I am getting ready to rebuild the 350 out of my 76 C3. It has 76,000 miles on it. It does not burn any oil and it does not drip any oil. The engine was covered with 26 years of crap but it ran well.

My first option would be to simply clean it up, repaint it and put it back in. I have already pressure washed the engine and most of the junk came off. How do I get it ready for paint without having it boiled? I don't want to repaint it if the head gaskets are going to leak and make the engine look like junk again in a few months.

Option two is to rebuild. I am trying to decide if I just want to do a stock rebuild or beef up the engine. If I opt for beefing up, should I store the stock engine (numbers match) and buy a crate engine that has been beefed? If so, beefed how?

I am removing the body and I am going to detail the frame, blasting painting and all new bushings, so I want a good looking power plant under the hood but I don't want to break the bank. I am looking to keep the power plant and trans redo to under $2K. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, with the trans out should I have it gone through for a few hundred $? I know I need a new clutch but the trans seemed O.K. when I bought the car. :confused:

 

Now that you have it out just replace the valve guide seals paint it and put it back. If you are serious abought a rebuild there is a 100's ways of rebuilding an engine and only 1 correct way and it will cost you.

 

Check out my website, if you want an idea of machine shop charges and other parts of the engine rebuilding experience.

If your engine doesn't leak, knock, etc., I think I would go with the above advice and stick it back in. It sounds like you have a lot of life left in it. I don't know how often you drive the car, but in my world, 76000 is not a lot of miles. And the remaining 50-60K you have left before you may need a rebuild, would take me fifteen years to cover. Even if this is your primary driver, and you cover 15000+ miles a year, you still have a couple of years left before you may have to consider a rebuild.

I say clean it up and save your dough. A proper rebuild is going to cost at least $2000, with machine work approaching half of that.

Good luck with it, and let us know what you decide.

:cheers:

 

:iagree: With 95000 miles on my engine I was considering a rebuild, but I kept thinking to myslef "Why fix something that just isn't broken?" Instead I decided to just do cam/headers/intake or now. I'll do the rebuild after I beat on the engine a few more years. :cheers:

 

Agree with the above posts that unless you had an obviously damaged engine, stay with it unless you want more power. Just rebuilt a '75 that was damaged with two spun rod bearings. Machine work was done by a local NC shop and parts plus machining (cylinder bore, head redone) plus assembly was around $800. This was a surprisingly good deal. 1st I would do a compression test. This will give you an idea of your piston cylinder condition and your head condition. If all eight are within specs, since you have it out of the car, I would recommend as well to at least replace the valve seals and the top end gaskets, as well as timing cover and oil pan gaskets. As for painting the engine, you must remove all the grease. If you have powerwashed it, go back over it with hot water and dishwashing detergent and scrub, scrub, scrub. Then go over the surface with a paint prep degreaser available from autozone, etc. Your first coat should be a dry coat, or misted on from about twice the distance recommended on the can. Let that set for 30 minutes then apply additional coats at 30 minute intervals until you have even color. If you see "fisheyes" (splotchy areas of uneven cover) during the 1st coat, stop and clean the area again with degreaser until it doesn't "fisheye." Good luck! [image]http://www.photohost.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22047[image]

 

And, if someone could tell me how to properly post a picture I sure would appreciate it! Thanks! I'm trying again.... [img]www.photohost.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22047[/img]

 

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the input. I have decided to clean the engine, paint it and put it back in. If I spend the budget on the engine, I will have to neglect the work on the frame. I would rather do the frame the right way now and save the engine for later. Thanks Again!

I too would like the instructions (detailed) for posting pictures. I have gotten allot of good input and would like to share the fruits of the labor.

:cheers:

 

Have you looked in the Help Forum? I found instructions there and they seemed to work, I at least found out how to put a URL to the site my pictures were posted on.

 

As someone said earlier, do a compression check. If it is OK, I would consider a minor rebuild. To me that is taking the block down and having it mick'd and if withing specs, just have the block vat'd, honed, new cam bearings, and have a valve job done. Then all you really need are new rings and bearings, oil pump, and timing chain. This shouldn't cost that much and you will have a fresh engine when you get the car back on the street. Of course, I am saying this based on the fact that I am basically lazy. The engine is already out and for me that would be all the cause I would need to do a rebuild. Even though I have pulled and rebuilt at least 15 engines over the years, it is NOT my favorite past time.

 

Let's try a picture one more time [IMG][/IMG]http://www.photohost/org/gallery/data/500/2596DSC01387-med.JPG [IMG][/IMG]