Hey guys,

I started a project a few weeks ago. It's a 1973 stingray.

This weekend i should be able to install the rear trailing arms and should be able to install the 4 tires to make it into a rolling chassis.

Now for the engine, its the original L-48 350, with a 4-speed tranny.

I'm am interested in a rebuild kit from Northern Auto Parts. I've heard alot of good things about them and they were able to help me out on setting up a rebuild kit for me.

Now my only concern is that I want to order the rebuild kit, however, based on the books I've read they strongly recommend that I talk to the machine shop to see what size I need for the bearings and pistons etc.

What concerns me is that the rebuild kit comes with all of that. Is it safe to order the rebuild kit and have the machine shop work around that kit.

Really the only machining I want is to bore the cylinders out 30 over, street port the heads, convert my heads to screw in studs if I need to, and lastly clean the block and the heads.

What do you guys recommend?

Thank you

 

You can't buy the rebuild kit until you see what size the main and rod bearings are and usually the machinist likes the pistons there before the bore.
So have it apart before you order kit and have it bored after you get the kit with pistons.

 

The machine shop will "work around" the engine you have, not the kit for some engine...

Suppose you wanted to get married, would you buy the rings, dress, shoes etc. or wait to find a bride & get what fits.

 

Thats a great example.

So I should take the block and heads for inspection to see what machining it recommends before I order the kit

 

I understand about the main, however. For the rod bearings, wouldn't their size have to do with the connecting rods themselves, because I was thinking of purchasing a new set of Rods with the rebuild kit

 

Your rod bearing size will be determined by whether the crankshaft is or needs to be undersized.

 

I've bought dozens of the NAP kits and been very happy with all of them. If you look carefully at the upgrades, you can save some real money on what you might have bought aftermarket.

Before you do anything else, buy one of the solid GEN I SBC overhaul books. Don't take a bolt off until you do.

Next is to find the right machine shop - someone that is willing to work with a home rebuilder. The shop will tell you specifically what's required, and then you can make decisions regarding shop work vs. replacement parts, etc.

To answer your question regarding the rod bearings, the rods will be "resized" to a standard ID...but the rod journal on the crank will almost certainly be undersize...so the OD is the same, but the ID is different.

If the studs are pressed, you *will* want to replace them with screw-in studs. Shoulderless studs you can do at home easily...and you can also do very basic porting at home as well if you're interested.

Finally, the process is quite a bit more involved than what you're noting...but you'll see that from the books

I feel like this is a lot of random information, but hopefully it nails the big questions.

 

Listen to Billa. He's the guru! Read read read, have a plan before you start! Good luck. Keep us posted!

 

THANKS FOR THE HELP GUYS

Today me and my dad are gonna go see a mechanic we know to see if he could recommend us a good machine shop around here.

His shop builds high performance GM cars for drag races so he should know a good amount of shops for us

I'll let you guys know in the future how everything turns out

Feel free to keep posting up advice for me whenever you think of something else to mention.

So far what I've learned during this project is that It's better to feel overwhelmed with info than to not have any knowledge at all.

 

The key is not to get ahead of yourself - patience is the best tool for success. Read, learn...but don't buy any parts or make any decisions.

Once the engine is at the shop and you know what you have - and what your budget is - the decisions will sort out fairly quickly.