Hey everyone, I recently bought a 1979 Corvette L82. It’s in fairly decent condition and it runs. However, I’m thinking about rebuilding the engine with brand new parts as the current ones are all rusty and old. I also want to add performance parts in the internals and externals of the engine. I never rebuilt an engine but I’ve heard 350s are relatively easy to work on. I’m full of motivation to do it. Any and all advice is welcome please.

 

Orduna- if you have never rebuilt an engine, save yourself some grief and buy a crate engine. It will be built by someone who is experienced and will come with a guarantee. Unless you have someone with a lot of experience looking over your shoulder at every step, it is almost certain you will make a mistake that will not show up until you have the engine back in the car. Then you get to do it all over again and spend more $$$. Anyway, my $0.02

 

ronarndt summed it up well.

Rookie suggestions below:
If you really want to DIY the engine/if it doesn't "smoke-burn oil" you could leave the short block intact.
Replace the heads with new-improved heads.
Replace the intake manifold with a new aluminum manifold.
Install a new basic carburetor (non electronic) or install a Fuel Injection System with matching intake manifold.
Install new oil pump and new water pump.
Install new distributor
$2,500 +
New headers with true dual exhaust system or side-pipes ($500-$1,000 extra).

Keep us updated in this thread.

 

Well the 350 is relatively easy to take apart, that's for sure. Rebuilding one and putting it back together and have it run well I would not say is relatively easy unless you have done it before. I have taken two apart now and with the help of a very experienced builder have put together two nice engines. On my own I would never have done all that was necessary to get it done correctly. Depending upon your mileage; engine condition; wiring; and your budget; maybe take this month to look through the forum and see what others have posted about doing what you are hoping to do. Many have removed engines from the cars for rebuild and many are documented.

Good luck with your decision and let us know if we can assist in some way. Telling us your location might be a good start as some in your area might be willing to work with you on this project.

Best regards,

David Howard
AllVettes4Me

 

Its really simple. You need to buy a good rebuild guide, and do some reading ahead of time. Children can do it provied they have the right tools and a good set of directions. all it is, is installing parts and torquing them correctly. IF you decide to rebuild it, look at all the prts you are going to need and decide how much you are willing to spend. Are you going for higher compression pistons? Do you need to replace bearings? Do you want a bigger cam?

I would do a compresson check on all cylinders first and see what the rings and vavle seats are doing. If you have good compression you can leave the pistons, get a really good set of heads and throw a bigger cam in there and have a fun engine. Or pull the crank and pistons, give it a quick hone to clean the cylinders if they arent scored and just replace the rings.
You'll need a lot of new tools too...👍😁

Again, buy a small block rebuild book and do some reading first.

Rebuilding a good engine is alot easier than rebuilding one that got blown up.

 

Are you considering pulling the engine out of the car or not?

Start with buying an aluminum intake, like an Edelbrock Performer. Simple installation, gives a bit of an updated look and a few extra hp.
If you get the feeling for it, then take it from there.

 

Good point about removing the engine or not....if you do not want to do an internal upgrade it would be a little faster to do external work to the engine while it is in the car---heads/intake/water pump/carb/dist/oil pump/headers---even a "bigger cam" as one member suggested.

 

You can do it, if youre willing to buy some simple tools.
take your time follow directions ask lots of questions.Everyone has to pop their cherry!

Good machining+balance job youll be happy

 

Welcome to the forum! I apprenticed on two rebuilds 40 years ago and haven’t done it since then. You’ve come to the right place for help and advice though. Best of luck with your C3!

 

At the very least, buy the book, "How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy" By David Vizard. It is really one of the best books written on the subject. You can get it online for $10. I have had mine for 35 years. Read it before you make a decision. Jerry

 

Sure it's easy to go out and buy a crate engine. If you have limited time, a lot of obligations and not a lot of space, that's the ideal solution. But...! There's nothing like putting together your own engine. It was my first ever, 350 small block build. It took me five to six months of careful work. I had to learn how to gap the rings correctly, check the crankshaft clearance and I even installed my own cam bearings (most people send this out to the machine shop). You will need an engine stand. I purchased the heavy duty one, with the wide spread, U-shape structure on the bottom, versus the more common, narrow T-shaped. You will need a cam bearing installer, a good set of feeler gauges and a torque wrench among other things. You'll also need to send out the bare block, oil pan and manifold out to the automotive machine shop, to have all these hot tanked and cleaned. The heads will have to be sent out and be cleaned up and have a valve job done on them, as well as checking the springs. You'll need to either check the critical stuff, like cam journal and crank journals for the diameter, so you can know, whether or not, you'll need the right sized bearing and you'll also be checking them for clearance with plasti-gauge when you install them.

