000, because PM 5.7" rods are known to fail above 6200 in a longer-stroke 350. The short stroke gives you more RPM safely, but not over 7000 for sure. 6500 if you intend to hold it there for more than one second at a time.

redneckjoe

Are you talking about an old 262 crank and rods?
either way your gonna need odd ball, compression height pistons?

cosmick

No, you missed entirely. The L99 was used in Caprices, used a 1-piece rear main seal, and those 5.94" rods allowed 305 pistons with the 3" stroke. 305s and 350s both use pistons with a 1.56" crown height, from pin centerline to combustion surface. So any 350 piston will work with this idea, but choose some extra- light forgings because this build is rev-happy.

redneckjoe

sure would make an interesting build. probably enjoy high RPM's as you suggested?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

No reason to spend extra money and effort to take cubic inches out of a motor.

Just get yerbasic 96 - 2000 350 out of a truck, and put a 4-bbl intake and carb on it.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

Thank you. Like Sofa said. Keep it simple with what has been proven to work and work well!