Hi all,

I have a 1970 350/350. I have had it for nearly 20 years. I am risking going down the rabbit hole! What's "wrong" with it? Not much...I know...then leave it alone...but wait. There are several small oil/seal leaks and such. I would like to repaint/pretty up the engine. To do that, I feel I need to pull it out and fix the seal leaks. In addition, the previous owner was racing the car...so he put in a different cam (I don't konw what it is) and also put on a different intake (Edelbrock Torker maybe...I know it's good for WOT, but not good for general street driving). He also put on a Holley DP carb.

So - I want to fix the seal/oil leaks...paint the engine...put a different intake (probably Edelbrock Performer) on...have Lars rebuild my original Quadrajet and put that on.

So - as long as I'm pulling it and taking the top end apart, does it make sense to pull it all apart and have it rebuilt? I have never done this...I think with enough studying and such I can get it apart...but I should probably let someone else put it back together.

So - the question is...what would you do? If you were going to take it apart, knowing that there isn't anything drastically wrong with it...what would you do during the rebuild process? And roughly what would that cost?

Would you recommend pulling the cam and seeing if someone can figure out what it is? If I change the intake and carb, is it wise to try and match the cam (get a different one), or will that not make much difference/improvement?

Sorry for all the questions...would love any input/advice!

 

It sounds like you wish to keep the car as close to the original condition of the engine as possible. But, you have a number of options available to you and each has its upsides and its downsides.

1.a. If the engine is still serviceable but has some leaks...just live with it until you decide it MUST be fixed or replaced.

1.b. Fix the leaks that you can access without engine removal or major engine compartment disassembly. The oil pan can be removed without a lot of trouble and you can remove and inspect the crank bearing caps (one at a time, then replace). That will give you some idea of the viability of the crank and bearings. You can also do a compression test and a leak-down test to assess the condition of the valve train/cam.

2. Remove the engine and, if no major problems are found, reseal the engine, install new front and rear crank seals, clean up the engine and compartment, and reinstall it until you really have engine problems.

3. Remove engine, tear it down, and do a thorough block cleaning and inspection. If the block is still serviceable, do necessary machining and rebuild it...either to original specs or as you see fit with some new/better internals. (DO NOT MACHINE THE BLOCK DATA PAD!)

3.b. If the block is not salvageable, decide what replacement you want for the engine.
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If you love the car and intend to keep it for as many years as you can, and the original block is still usable, do your best to 'approximate' the original 350/350. Find/keep stock heads, intake and exhaust manifolds; cam, lifters, valves, and pistons are discretionary, IMO. If it were me, I would probably install a hydraulic roller cam with similar performance grind to what the 350/350 engine had. Stock-type pistons or modern replacements could be selected as you deem appropriate. Then you can start using full synthetic oil and it will last another 'lifetime' or two.

 

How much do you have to spend. Once you start to change things you can start dumping money into it without noticing. I would go with the rpm intake if you want more response and closer to the 350/ 350 look and performance. Start with that and replcing the seals with the motor in. Its quicker and you wont have the problems of removing/ installing the hood, engine from transmission, pulling the engine, radiator, draining the coolant, removing the exhaust........

Start with the intake and see how it runs with the existing cam. Then start getting crazy if its not working the way you want.

 

Hi guys - thanks for the thoughts. I think I can scrape ~$3-$4k together to do this. Ultimately I want something that performs better for what I'm doing now, which is not WOT down the drag strip. But if I can make it quicker getting on the freeway and such, that's cool.

Thanks for the comment on the RPM intake. Will that still fit under the stock hood with Qjet carb?

I guess I didn't realize that i may be able to fix some of the seal leaks with the engine still in the car. Is that difficult to do?

 

The oil pan, valve covers, fuel pump, water pump and intake gaskets can all be repaired with the engine in place; the rear main seal can be changed once the oil pan is dropped.

It would be difficult to repair the front end seals/gaskets without engine removal.