so i brought my car to the hobby shop today and i started it for one of the guys that work there and he said i need an engine rebuild. i threw a rod he said. and another guy said they can get 350s for cheap, but he also said they have a lower part of a 350 just sitting around. so im gonna go back tomorrow and start taking my engine out and seeing what parts i can use with the parts they have. hopefully ill be able to pretty much complete it all with both engines. those guys are pretty awesome there so it should be cool. it sucks but at the same time but ill get to really work on my car, ive never rebuilt an engine so its gonna be a good learning experience. if i can remember im gonna take as many pics as possible. here are the links from past posts about what happened

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1123084

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1117167


ill try to keep this updated as much as possible as i go along with the work

 

I guarantee it will be a learning experience.
I wish you the best and hope that everything goes smoothly.

I am currently pulling my original engine and putting a 350/290 hp GM crate motor in.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...8&forum_id=119

My GM crate was $1699.00 delivered to my door.

Good luck

Chris B

 

make it a 383 stroker it will be allot better

 

For the 1st time i'd start by taking pix as you go/dissemble. Also recommend ur mark, label and tag everything you remove. Also bag and label each bag of parts. It will help alot when u want to reasemble it. Believe me its not a good thing to have extra bolts and nuts left over when u think ur all finished.
And theres nothing cheaper than a 350 Chevy to rebuild or replace. If ur on the learning curve for a 1st try then just go mild - nothing forged and a moderate performance cam. Just some last advice: 350hp with mostly stock, cast parts is easier to build and drive - a lot cheaper than forged parts for a 450hp mtr experiment that's a animal to handle on the street.
Good luck. cardo0

 

A crate engine is a faster replacement, and you wont be sending good money after bad if something breaks. Check out the warranty

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/warr...tm#performance

 

well so far i have everything removed except for the engine. i took pictures and labeled everything and put all the bolts and stuff in bags. for a guy that doesnt know what he is doing and getting only a little help, i dont think ive done that bad. tomorrow i have 2 lines to remove from the tranny, then the motor will come out. the guy that manages the place said that its easier to just pull the tranny with the motor. and since im pulling the tranny he said i can service it and ****. the general opinion of the guys that work there say its a bearing that is messed up. i guess ill find out tomorrow. i dont have an abundance of money so for the time being im just gonna try to get her back on the road and when i get back home ill do other stuff to her. but something i realized today is that i really need an exaust on her. its still the stock exaust, it just has flowmaster mufflers. anyone know a good exaust system to get? i want a true dual exaust, hearders, the whole thing. i figure that should free up some horse power right there. well ill keep yall updates as i go.

 

sounds like you are doing fine,this is a good way to learn.

 

Yes i would remove the trans too - drain trans 1st. Did you get the fan shroud off? U'll need to remove the headlight actuators to lean that radiator core support forward enough to R&R that mtr.

Most machine shops that can hot tank, bore & hone blocks can turn down the crank to for larger bearings - cheaper than new crank. Plenty of cheap .030" over piston kits for the Chevy 350 - often includes cam, lifters and gaskets too. Time for vlv job too. If u are carefull u can overhaul for 'bout $500.

For exhaust most pre '75 year sys are dual and will fit later yrs. Bought my BB 2.5" sys to replace stock 2.25" sb sys from Corvette Central - 'bout $300. I would recommend staying with stock ram horn manifolds. I replaced mine with headers and it took for ever to get the collector to exh pipe fit up - still no A/C compressor brackets. And hdrs won't make hardly any difference in a low-pwr mtr with short cam. Once u get back to the states u may need to restore for smog anyways.
Take your time and do it right. cardo0

 

well the block is completly apart and the damage isnt that bad. one connector rod is kinda damaged, and the crank is kinda damaged also, just in one spot. and one of the heads is kinda messed up. tomorrow im gonna clean everything up and then friday im gonna take it to the machine shop and get an estimate on how much it would cost to shave the crank and see what bore size the block is and see if its damaged. the guy thats helping me out says i should be able to get the crank shaved and he said the head should still be good.

i guess the guy before me rebuilt the engine and when he marked the rods to keep them in order, well it looks like the genius used a nail punch to mark them. some im gonna buy all new rods, thats already a given.

now there are choices to make...
1. do i rebuild it as a 350, with either new parts or just get the parts shaved or
2. do i make it a 383

money is a big thing here. i dont have a whole lot of it. so as far as now, im leaning towards just keeping it a 350 right now and later down the road ill make her a 383

i think about it hard though, i could get the money probably, i would just have to pay it back

ah so many choices, can someone tell me the pro/cons of keeping it a 350 and making it a 383? that would help alot

 

Well to compare prices i use my Performace Auto Warehouse (PAW) cataloge (u might like 1 for reference). A crank kit (pistons, rings, rods, crank) for 350" is $400, but a stroker crank kit for 383" is $700. Now they also sell individual rods at <$20@ and cheap pistons/kits too. BTW they sell a master kit with cam, timing set, lifters, oil pmp, gaskets for the 350" mtr - $600. But a simple overhaul can be done for much less with just reconditionind rods, cranks and pistons, gaskets. U need to price out the machine shop work for this.

Don't forget to ask for a critical diminsion from the machine shop - deck hieght. They may zero deck the block or just shave it to clean the surface, but u need to know it to choose the correct thickness head gasket for good quench.
Hope this helps. cardo0

 

does this look like a good deal to some of you?

http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...uctModelId=380

i would add the connecting rods and possibly the new crank

would it still be a good deal then?

 

Thats funny u found them as i bought a piston kit from NORTHERN AUTO PARTS many years ago. Yes they're a good bargin because they drop ship everything - zero inventory. The parts were quality Federal Mogul but my forged pistons somehow got nicks in the piston skirts. No big deal as the machinist was able to clean them up before numbering and honing to fit. I like all the options they provide, ur under $200 for piston/overhaul kit, so if ur machine shop can fix ur crank & rods ur only spending pocket change for parts.
I would find out what the generic cam is and definitly upgrade if stock. Well i see my personal favorite the Crane Energizer 266 duration for only $68 more - i paid $88 at Summit when on sale there. IMHO i like that Crane better than the Speed-Pro cams. 2nd choise would be the Comp 260/260 but this would need new vlv springs too - more $$$.

Yea, price out ur machined parts 1st to compare. U really need to get the block work done first to determine several things before ordering: bore size for pistons (may need .040" or .060" over size), deckheigt for gasket thickness (for good quench), then use bore size and deckheight to determine c.r. (choose piston dish/flat-top/dome to keep <9.2:1).
Ur talk'n smart kid. cardo0

 

yea i knew i had to get all that info, im just starting to shop now...because either way im probably gonna get that kit...just depends on the size of everything and weather or not i should get the crank...i called the machine shop like 5 times today...i guess they have the hawaii spirit...the one that says they dont have to work on weekends.

thanks alot for the help, ill post something as soon as i find out something

 

There's a great book out called "how to rebuild your small block Chevy" I used when I did my first many years ago. Extremely helpful. You should first decide on how much you're gonna be willing to spend. Then decide what kind of motor you want. You can build a 300-350 horse 350 for well under a grand. Check out a PAW parts catalog, they have good stuff and reasonable. Budget all costs ahead of time, so that you don't run out of money. You CAN build this motor yourself and take the pride in telling other people you did. I run headers, a 2 1/2 inch system with flowmasters and a crossover. With a mild 114 degree cam, performer and a Q Jet, it sounds awesome, and has stump pulling torque. ( I need it, .63 overdrive).