Building a 350
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From: Palatine il
Building a 350
Hey all... I'm new to this board and a friend of mine is here all the time and he told me to post here so Hi all... Anyways, I don't have a vette but I am planning on building a 350 up. Prolly a used 4 bolt. I am planning on spending around 6g's. Where can I find a block for cheap is my first question. Also, which parts should I go with? What kind of power can i get form 6g's worth of money? I'm prolly gonna buy all the parts for the bottom end and have someone put it together for me and then do the rest myself. I'm also gonna try and find a non bored block so I can bore it and stuff. Thanks..
Tony
Tony
Pro
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 726
Likes: 0
From: Petaluma CA
Re: Building a 350 (SRVFAN7)
Methinks kingdavid gives you good advice...but if you want to get greasy, finding a 350 block that is cheap should not be a problem, especially if you will drop 6g for finished product. Any junkyard will have plenty.
Take it all apart, use a mic to see if it is bored, take it to machine shop for magneflux to be sure it ain't cracked, tank it till it sparkles. Have the crank checked. Have rotating stuff (rods, pistons) balanced, blueprinting not necessary, and assembled.
While shop is busy doing all that, decide what cam (the heart of the matter) and what heads you want.
All this will depend on what you will do with the horsepower. Drag?
What vehicle? Dependability? Mileage? Do you really want to spend 6g?
IT ALL HAS TO WORK TOGETHER. A beautiful pair of brown shoes will never work with a navy suit !!! Plan...read...talk...and this is a real good place for that. Good luck !! :seeya
Take it all apart, use a mic to see if it is bored, take it to machine shop for magneflux to be sure it ain't cracked, tank it till it sparkles. Have the crank checked. Have rotating stuff (rods, pistons) balanced, blueprinting not necessary, and assembled.
While shop is busy doing all that, decide what cam (the heart of the matter) and what heads you want.
All this will depend on what you will do with the horsepower. Drag?
What vehicle? Dependability? Mileage? Do you really want to spend 6g?
IT ALL HAS TO WORK TOGETHER. A beautiful pair of brown shoes will never work with a navy suit !!! Plan...read...talk...and this is a real good place for that. Good luck !! :seeya
Racer
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Niedernhausen, Germany
Re: Building a 350 (Stevo81)
My recommendation: Get one or two good books first (e.g. John Lingenfelter on Building Chevy SB or How to build horsepower by Dave Wizard). There are a lot of details to be considered which is way too much to discuss in the forum.
However the forum can help with any additional questions that might occure during or after reading them books.
Anyway, building an engine is a lot of fun and really a rewarding project if you know what you are doing.
Good luck!
However the forum can help with any additional questions that might occure during or after reading them books.
Anyway, building an engine is a lot of fun and really a rewarding project if you know what you are doing.
Good luck!
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From: Palatine il
Re: Building a 350 (SRVFAN7)
I'm looking to dropit in either a 70 chevelle or 67 firebird. I don't want to buy a crate engine cuz I think I can get way more HP out of a 350 than the money than the crate does. It's not a hassle for me to build an engine... Just the bottom end I'd have someone else do. I don't want it to be a complete drag car, I want this to be my cruiser as well. Gotta show off =) How much you think a block would cost from a junk yard? And with 6g's, what kind of HP do you think I could pull out of a 350?
Tony
Tony
Racer
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 467
Likes: 1
From: Dayton Ohio
Re: Building a 350 (SRVFAN7)
For 6g's you can get yourself a base 502 with 502hp and 502+tq. This would be a no-brainer for me, extremely streetable and gobs of power anywhere in the rpm range. But, if you are hooked on a smallblock, why not start with a 400ci block? If I was to put 6g into a small block, Id definately start witha 400ci block and make it inot a 427+ci beast. Check out this site, it might lead you in the right direction. I would much rather trust people building my hipo engine that build them for a living. The prices are really very comparable to doing it yourself because they get so many of the parts at a discount, plus they have a warranty. http://www.amerspeed.com/engine_prices.htm
Good luck
Good luck
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Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,399
Likes: 247
From: San Jose CA
Re: Building a 350 (SRVFAN7)
Of course, with an engine you built yourself, there are two major pros/cons.
Pro: When you drive it, and wind it up to XXXX rpm, you'll be thanking yourself and feeling so proud of the work you've done. You just did something great, and a very small percentage of the population has ever done.
Con: when you drive it, and wind up to XXXX rpm, you wonder what's gonna brake. If you're very thorough, you'll probably build the engine to closer tolerances than the factory could ever hope. From what I've heard, there are quite a few sloppily built crate motors out there... (warranty makes up for it, I guess.)
-Steve
*edit* I would reccommend the Vortec block or a late L98 if you're set on building up a medium sized small block. They come from the factory machined for roller lifters, and have a one-piece rear main seal (less leakage). It's the same block as used in the ZZ4.
[Modified by Pacin'California, 8:50 AM 10/17/2002]
Pro: When you drive it, and wind it up to XXXX rpm, you'll be thanking yourself and feeling so proud of the work you've done. You just did something great, and a very small percentage of the population has ever done.
Con: when you drive it, and wind up to XXXX rpm, you wonder what's gonna brake. If you're very thorough, you'll probably build the engine to closer tolerances than the factory could ever hope. From what I've heard, there are quite a few sloppily built crate motors out there... (warranty makes up for it, I guess.)
-Steve
*edit* I would reccommend the Vortec block or a late L98 if you're set on building up a medium sized small block. They come from the factory machined for roller lifters, and have a one-piece rear main seal (less leakage). It's the same block as used in the ZZ4.
[Modified by Pacin'California, 8:50 AM 10/17/2002]