Your engine would have come factory with a 2 bbl. carb. Horsepower jumped from 195 to 220 with a 4 bbl and dual exhaust.

headers on a 283 might give you another 20 hp.  These changes would wake up your 283 without harming drivability.

A replaced carburetor, intake, headers, & dual exhaust won't harm the transmission or rear end because the horsepower gains won't be too much.

Carl Stevenson wrote:

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Just don't make the two most common mistakes people make doing upgrades on a 283-

1) Too much cam if you change the cam

2) Too much carburetor if you change the carb.

Been there, done that when I was a kid. The too-much-cam is the worst one. It sure sounds tough, but when you stand on it from a dead stop it has much less pull than when it was stock!

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         (Keep it simple and in-expensive)   A "small" 4bbl and dual exhaust will make it "peppy"     Its a 4 door 4000 lb hardtop  not a race car

beaumontguru wrote:

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I would not bother doing anything to it, if it runs good, leave it alone,  those 2bbl carbs are the best damn carbs in the world, you will never have a problem with it,  good choke, great driveability,  ungrading to a 4bbl will make no difference,  its a 283.  especially stick with the stock cam,  has the best low end torque curve.  if you plan to drive the shit out of it at every stoplight then upgrade it by all means,  and if you plan to rev it to 4000 rpm 95% of the time,  then upgrade the cam.

I all depends of what you are going to do with it,   if you want more power,  replace the motor with a larger displacement, or replace the car with a different car

Its a 64 pontiac 4dr 283, enjoy it for what it is!

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         Amen 

beaumontguru wrote:

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I would not bother doing anything to it, if it runs good, leave it alone,  those 2bbl carbs are the best damn carbs in the world, you will never have a problem with it,  good choke, great driveability,  ungrading to a 4bbl will make no difference,  its a 283.  especially stick with the stock cam,  has the best low end torque curve.  if you plan to drive the shit out of it at every stoplight then upgrade it by all means,  and if you plan to rev it to 4000 rpm 95% of the time,  then upgrade the cam.

I all depends of what you are going to do with it,   if you want more power,  replace the motor with a larger displacement, or replace the car with a different car

Its a 64 pontiac 4dr 283, enjoy it for what it is!

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pontiax wrote:

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Your engine would have come factory with a 2 bbl. carb. Horsepower jumped from 195 to 220 with a 4 bbl and dual exhaust.

headers on a 283 might give you another 20 hp.  These changes would wake up your 283 without harming drivability.

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 I agree, if you want a bit more pep but still want a daily driver go for the intake and carb ( just don't over carb as stated). These 283's came factory with dual 4's ( Corvette) and fuel Inj,diff cam&heads. Do what you want your the one driving the car, your not going to harm a 283 by putting on an intake and carb. But it will be a lot more fun to drive if that's what your looking for. 

283[edit]

The 265 ci V-8 was bored out to 3.875 in (98.4 mm) in 1957, giving it a 283 cu in (4,638 cc) displacement. The first 283 motors used the stock 265 blocks. However, the overbore to these blocks resulted in thin cylinder walls. Future 283 blocks were recast to accept the 3.875 bore. Five different versions between 185 hp (138 kW) and 283 hp (211 kW) were available, depending on whether a single carb, twin carbs, or fuel injection was used. Fuel injection yielded the most power topping out at 315 HP in 1961. Horse power was up a bit each year for 1958, 1959, and 1960. The 1957 Ramjet mechanical fuel injection version produced an even 1 hp per cubic inch (61 hp/L), an impressive feat at the time. This was third U.S.-built production V8 to produce one horsepower per cubic inch.

rabbit64cs wrote:

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That was blunt...BUT.. I totally agree.....those stock engines are to be admired and appreciated....that is why I still have my 64 custom sport...mostly thanks to the 283 ...saved the car..cause ya know what a 16 year old is like!

beaumontguru wrote:

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I would not bother doing anything to it, if it runs good, leave it alone,  those 2bbl carbs are the best damn carbs in the world, you will never have a problem with it,  good choke, great driveability,  ungrading to a 4bbl will make no difference,  its a 283.  especially stick with the stock cam,  has the best low end torque curve.  if you plan to drive the shit out of it at every stoplight then upgrade it by all means,  and if you plan to rev it to 4000 rpm 95% of the time,  then upgrade the cam.

I all depends of what you are going to do with it,   if you want more power,  replace the motor with a larger displacement, or replace the car with a different car

Its a 64 pontiac 4dr 283, enjoy it for what it is!

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That's what I was hinting at when I said this: "A replaced carburetor, intake, headers, & dual exhaust won't harm the transmission or rear end because the horsepower gains won't be too much."

It also would not be cost effective in my mind.

I'm just going to upgrade from a single to a dual 2" exhaust when the time comes. I've already refurbished the stock 2 barrel carb & intake, plus the exhaust manifolds. Mostly time and some money, well spent.

 

Thanks for all the input guys, you have given me lots to consider. I think I will hold off on intake and carb until we go on our first road trip and I get acquainted with her and see how she performs. I'm going to drain the 5 year old gas today and fill with some fresh stuff and let her run for 30 minutes and see if she stops smoking. If not I found two completely rebuilt heads for 500 that I will invest in instead. I also changed out oil and filter and used valvoline high mileage with zinc and a litre of Lucas oil so hoping that may help too.

cantafforda2door wrote:

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Thanks for all the input guys, you have given me lots to consider. I think I will hold off on intake and carb until we go on our first road trip and I get acquainted with her and see how she performs. I'm going to drain the 5 year old gas today and fill with some fresh stuff and let her run for 30 minutes and see if she stops smoking. If not I found two completely rebuilt heads for 500 that I will invest in instead. I also changed out oil and filter and used valvoline high mileage with zinc and a litre of Lucas oil so hoping that may help too.

-- Edited by cantafforda2door on Saturday 24th of January 2015 09:31:53 AM

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         IF it needs valve seals  you are going to buy other heads?    interesting  

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 I'll have to try the Seafoam on mine....what exactly is that stuff?

 

 

2. Sea foam. Sea foam, ocean foam, beach foam, or spume is a type of foam created by the agitation of seawater, particularly when it contains higher concentrations of dissolvedorganic matter (including proteins, lignins, and lipids) derived from sources such as the offshore breakdown of algal blooms.

3. Sea foam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MoboMac wrote:

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eeluddy wrote:

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Ditto on the SeaFoam additive. Works wonders. A 4bbl swap with an aluminum intake(used ones are plentiful around $50) and Edelbrock carb is a decent improvement as long as you add dual exhaust. But as long as the 283 is running well just leave it alone until you have to tear it apart due to smoking. The best way to improve drivability in these cars is switch the slip'n slide PowerGlide to a 200 R overdrive unit.

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 I'll have to try the Seafoam on mine....what exactly is that stuff?

 

 Also please explain how you figure a 200r4 is better than a Powerglide....? 

 

Better all around performance, extra gear and lockup. Improves mileage, saves wear, quieter, better top end speed to name a few.

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