Humans of the forum! Help!

I thought my 1972 4-speed 350 had a blown head gasket as I noticed there was some coolant in the oil. Obviously a concern. I haven't owned the car for very long and I believe the previous owner was very rough on it.

I took apart the engine, removed the head to find that the gasket was perfect. However, one cylinder looked incredibly clean (clearly coolant leaking in there). The valves on the head were also pitted and clearly not too happy. I looked at the cylinder walls and found a REALLY bad gouge in it. Maybe a piston ring giving in? Not sure but the engine is toast. It is already bored .030 over so it has to go.

HERE'S THE KICKER. We are selling our home and will officially have to move out on January 7. I thought this would be a quick job and the car still needs a lot of work before I buy the expensive 383 stroker crate engine I want for it. I decided to go to the junkyard to pull a motor out of a truck with the same long block. I know early 90's Silverados would work and I could swap my Performer intake and carb onto them (later found out I can't). I pulled the engine, paid $300, brought it home, and while cleaning it I found the casting showing that it was a 305....... NOT A 350! Still I carried on and swapped over a lot of components, pulled the engine out of the 72 with the transmission, removed the intake from the "new" 305 and found that the intake I had will not fit 1987 or newer iron heads...... GREAT! Now I'm angry at this project since I've been killing myself to get it done and I don't have an engine stand so I've been hunched over all day working on the engine. The old carb won't fit the new engine since it's a 2 barrel TBI setup so that's out the window. An intake that works would be $250 and on such a low performance engine I can't justify spending that kind of money especially since the vette will be slower than an old Camry once the swap is done.

HERE'S THE KICKER: I have to finish this job ASAP because we are selling our home and have signed all the paperwork. Last day here is January 7th. We have to find a new place, move, and get this car running before then. I'm exhausted, beaten up, and at my wits end with this thing. I am now going to take both engines apart and see if the heads from the 350 will fit onto the 305. Not happy with that but I'm running out of options. I will check the valves to make sure they won't hit the cylinders. I am also unsure if going back to the junkyard to find an ACTUAL 350 makes sense... I'm running low on funds with all the expenses from the home sale.

Any... ANY advice on this one? My life sucks right now. 4 speed 72 is my dream car and I don't want to sell it. I'm located in San Jose, CA.

 

 

We will be leaving the Bay Area. Maybe we can still tow it anyway. I am not sure if we will have space where we move though. Ideally, I want it to run so I could park it on the street or move it around easily. That's a good suggestion if nothing else works out.

 

Understanding your dilemma...and buying an engine you assumed would allow you to swap over parts only to find out it won't....unless you buy another intake to fit it....and then still may run into some sensors that will need to be changed out and also thus causing your temp gauge to have to be modified due to the new design temp sender, etc, etc, etc....

I am wondering WHY you are a scraping the other engine. UNLESS the oil has turned into a dark brown milk shake look to it. It can be saved.

Sending the heads off to the machine shop and have them inspected to see if you have crack behind a valve...thus...making it so you can buy a head or a pair of cylinder heads and putting it on the engine and get it running again.

Due to you are settling for a used engine...draining the oil that had the coolant in it but not where it got mixed into it is fully doable...so a few oil changes can get it all out. But the chances that the coolant wiped out the coating on the bearing is still possible. IF it was not run a lot...and there is no milkshake looking oil it might still be fine.

AS for your predicament...and knowing you are getting upside down on the finances...I have nothing to say other than I would put it in a storage unit and get through moving in and then go fix it.

Buying engines out of junk yards is all well and good and many people get lucky and get one that works for a good while.,..but GM crate engines are also an economical option with a warranty.

DUB

 

I'm assuming the reason your old intake won't fit is because the bolts go into the head at a different angle. If so, I ran into the opposite problem you're having a couple years ago. My uncle gave me an aluminum intake and I went to install it and found that it was meant for the '87+ 350. I had my dad machine some spacers to make it work, but I ended up switching back to the cast iron intake for reasons I don't remember. Anyway, I think the intake you need is the GM 14101074 intake (assuming you use a spread bore carb). Unfortunately I don't have it anymore, otherwise I'd send it your way.






And if it's any consolation, I had my car apart and was in the middle of bodywork/paint when my parents decided it was time to leave San Jose, so I had to rush to get that done so I didn't have a torn apart car in the driveway while we were selling the house.

 

The end 4 bolts fit fine. It is the middle 2 at funny angle. It is Bubbubbubutchery, but take an angle grinder and cut-off wheel and cut the middle screw holes to slots. Unless the intake is of any specialness. Most likely cast iron 4bbl and you don't worship it anyway. It will seal and run.

 

I considered this.... Maybe I should just go for it. I couldn't get myself to drill the aluminum intake. Better than not having a running car right?

And yes the oil on the pulled engine was an absolute milkshake and disgusting. The head may be no good as mentioned. I think I'll try drilling the intake and making it work. I'll let you all know how it goes! If it doesn't work I'll trailer her over to my grandpa's where she might end up sitting for a while. I'll have to come back to her in a few years. Let's see what happens!

 

I appreciate the thought! Glad you were able to make it work. My fear is selling the car at a loss or not having space for it. I'm going to hold on to it for dear life! I just got lectured by the old man about how old cars are money pits and how I should sell both my 92 and 72 Corvettes and just buy a new car. NEVER!!

