1957 283 power pack cam sec's

[pdq67]

Just what are the old solid lifter 1956, 265 engine and the 1957, 283 engine power pack cam spec's?

I alway's thought that they are the old -097 cam spec's. Is this right?

And I will say that in an about 10.25 to 1 CR'd junk301, the old -097 cam run's great.

pdq67

[Dragsinger]

I "think" the 097 cam began with the 1957 283 2 x 4 carb engine and the Rochester F I engine. One thing for sure, it had a wonderful sound. Also, I "think" the 1955 & 1956 cam was a milder design. Of course, the 097 cam is very mild by today's standards. It had about .390 valve lift.

[Lasher...]

PDQ,
The following data is taken from a book I have " Muscle Car & Hi Perf Chevy's 265-283........ In the 1st 3 years Chevy had quite a few OE cams for these engines.This article was written in 1963.

265 solid 162 HP lift .336 /.343 valve lift IO 12* IC 54* / EO 52* EC 14* no lash spec given
265 hydro 162 hp PG .324 /.324 valve lift IO 18* IC 54* / EO 52* EC 20*
265 hydro 170 HP .....373 /.373 valve lift IO 26* IC 63* / EO 66* EC 23*
265 hydro 180 HP ....same specs as 162HP powerglide above.
265 solid 195 HP .... .404 / .413 valve lift IO 22* IC 61* / EO 62* EC 24* no lash spec given
265 hydro 205 HP ... same specs as 170 HP above.
265 225 HP 2X4 solid .404 / .413 valve lift IO 35* IC 72* / EO 76* EC 31* no lash spec given

283 220/ 230 / 245 / 250 HP hyd .398 valve lift IO 12*30' IC 57*36' / EO 54* 30' EC 15* 30'...................This cam was also used in the base 2bbl and 4 bbl 327's up to 300HP prior to being replaced with the 929 cam.
283 270/ 283/290/315 HP 097 Duntov .393 /.399 valve lift IO 35* IC 72* / EO 76* EC 31 * lash .012 / .018 ..... also used in the 340 HP and 360 HP FI 327 engines through 1963 prior to being replaced with the 30-30 Duntov in 1964.

[oldhead]

I use to race in stock class with a 1956 265 2 X 4 carb engine.I was alowed a (Corvette) soild or the 097 in one class higher....Oldhead

[oldhead]

I use to race in stock class with a 1956 265 2 X 4 carb engine.I was alowed a (Corvette) soild or the 097 in one class higher....Oldhead

[wyrmrider]

We used to race a 56 power pack convertible 2 x4 and a wagon in stock
we retarded the stock cam 8 degrees and ran low gears
as posted above there were several stock cams and I think we tried them all
later used the HP heads on the dragster till the 327 fuelie heads came out in late 62

[pdq67]

I want to say that the 327 engine's "fuelie" big valve heads came out in 1964 as factory relieved 66 cc intake valve plunge-cut chambered -461 jobbers. I have pair of big valve -461's out in my garage and they cc at a 66 cc combustion chamber size.

It was the early medium valved 327 engine -461's that were used prior to 1964. I want to say in 1962 and on the 290hp/283 engine too. The 315hp/FI 283 engine was as I think still born back then). Medium valved -461's were more along the lines of 62 to 64 cc chambered heads that weren't factory relieved around the intake valves.

As a side note, the 305HO, -601 head is a "modern" copy of the -461's chamber because it has a double-quench like the old -461.

And I have a pair of -601's too. IMHO, damn good stock SBC heads even tho others don't think so highly of them as I do.

Talk about SBC head development, back in 1956 they made sparkplug trough heads, (-306's??), that had the sparkplug recessed in a "trough". These heads intake runners cc'd at 118 to 120 cc's. And I have a pair of them just for the fun of it.

I figure that GM took the -306 head and created the -461 chamber from it and in the process opened up the ports at the same time but I can't prove it by no means.

pdq67

[af2]

Ahh the 12/18 cam. On the 327 I used to run would shift at 7000 and run out at 7000 with the 2.250 springs at the time..
The 30/30 would go 7500 with the same set up.

[pdq67]

I could shift my old junk301 with the -097 cam in it with new points at 7,500 rpm and a week later only up to 7,000 rpm.

Right, the old 30-30 cam in a 302 Z-28 engine would run high enought to float the valves at like 8,000 rpm. Old stock lo-po springs just didn't cut it back then for very long..

My B-i-L was looking at repo'd 1969 Z way back then and when it was repo'd, it ran fine, but some Assh*le took it out for a test drive and it came back with bent valves. Cecil passed on the car.

Allen was the guy that lost it and he said that he used to come south from Bevier, MO on Cty Rd C, (I think?) to Huntsville, MO running right at 7,500 rpm and 145 mph!

He said driving like it was meant to be driven let the horses outta the barn! Marching across the bottom was music to his ears.... You had to know Allen to appreciate him because he drove everything like he stole it!!

pdq67

[wyrmrider]

2.250 springs?
springs are a big reason we run better today than then

[BrazilianZ28Camaro]

2.250 springs?
springs are a big reason we run better today than then

I think he mean 1.25" O.D. stock springs.

[bill k]

My recently sold 265 powered 1955 Chevy with a three speed trans had a factory installed solid cam.
This was a very mild cam. It idled very smooth. The stock rocker arms were very unusual in design,
I replaced them all with a more modern stamped steel GM rocker because they would squeak and squak
when the engine ran. The new rockers eliminated the problem. The cylinder heads were very unusual too.
The center heat crossover was tiny in size and as I recall half moon shaped. Being small the carburetor would not get
the exhaust heat needed for good cold weather running. My dad was a Chevy mechanic in the 1950's. He told me the dealer fix for the cylinder head
problem was to drill and enlarge the heat crossover port. This fixed the cold running problem. Later castings had the rectangular hole. My car was built in late
1954. It had many early small block designs since the 265 engine was new for 1955.
I am not trying to steal the thread, but reading all the real old SBC info sure brought back memories. I just thought
I would share some history like PDQ67.
Bill

[SchmidtMotorWorks]

It would be interesting to know what math methods were used to design cams in that era, it was just after the polynomial and polydyne methods were published but I don't know how quickly the OEMs adopted them. With the small diameter pushrods they ran back then they could probably get away with lines, arcs, parabola and quadratic curves.

[Dodge Freak]

I find the heatcross over pretty useful, engines seem to run better with it vs without unless its summertime temperatures outside. I use mine all the time up here in Michigan, even in the summer our nights can be a cool 60 degrees. I do use the Fel Pro print-o-seal intake gaskets with a steel core and I drill just a small 1/4 hole on each side to limit the exhaust heat. It doesn't get used in the dead of winter-like right now.

Dual carters it has, runs very nice all around, from idle to 6,500..I got a solid cam for it, maybe this summer i get around to swapping cams. I like old school, with a touch of modern tech, like a msd 7al box and e cruve dist and of course an electric fan for the rad...and a killer stereo system so I can hear the tunes at any speed with the window all down

[pdq67]

Bill,

My old junk301 had '55, 265 truck heads on it that didn't have any sparkplug notches and also had the way early "rect" OR "round" water hole in the flat of the heads. I forget which?? Sorry..

I ground hell outta them back then and I kept the little valves in them and used steel shim headgaskets!

Kids today don't have a clue what high rpm SBC power is like up around 7,000 rpm and way higher!!

About the weird rocker arms on your heads, mine were regular stock type so I have never seen anything different through the years??

pdq67