# A pair of 283's



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

I received a pair of 283's in the mail for some repair work from a good friend. LOT's of electrical problems, mainly with the e-units, but I believe I have both of them worried. These were a challenge! Both engines were VERY dry, no lube/oil, and they are somewhat of a growler.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

A few more pics.. You want smoke??? Black Licorice scent...


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

A few more.


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## llskis (Apr 11, 2013)

Hay flyernut; did you ever work on a 283 like this>>Larry


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## llskis (Apr 11, 2013)




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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

llskis said:


> Hay flyernut; did you ever work on a 283 like this>>Larry


Hey buddy, I grew up on 283's!!! My folks had 2 brand new 65 Impalas with the 283 in them both. We ran a late model 57 chevy with a 283 in it.. We later ran a 327 de-stroked to 302, using a 283 crank.. That engine loved to rev.


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## Aflyer (Nov 10, 2010)

Flyernut,
About those two black 283's, they are real good smokers? Did you rebuild the smoke units orWhat is your secret to make them work so well? I have three different 293's, all are great smokers, but not sure they are as good as what you have going on in those photo's.

Now on those orange 283's, or 265's, or 327's, we never want to see that kind of smoking going on!!

Aflyer


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Aflyer said:


> Flyernut,
> About those two black 283's, they are real good smokers? Did you rebuild the smoke units orWhat is your secret to make them work so well? I have three different 293's, all are great smokers, but not sure they are as good as what you have going on in those photo's.
> 
> Now on those orange 283's, or 265's, or 327's, we never want to see that kind of smoking going on!!
> ...


I didn't touch those smoke units; I couldn't improve on them if I tried. If you want more smoke, here's what I do. If you buy the kits you see on ebay, etc, I take off several windings from the wick. If there's 20 windings, I'll take off about 5-6. You must remember though, you'll decrease the life of the wick. I don't run my steamers all the time so I don't worry too much about it... Back to the orange 283's, they were great littler engines, and responded well to increased compression, a big cam, and always, a good set of heads. The heads are where the horsepower is..


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

I got one of the 283's back together and running. I have about 50 laps on her, including reversing. I put 5 passenger cars behind it, and she pulled magnificently, smoking her guts out,lol.. I had a few derailments but my track joints aren't up to par, and after straightening out the kink, she ran just great. This is a nice little engine, and I'm sure the owner will like it...


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Nice work man, I'm sure the owner will be very happy. They'll live to many more years of service.



flyernut said:


> Back to the orange 283's, they were great littler engines, and responded well to increased compression, a big cam, and always, a good set of heads. The heads are where the horsepower is..


Ah the good old days. Nothing sounds quite like a good small block with the Duntov 30/30 cam in it does it? 

Carl


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Kwikster said:


> Nice work man, I'm sure the owner will be very happy. They'll live to many more years of service.
> 
> 
> Ah the good old days. Nothing sounds quite like a good small block with the Duntov 30/30 cam in it does it?
> ...


The only thing that sounds better is the off-road, solid lifter Z-28 cam...Probably the same as the 30/30.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Just like Scotty on the Enterprise, you are a miracle-worker.....nice job.


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## markjs (Dec 11, 2010)

Guys,
I'm the owner of the two 283s that Loren repaired for me, and I want to thank him publicly for the great job that he did, not only on these engines, but also for some other work in the past. Loren has an enormous amount of talent and I am truly grateful for all that he has done for me. (I need to learn to do these repairs myself!!!)
Thanks again, Loren,
Mark


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Very nicely said and certainly well deserved. But repairing the Gilbert steam engines is really easy to learn. Myself for example, I knew nothing about it until I started doing some online searching and reading books about it, especially Tom Barker's American Flyer Repair/Service Manual. It sure looked easy, so I tried doing it. Now I get better with each one I do. Tidbits here and there from guys like Flyernut are always helpful. And anything that gets you baffled can be brought here for one of us to answer. I urge you to try it sometime. I think you'll be pleasantly rewarded at not only how easy it is, but that you've done it yourself.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Oh darn, the secret is out!! Thanks for the kind words guys. I really enjoy helping out when I can... Mark, I'll be picking up the other chassis in about an hour, and should have it all back together again and running by this evening, and in the mail by Monday or Tuesday, depending if I want to play with them a little longer,lol.If the second one turns out as good as the first one, I'll be a happy boy. (And it should)... And not that I don't want to help, but you should tackle one of these yourself my good friend. Get a 302AC, I have a fondness for them, off of ebay or from another source,and tear that sucker apart. You can't hurt it unless you drop it from 10 feet. The tender separates from the engine, making repairs easy. As long as the engine/tender assembly is complete all there is to do is to start removing screws!! A complete rebuild would be a chassis cleaning, re-face the armature, new brushes and brush springs, new grease and a light lube, change out the head-light, and that's about all there is for the engine, nothing really, and you can't get in trouble. The e-unit is simple; just clean out the old crud, replace the fingers if necessary, polish the drum, check your solder joints, and you're good to go. :appl:


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

The diesels are another naimal and I have not yet grasped those....stick with the steamers for now.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Nuttin But Flyer said:


> The diesels are another naimal and I have not yet grasped those....stick with the steamers for now.


I have 2 Baldwins and a Alco, and you are so correct. Luckily, I got mine apart and sourced new brushes/springs for all 3. They do alright now.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, here we go.. I have both 283's running, smoking, lighting, and pulling cars. They're both great runners/smokers, as can be seen by the pictures.. Mark, they are all packaged up, and will be in the mail Monday morning. Thanks for having the trust in me to send these locos...Loren


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## Aflyer (Nov 10, 2010)

Flyernut,
Great job, those two loco's are running and smoking well! You do a great service for our fellow forum members.

Aflyer


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