65 Chevy 283 exhaust manifolds on a 400??

[Touchdown67]

Hello, Can anyone tell me for sure if a pair of exhaust manifolds off of my 65 C10 283 will fit/work with a 79-82 Chevy 400? I hope the alternator will line up. Do I need to use the old or new brackets. Thanks for any help....

[Captainfab]

Yes the exhaust manifolds from a 283 will bolt up to a SB 400....they are both small blocks. To make things easy, you will want to change the 400 over to the short water pump that the 283 used, as well as the pulleys and brackets from the 283. You could use everything that was on the front of the 400. But the alternator would then be on the passenger side, which would require moving the wiring. Plus the 400 would have a internally regulated alternator. That is a better alternator, but then again will require some re-wiring. So like I said, to make it easy, go with the 283 water pump, pulleys and brackets.

Originally Posted by Touchdown67

Hello, Can anyone tell me for sure if a pair of exhaust manifolds off of my 65 C10 283 will fit/work with a 79-82 Chevy 400? I hope the alternator will line up. Do I need to use the old or new brackets. Thanks for any help....

[Touchdown67]

Great.... Thanks Capitan. So my next question, since you answered is if I want to add power steering what pulleys should I use? I need one of your brackets for sure. Thank you for confirming the information.

[raycow]

I can see one potential hiccup here. As already pointed out, it will be easier to use the entire 283 front end setup. However, the 400 requires that its own special dampener be used. I do not know if its "stickout" distance is the same as the 283 dampener.

Ray

[63chevyll]

im pretty sure they stick out the same 283-400

[Touchdown67]

Thanks for the help. If I am going to add power steering which pulley should I use and also which alternator? Thanks for all the great help...

[raycow]

Engine front end parts from different years do not mix well. Unless the PS pump and mounting brackets came on either the 400 or the 283 you have now, get the complete setup off of one engine. This means ALL the pulleys.

Btw, it's not that big a deal to run a passenger side alternator. You do have to pay attention to the wiring, but the early and later style alternators, at least through the SI type (mid 80s or so) will physically interchange on the mountings.

Ray

[jchav62]

It's harder to find p/s stuff for the short water pump setup. It's out there, just harder to find. I switched to a long water pump setup and used a 70's style p/s pump. The same alt can be used with that setup. Since the 400 has accessory hole in the heads, this should be an easy swap... Good luck...