time for rebuild

[drewdude92]

time to rebuild the small block 350 this is my first time. I need some input on what to get and what to do to it. I wanna make it pretty quick but somewhat cheap.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

You will get a lot of opinions on this but this is mine. If the cyl. walls & the crankshaft are not worn out put in a minor engine kit & send the heads out for rebuild. That includes rings, inserts, cam, lifters, & timing kit. Also it has all the gaskets & seals. If you need more then that it,s better & cheaper to get a Goodwrench crate engine. If you want to warm it up a bit a performance cam & aluminum 4 barrel manifold would be in order. Don't go wild on the cam though. If its a manual trans. you can go for a little more then if its an automatic. A Q-jet or Edelbrock performer 4 barrel carb. will work real good.

[cdowns]

absolute first thing to get and money well spent is a book on how to do it//thats b4 takin anything apart

[BOOB]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

You will get a lot of opinions on this but this is mine. If the cyl. walls & the crankshaft are not worn out put in a minor engine kit & send the heads out for rebuild. That includes rings, inserts, cam, lifters, & timing kit. Also it has all the gaskets & seals. If you need more then that it,s better & cheaper to get a Goodwrench crate engine. If you want to warm it up a bit a performance cam & aluminum 4 barrel manifold would be in order. Don't go wild on the cam though. If its a manual trans. you can go for a little more then if its an automatic. A Q-jet or Edelbrock performer 4 barrel carb. will work real good.

Pretty much summed it up. There's a million ways of tackling it. First, befriend someone (in person) who has been around the block a few times to help you out and give you a hands on education.

It depends on how much money and time you want to spend...

-A long block would be the best bang for the buck, the least amount of headache and least amount of wrench time.

-It's taking a chance but you can get a COMPLETE rebuild kit including cam and lifters pretty cheap, and just break the glaze on the cylinders and hope you have some compression when you're done. File fit rings are really your only hope. It's best to bore the block so you KNOW everything is straight and fresh.

-The RIGHT way? Tear it down, every nut and bolt, have it tanked/washed and magnafluxed for cracks. IF everything checks out it comes down to the cylinders. Has it been bored before? How much... .030 .040 .060(!!!)? Are there any gouges or scoring in the walls? Will the clean up with an overbore? Will you crank and rods be reusable? If so they need to be reconditioned, the crank may need to be cut .010 sometimes. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy new cast components. The heads need the same treatment. The size of the combustion chamber will have the greatest effect on the compression ratio when ordering pistons. If the block deck or heads have to be shaved this will have some effect as well. The bores should be honed to individual piston sizes assigning a certain piston to a certain cylinder. If you can adfford it you should have the rotating assembly balanced increasing life and power. If you want a bigger cam ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get an EXPERT opinon on cam profile. CALL the manufacturer and give them every last detail and they'll tell you which off the shelf cam will be best. DONT GUESS. It goes on and on and on...........

How far do you want to go?

[drewdude92]

I wanna get an engine in there that will run pretty good and strong and will beat some stock o say 90s models trucks theyve been talkin trash on my old so called beater in the parking lot....which i dont think it is. Saying the motor i have in my truck right now has a valve problem. I got it tuned and checked all up and that is what the guy told me im supposed to go back later to get a compression test later. I already have an edelbrock 600 carb, aluminum edelbrock performer intake,and thats about it just some more dressup stuff. But I dont know for sure All I know is I want a pretty warm engine =). I wont know what ill need til I pull the motor but I need some steering some someone experienced to point me in a direction of success

[Wrenchbender Ret]

What model truck are you working on? What trans. & what is the rear end ratio?

[steelhorse]

The easiest way would be a crate motor,plus you get a waranty

[drewdude92]

1972 chevy c10 long bed with a th350 tranny and im not sure what the rear end ratio but im gonna be getting a limited slip rearend not sure which gearing i should get yet though

[drewdude92]

where could i get a crate motor for cheap? well i know it wont be "cheap" but like cheaper than other places

[cdowns]

first place to check is your local(no shipping costs) GMparts dept and go from there with price comparisons

[drewdude92]

ok thanks ima be looking....hopefully i can find one for somewhat cheap

[BOOB]

Originally Posted by drewdude92

ok thanks ima be looking....hopefully i can find one for somewhat cheap

Cheap cheap, O'Reily's or Summit 'Blueprint Engines'

[drewdude92]

hmm im sure it might be cheap to you but ima 16 year old kid thats still in highschool and works his butt off for cheap at the local feed store for money lol

[truckdude239]

www.northernautoparts.com sells the kits but by the time you get done with machine work and parts its easlier to get a crate engine i think

[BOOB]

Originally Posted by drewdude92

hmm im sure it might be cheap to you but ima 16 year old kid thats still in highschool and works his butt off for cheap at the local feed store for money lol

"RESTORE" HOMIE!!! They claim it's a rebuild in a can!!!

[drewdude92]

Originally Posted by BOOB

"RESTORE" HOMIE!!! They claim it's a rebuild in a can!!!

haha heck yeah man im trying to get my truck painted hotrod black and it looking slick by my senior year! to show the losers whats up but idk if ill make it

[OrangeCrush1970]

Take your time and figure out exactly what you're working with here...don’t get in a rush because someone's talking trash to you at school; you have a classic and that's one thing to be proud of. If your block is original and in good condition, you've got an excellent foundation as well as the opportunity to keep a #'s matching truck in tact. Do some reading up, there’s plenty of literature out there on rebuilding a small block as well as a wealth of information from all your truck buddies here. Honestly if you can get your valve problem sorted out and the engine is tuned up, you can drop some 3.73’s or even a set of 4.11’s out back, find a nice shift kit and you’ll get plenty of pull out of that 350.

Have fun and keep us up to date on what direction you decide to go!

[drewdude92]

how do i figure out if my engine is origanal? im pretty sure it is though. And im getting a compression test ran on my truck hopefully this weekend so ill find out what is wrong for sure

[BOOB]

The casting number is on the drivers side behind the intake manifold where the block meets the tranny. Go here... http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm and match the numbers up. You'll know right away.

I know what you mean about being in school catching hell from guys that dont know a fine piece of machinery if it slapped them in the face. I pulled my c-10 out of a field when I was a freshman, and it was my daily. It looked like **** but I helped the 307 limp through high school, working on the body whenever I could, and once I could afford a 2nd vehicle I started working on my engine. Once you're out of high school you'll probably never see those losers again. I'm from a super small farming town and I never saw them again. The few that I did like to pop up un-announced at my shop to see how my "Kick Ass HOT ROD!!!" is doing. I think it's funny... that laughed at me in high school. The best part is when they ask for my "expert advice" and I just happen to be too busy to help them. Dont worry about it dude.

[drewdude92]

hmm behind the manifold? i see a number on the passenger side just in front of the valve cover.

dang!! man thats funny thats exactly how ima be but there are a select few in the parking lot that would give their left nut for my truck. Ive been offered a mustang cobra in the past week for it =0

[drewdude92]

wait nvm thats not the block number for sure. Dang that number is gonna be nearly impossible to get to with the engine in...

[john]

the numbers on the front of the block will have a two or three letter suffix code, which you can find here.

http://www.nastyz28.com/decode.php