Tampa Jerry has it right on, with the book suggestion. I have the same book and I also researched on YouTube and a myriad other sites on how to do this. BTW, my engine turned out great! It is a hard runner and I'm super happy with it. While you're at it, you might consider converting your engine from a bunch of noisy little belts and pulleys to a late 80's-early 90's serpentine belt system that were used on the C4 Corvettes with the L98 engine. This serpentine belt system is nearly a total bolt on. You do have to run a reverse rotation water pump, because of the belt routing.
Link: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1587817315

If you want to see an entire, blow-by-blow thread on my engine build, here it is:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ine-build.html

I used a late 80's-early 90's roller cam block. The GM 638 block, with provisions for a roller cam and a one piece rear seal on the crank (totally different crank from a pre-'86 block), but it fits in the C3, exactly like a regular 350. Whatever choice you make, good luck!

 

Op have your machine work done, have them install the cam bearings...have them rebuild the heads/put springs on. Dont forget to balance it even the "pre balanced" ones.
Just learn how to assemble it youll enjoy it

Torque wrench, feeler gauges, basic caliper kit...its not rocket science.
You can rent a balancer installer from an auto parts store or borrow one.

Most miss the fact youre looking for the experience not just the almighty dollar.
I dont want some hourly guy who hates his job slapping mine together I can screw it up myself for free! lol

The 1-2 man shops have gone the way of the dinosaur....cause cheap chinese crate motors guys foam at the mouth over.


I guess buying a crate takes out the possibility of him making the mistake but driving somehing you created vs wrote a check for is a different experience. Both good, one more satisfying...depending on what kind of time you got. bout the only crate Id trust (maybe) is a 572

 

I enjoy building them. If you have the tools and a machine shop you can trust, I would advise you to take a swing at it. The book recomendation is perfect. The only tip I would add is YOU will need to REWASH everything after it comes back from the machine shop REGARDLESS of what washing they have already done. I started a thread a while back showing the last engine I built. There are also plenty of others here that will assist you as needed. Good luck with the overhaul!

 

Can you rebuild it yourself? You'll never know unless you try. It's not rocket science. Buy and/or rent tools required. Have at it! The beauty of doing it yourself is when the engine fails, probably not, you don't need to go through the hassle of a warranty claim!!!

 

Buy this book and read it front to back, twice. My father got me my first copy when I was 10 years old. I can still remember some of the text.


After you have read it twice.....decide then if you want to proceed with doing the rebuild yourself.......as doggie said, it is not rocket science but the procedure is deliberate and precise....there are a LOT of things to remember and attention to detail is the order of the day. It is one of the most rewarding experiences in the world when you start it for the first time knowing you did it.

Jebby

 

^^^ This!
It is not easy, it can be stressful, as the fear of failure is big here. But, Jebby is right on. When you get in it, and crank it over, that's a feeling that can't be reproduced. That you built it, you didn't buy it. You heaved that heavy crankshaft, oh so carefully into the new bearings. You put in the pistons, making sure the rings were properly spaced, tapping them gently into the bores. You get to pick exactly what you want on it. ARP fasteners, Melling HVP oil pump, Milodon pan and so on. It's your baby!

 

If you rebuild it yourself and you get to the gasket part of hte rebuild, ask us which gaskets and what sealant to use. And if you use an aftermarket oil pan make sure you get teh right pan gasket as there are 2 different ones, thick and thin referrinf to the front and rear gap. My Milodon needed a thick one and the websites didnt say that

 

1st - buy and engine done with what you want in it and get a warranty. Im 53 and have machined and built the last 10 of my varied hot rod and race engines over the last 25 years, it was fun when I was younger, now its just time consuming and a pain in the **s .
2nd- don't invest a nickel into a 305 its a boat anchor,low power smog engine ( invest in a 350 with good heads, intake and fuel delivery system)
3rd - if you have the engine out have the trans serviced/flushed or freshened up because once you put some new power to it that will be the next thing to go.

on the other hand if you have the time, money and the energy to attempt the rebuild, go for it. It all depends on how long you want to look at your car sitting in your garage when you'd rather be out driving in it.

just my $0.02