1955 Chevy Bel Air Blog

1955 Chevy Bel Air Engine Restoration

Written by admin on May 29, 2009 – 2:31 pm -

The original engine rebuild in my 1955 Chevy Bel Air took place some 38 years ago, and it has withstood the test of time, without any major repairs over the years.  My approach was very basic; Maximize performance without stressing the base design of the Chevy small block.

The project started with a used short-block 1963 Chevy 283 small block, which was stripped and cleaned, cylinder configuration was checked and a simple honing on the cylinder walls was all that was necessary.  The most important aspect of rebuilding a high-revving engine such as the 283 is to build and balance the “bottom” half of the engine.  Therefore, the crankshaft was re-honed to .010 under and fitted with new main and rod bearings, fit with a new oil pump and the bottom half was on the way.

My next decision was selecting a camshaft that would increase performance. In this case though, I also wanted the engine to sound good and perform without any radical feedback.  It just so happened a used Dontov .097 camshaft became available through a friend. The .097 is a mechanical “solid” lifter cam designed originally for the early Corvette engines to add performance and road ability to the 283 small block. The solid lifter cam definitely increased the performance and RPM range of the small block. After I added a new timing chain and gear, the job was done, and it resulted in a definite improvement.

Next were the heads, and due to budget restrictions and availability of the accessories at the time, the 235 horsepower Power Pack heads fit the bill, I had a trusted machinist re-seat the valves and install Teflon lined valve seals in the heads (which still perform well to this day).

Originally the engine was fitted with a 2 barrel Rochester carburetor; in 1973 I located a High-Performance 57 Chevy 283 4 barrel intake manifold and installed a 4 barrel Rochester.  Through the years the old Rochester became a reoccurring problem, so in 2003 I installed the 550 Holley 4 barrel carburetor and the problems went away and the performance of the old 283 was definitely improved.

The engine in its current configuration puts out about 250 horse-power with the dual exhaust configuration which is a must. That’s not bad, and really all you need is to have your ‘55 sound good and run like Hell as required.

Recent additions to the engine include replacing the old canister oil filter system with a new adapter/screw-on filter unit and the installation of nylon 6 bladed flex fan which definitely helped out in the engine cooling department.

After reading this post, you may get the impression that I am somewhat of a “budget” orientated guy, but don’t let an engine restoration get you Chevy enthusiasts out there bent out of shape. There are plenty of other places to put your money into when restoring a ‘55 Chevy Bel Air.  Put the car together, have some fun and appreciate an old classic.

I guess there is also another reason I have kept and maintained the engine in its original configuration. My father helped me to re-build the engine, and he was an excellent mechanic. He passed away some 12 years ago, and it seems the old 283 maintains some personal connection between us, like the credit card saying “it’s priceless”.

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Tags: 1955 Chevy Bel Air, 283 Small block, Bel Air Parts, Engine Restoration
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