 

Well, he's not wrong, they are money pits, but they sure are a lot of fun. I don't think I'll ever buy a brand new car. I bought a 2013 Focus ST3 in 2017 with 60K miles and it had depreciated to about 50% of its original price in 4 years. I'll let other people lose money and buy a slightly used car for less. Besides, paying interest on a car loan is a money pit. You could buy a lot of vette parts with that money.

 

We keep those things in our life that have meaning and do whatever it takes to keep them if they have that much meaning.

And as for old cars being a money pit....well....LIFE is a money pit but we put out money every day to keep going. So it all is up to the person on how much they want to put money into something that may make them feel better about ALL of money they spend in LIFE to keep themselves going.

Swapping an old car for new car is sometimes NOT the same thing. Because IF that old car has what it takes to allow you to escape LIFES pressures when driving it ...then the money invested into it is worth it...or at least in my opinion it is.

Hopefully you find a good solution due to I can feel you are really stressed.

YES...that old engine...if it is still the original...is still possibly rebuildable...and might be worth hanging onto if it is the original ...but having the 'milkshake' thing going on...it would obviously need to go to a machine shop and be washed out and rebuilt.

DUB

 

new cars are worse, it will lose almost all value and once out of warranty beat the hell out of your wallet to fix..they are getting too smart
Better to put 20-30 in your vette and have something like new you can drive everyday and fix with a simple socket set.
Just have it towed somewhere and come back to it later.....no need to sell it. I had mine set for 3 yrs, hoping to take it out tonight for the first time .
Glad noone bought it btw!

 

I agree 100% with you all. I had to buy a 2017 Accord for work and it lost $4k in value within a year. I'm a crazy person so I think of everything in terms of Corvette parts. $4,000 would have gotten me the crate motor I wanted. As DUB said, a C3 with a crate stroker engine and side pipes would make my life MUCH better and more fulfilling than climbing into a depreciating 2017 Accord every morning.

I forgot to mention, my dad has spent bucket loads on his Harley which he hasn't been able to ride in over a decade due to neck problems. And I'm the impractical one!

 

Okay, you have an aluminum intake. You can just get up a burr for using for cylinder head work in aluminum heads. You chuck it up into a drill it'll turn fast enough to egg out those middle four bolts into the angle you need to use for those TBI heads. Drill bit will probably work too. And once the intake is back on correct heads, the butchery won't show.

 

Seeing as how the TBI heads have been out for 30 years now......just find the correct used intake on E-Bay......do some shopping........or you could slot the intake and buy some spacers to work. If you do slot everything and find or make spacers....I suggest using studs/nuts for the center four bolts to take the stress of uneven surfaces while tightening......this will save your ***......
DO NOT put the 350 heads on the 305.......you will have about 7 to 1 compression when you are all through.....
Remember too that the 87 and up engines have a different flexplate/flywheel......one piece mainseal...hope you got it with the engine.

Jebby

 

Got the intake on there today! Just slotted it and you can't notice the butchery at all. Fit and sealed up perfectly.

Now, Jebbysan, I did not know about the flexplate/flywheel being different. That might throw another wrench into my plans as I was planning on installing the flywheel tomorrow from the old engine. It is indeed a pre-1987 engine so based on your information the flywheel will not fit. That is a MAJOR bummer as I did not get one with the engine... I'll check tomorrow and report back!

 

hey plastic* (if that is your real name :P)

if one cylinder looked brand new and incredibly clean then yes, you had a small coolant leak into that cylinder and it was basically "steam cleaning" it...

This is also an old trick to clean carbon out of your motor. You do have to be careful because of the nature of hydro-locking your engine if your NOT careful.

 

Automatic or clutch? If it's an automatic, go back to the Bone Yard and set you sold me a 305 when I paid for 350. I don't have time or inclination to exchange the motor and bring them back to you. But I really really really need the correct flex plate or flywheel for this engine which you probably have lying around.

 

Now, another possible pain in the tail. Are you still using the old original type starter? Does it look like this? https://www.ebay.com/itm/OUT-OF-BOX-REMAN-1107293-Starter-63-77-GM-260-301-326-330-350-V8-10MT-12V/183582081934?hash=item2abe58438e%3Ag%3A-ZgAAOSwusdcESpl&LH_ItemCondition=4 . You looking at the field housing, not the whole starter. That old style field housing can hit against the lump where the dipstick goes through the block. This type which is a lot more common these days will clear that lump. https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Delco-C...temCondition=4 Sol test fit the starter under the engine once you get a flywheel to make sure everything'sSol test you might just have to take the grinder and touch that little ridge by the dipstick or the side of the starter itself. And wanted to clear it without going and buying more stuff.

 

good luck on the move!

I get the desire to have it move under its own power, but my goodness that's a lotta work. I'd do the tow thing and store it until you can get the 383.

Good on ya for the ability to do all that work in a short period of time ... but momma's gonna want your attention on the move real soon!

and yes ... hang onto her! I'm doing a complete frame-off resto on my first car; 61 Impala. Big money pit, but it's my money .... and Polly will soon be sitting next to Victoria (the Vette) at backyard car shows as me and she two ship (her Vette) around.