Hey guys,

For the past few weeks I've been beating myself up trying to find the best way to Rebuild my engine to obtain alot of horsepower.

I wanted to rebuild the engine because i felt it would be more satisfying than just buying a crate.
However, for the hp gain I originally wanted there were alot of obstacles(extra parts, and machine work) that i needed to purchase for my setup. such as stronger bolts, 4-bolt main conversion etc.

Than i began thinking of buying a crate 355 storker. It was Very reasonable and it is obvious that for the price and the benifits it would be foolish to not buy one.

However, this goes against the goal I made for myself in that i wanted to rebuild an engine.

So I decided to drop the number of horsepower I want. I do not care anymore about the hp gain I recieve. I just want to rebuild the original Engine and bring it back to life.

A fellow member told me about a company called "Northern Auto Parts".
He told me that they have great rebuild kits for chevy 350 engines. I saw the list and they did not dissapoint.

This is the rebuild kit I wish to purchase:
http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...?ProductId=547

What would be your opinion on this buy? Since it is substantially less than my intended build I would like the buy the upgraded setup with forged pistons.


Thanks for the help

 

I've bought dozens of kits from Northern Auto Parts and been consistently happy. You can make some very smart upgrade choices in the kit and get some great prices on the cam and other upgraded components. It's worth specifically taking a look at the rod and crank exchange prices; they're usually a fair bit cheaper than a local shop to resize and grind since Northern does it in bulk.

I would get together a detailed budget before making any big decisions.

As for forged pistons, only needed if you you think you might run power-adders; if you're shooting for less than about 1.2 HP/CID it's just wasted money - hypereutectics are fine.

 

buy the crate motor. you'll be happy you did when its all said and done

 

I'm saving the crate motor for the next project. It's gonna be a Camaro.

I want this first project to be a hands on learning experience. If I build an engine now, I'll learn how it works inside how i could fix porblems it has in the future if it has anything.

 

I would commend anyone who's willing to take on a project like rebuilding an engine. There is already a ton of information available on this forum from people who are willing to help, but if you haven't already gotten a copy of "How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy" I would highly recommend that you do. An engine rebuild is not the easiest thing you'll ever undertake, but if you do the necessary reading you'll find that it's really simpler than you might think. These engines were designed to be assembled at the factory by people who weren't rocket scientists and as such they're pretty basic. The trickiest part of assembling a Detroit V8 is gasket sealing, but even that isn't that difficult if you just use the right techniques. When I did my C3 I purchased a rebuild kit from Summit for $300 w/hyper pistons...you might want to give them a look as well.

 

The book was the first thing I bought. Because of it i was able to disassemble the engine in a day. I've been reading since because it has references on parts and so on.

 

I just finished rebuilding my engine last winter, it was a very rewarding experience and I learned a great deal from several forum members. I purchased my kit from Northern and was very pleased with it. Just take your time and read everything you can get your hands on. One thing to keep in mind when you are cleaning parts for reassembly they can't get clean enough. Oh yeah, if you are not going to have the block decked make sure you get pistons with the right pin height, I believe 1.560 is correct. Good Luck Tim

 

I found rebuilding my engine to be an awesome experience as well. Just make sure you buy a beer fridge for the garage if there isn't one already

 

I love building engines. This is a hobby, and doing the engine work makes it that mch more enjoyable. Plus you can put the time and care into building an engine that GM doesn't. Take your time, detail all of the parts and test fit every part once before doing it again.

 

Here is a book by David Vizard that I would recommend...

http://www.amazon.com/Build-Chevy-Sm...2376456&sr=8-3

He give several types of builds and some nice tips and tricks.

 

sounds like a great idea!! To bad I'm underage lol