Smear some JB-Weld on it and sand it down once it hardens, it'll be good as new..........

Seriously, though, Take a hard look at the Goodwrench motor, and like someone else said, you may be able to find it a little cheaper locally, just do a Google search on the part number.


Scott

 

lets look at the good side of this deal, its got good parts in it, a seasoned high nickel american made block not a mexican block, the specs are right, if its a trade school they probley broke it in on a engine dyno, by the "clown hat" markings on the heads its got 1.94-1.60 valves, cam ?, even with a mild cam I'am thinkin maybe 300hp, parts and labor alone are close to asking price, if the seller or the school stands behind the motor meaning they accept the motor back and the buyer gets his money back, I'd bite on it or make an offer, just get it in writing, the other choice's mentioned are double the asking price, still need maybe a carb, ign. whatever, just my thought gentlemen.

 

Billa, I agree with you in principle, but if I'm putting a cut crank in one of my motors I'm not taking anybody's word for its accuracy...I'm measurin' that sucker six ways from Sunday before it goes in the block. As for the hyper pistons, there have been countless posts on this forum about the grenade-like qualities of KB hypers. That's not what I have in my car and I haven't heard complaints about any of the others

 

Well, I agree with always checking machine work - but the .010 crank shouldn't be a red flag in general.

The KB hypereutectic issues are well-documented as being machine shops not paying attention to the wider ring gaps and breaking the top ring land. But in general, hypereutectics are fine for just about any non-power-adder build.

 

it can happen for sure, my personal experence with KB hyper's is I ran 13-1 KB's in my IMCA dirt modified for years without a problem, turning the motor 6500-7000 RPM, they are a cast piston with a advertized strength of a forged piston who knows what the builder did, you don't run then with the clearence's of a forged piston, you got to be carefull who you give your motor to to have it rebuilt, I read somewhere on this site where this poor guy gave his engine to a rebuilder with half the money who sent it out to another machinist, now the customers motor is in never-never land, you gota be carfull,I was lucky my machinist had Indy experence and taught at the local JC here.

 

Seems like a great deal, not to hijack the thread but the page states 190 HP, however it reads this at the bottom of the page...
"This engine is capable of producing 260 horsepwer with a with a 4-barrel carburetor and headers. This engine is not designed, nor intended to be used in any marine applications. Engines installed in vehicles registered and normally operated outside of the United States carry no warranty. Can be used in light duty pickups of 7200 GVW or less."

Wonder why there is such a difference?

 

not to hijack the thread but


Whenever you read these words, you know the thread is about to be hijacked............


Scott

 

Don't people sleeve cylinders any more?

Ralph

 

For classic, original blocks or expen$ive aftermarket blocks - sure.

Too expensive for your run-of-the-mill block when a better (i.e. late-model roller-cam) replacement is relatively cheap. My shop charges around $125/cylinder...

 

And I'll bet that's just for the sleeve, ya still have to have it decked, right?


Scott

 

Alright so if I were to get just a bare block... what exactly would I need?

 

if it were me, I would look for a decent one piece rear seal, roller cam ready long block with a fuel pump boss on it. I found one a while back that was a4 bolt Vortec 5.7 engine, fuel pump pad and pushrod bore completely machined except for final break thru on bore and final break thru on drainback at bottom. If your going to lightly go thru the motor (hone, rings, bearings, cam), the added drilling to complete the pump mount bore-thru's wouldn't be terrible and you'd have a more modern block as a starting point. The Vortec heads or the earlier TBI centerbolt heads are lightweight castings, sometimes crack if stressed, but the heads in your pictures were lightweights, too, so...

Tom

 

Dennis Jordan's top quality shop at Conway SC was charging $75 to properly complete fp boss.

If someone has the wherewithal to build up their own motor, that VIN code R iron head vortec 350 is a smart way to go.

If not, that +400hptq year one CT350PC1 crate is essentially just that ... for about $3200 delivered.

