Hey guys! New to the forum...new to the whole game, actually. I have a quick question about HEI and carbs. I'm looking at buying a 66 Caprice with a 65 283 swapped where the 327 used to be. The 283 has an aftermarket Holley 4bbl on it that needs a rebuild.

My questions are...

- What are you guys using for HEI conversions on these motors? Is there somewhere I can just buy a kit to do it or is it a junkyard scavenger hunt type of thing? Any "one-wire" setups out there?

- What carb came stock on a 65/66 283? Was there a 4bbl option? If so which is it and where might I find one?

Thanks for the help guys...I've been a Jeep fan/builder for years. I know my way around the garage but I've never owned a classic before and I can't wait to get started!

There are both optical and magnetic conversion kits that go in place of the existing breaker plate. From the outside the look the same. Down side of this type of conversion is these distributors were low cost castings with brass bushings that are over forty years old. Lots of wear means lots of spark scatter. You can buy an aftermarket distributor and use a black Delco style cap on it to sort of hide it.

As to a four barrel yes the 283 came out with a 4 barrel in 1957. It sits on a cast iron manifold and is equipped with a Rochester 4G carb (about 370 cfm). You can rebuild the Holley for about twenty five bucks with a rebuild kit. Holleys are a great carb to rebuild for a first timer as they are so simple hand full of screws and seven gaskets that all come in pairs except the air cleaner gasket.

4G's are fairly uncommon, but not exactly rare. You can still buy a rebuilt one from most autoparts stores (but they will charge you for a core). Finding the old 1957-61 "Power Pack" cast iron manifold may be a bit harder. There are literally thousands of them behind shops and barns across the country, were they have been sitting outside rusting away for over forty years. They were not exactly popular, even when new, hot rodders were looking for alternatives; as they were poor breathers.

Big Dave

Thanks for the info BigDave.

Welcome to the site