Quote:
Originally Posted by K5owner
This is true as I can attest to it. These engines are assembled in Mexico from new cores but who is pouring the cores and doing the machining I don't know. However, it doesn't seem to effect function though as everyone I have talked to who has had one said that they ran great and were very durable. I know when my 84 K5's 350 gives up the ghost I probably will replace it with a good wrench replacement. Solid 4 bolt main engines with good value.
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I used to do some part time work for an engine builder who specialized in 383s. For our basic engine, he started with 86-up (1-piece main seal) 350 short blocks from junkyards, after making sure they were standard bore. Most were "Hecho en Mexico".
Initially, I was the guy who tore them down and washed them (in a high-pressure, high-temperature washer). I eventually moved on to decking and boring, and then to assembly. (The boss did all the power honing.)
In my experience the Mexican blocks themselves were VERY good quality. Heck, on many of them the black paint was still perfect, almost like it was epoxy. Core shift was minimal compared to pre-86 blocks. We almost never had to line bore one, and the decks were a lot more square than the typical pre-86 blocks. I had several that cleaned up at around .005" overbore, but we usually took them out to .030".
I actually built a 355 for myself using one of the junkyard short blocks. The mains bore was perfect, and the std/std crank had literally zero wear. All we had to do was polish the journals and slightly resize 2 or 3 of the powdered metal rods, and they were good to go.
I guess my point here is Mexican made doesn't necessarily mean poorly made, but I don't doubt the stories about crank journals being different sizes. If you're building an engine from scratch, you could do a lot worse than a Mexican block, at least that's true of the 1-piece main seal versions.