 

If you read my previous post #32 you will have the GENERAL answer to that question. I suspect at this point you need to make the decision as to whether or not you are willing to try and build your own engine or just buy a comlete unit from one of the many known suppliers out there. As for myself and many others on this forum, we like building our own stuff because it gives us (more or less) complete control over the whole process. It is generally cheaper as well. If you decide to go that route just let the forum know what it is you're trying to get out of this engine and how much you have to spend and you will get lots of responses from people who are more than willing to help. It is important at this point to be realistic- you're not gonna build a 600 HP monster for 1200 bucks, but if you take your time, have a reasonably clean place to work, basic tools along with a ring compressor, torque wrench, and an engine stand you can save yourself some money, LEARN A LOT, and have the satisfaction of having done something that 99% of the population never crosses off their bucket list. Awaiting your SPECIFIC response...

 

I might be willing to do it if I knew every piece I needed so I could price it out and get things ordered.

Would one of these kits be any good? http://www.summitracing.com/search/D...sc&keyword=350
Or could I use the part list on there for my guide line?

 

http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...?CategoryId=76

I've never used a kit from Northern or Summit, so I can't say anything about quality, but the prices are nice.


Scott

 

The Late 1 pc roller block is ideal for the money

Btw there is nothign wrong with the mexican GM blocks they will run exactly the same as some gold plated high block. You wont break it.

 

Some other options...

Dunno how shop savvy you are, but if you find a good, clean and running core engene, you could do a cheapy rebuild on the bottom end by cleaning everything really well, honing the block, polishing the crank, and installing the appropriate size rings and main/rod bearings, put in a new cam /lifters/timing set and oil pump, gaskets and freeze plugs and buttoning it up. Heads I would reccommend going thru a little deeper, but sometimes you can get by with lapping the valves back in and adding new stem seals if the heads are clean too.

I have done this 3 times on decent clean motors with no issues, not something to brag about in the Vette community (how can you be soooo CHEAP?!?), but I know 2 are still running strong in my vehicles (sold the third), so if needed, I would do it again.

Not a total rebuild, and may not last lotsa, lotsa miles depending on the condition of the core you start with and how you treat it after the "rebuild", but it is a cheaper alternative, and may get your car on the road to be enjoyed while you save up for your real-deal motor.

Another thought, if you find a nice enough core, you may be able to re-cam/timing set/oil pump/seal it and go with that.

Also agree on the Hecho en Mexico motors, have one of those I have run hard, but gave good care to. Nice motor, no issues in over 40k miles of craziness.

Tom

 

The first Chevy (or engine, for that matter) I rebuilt was done in exactly this fashion. A shadetree mechanic friend showed me how. I started with a core motor out of a '76 Camaro that was sunk in mud up to the axles ($150) had the block hot tanked after I removed all the freezeplugs ($30) had the cam bearings changed ($40) then took it home, polished the crank with 500 grit emery cloth (free) honed it out with a borrowed ball hone (free) had the heads cleaned and valves reground ($200) cleaned the pistons with simple green, scotch-brite pads and a cheapie ring groove cleaner. Then I put it all back together with an econo rebuild kit from Summit (rings, bearings, and all gaskets for $39) and a $125 RV-grind cam and lifter set, topped it off with a Weiand 8004 intake ($80), Holley 600 ($125), and a cheap set of headers ($69) and put it into my truck where I used it to pull my race car up and down the west coast for the next five years. Less than $800, and I pulled it out and sold it for $400 after 50,000 miles' running. There are many on this forum that will say that you should never, ever do that but I failed to see the harm in it then and still don't now. The engine won't know it's in a Corvette, after all. If you want to keep this car, you want to learn how to rebuild an engine, and you want to fix your blown-up car on a budget, this is what I recommend you do. If you want to build a pumped-up speed motor in the future, you can accumulate parts over time then and enjoy your now-running car while you're at it.

 

Ah, Birdsmith, I see you are in the IE too!
Emgime rebuilds like this must be a SoCal thing. Othere times, other forums I have posted about doing such a rebuild, and have been told I must be the only one.

Now I know, there are 2 of us!!!

Tom