Hey guys. I got a 305 TPI in my '86 IROC, not performing as well as it could be. Has anyone ever had their engine rebuilt here? Is it worth the cost? Did you have any positive/negative comments on a rebuild? Does anyone have any suggestions for a rebuild? (i.e. Get the cylinders overbored, etc etc.) Thanks!

if you pay someone to do all the work you could have a new car, or at least a newer car for the price of the parts and labor. a replacement crate engien may be a cheaper and better route for you to take. i've spent several thousand on parts and machine work before, but wasn't stock rebuilds. actually sometimes i don't want to know what i've spent.

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-=ICON MOTORSPORTS=-
1st & 3rd

i got quoted 3,000 dollers for my 350...(don't ask) was a stock rebuild too! 3,000 could get me a rebuild and some poweradders..

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89 IROC-Z 350 TPI

-Flowmaster Catback
-Performance Resource Chip
-700R4 (Rebuilt) Too much done to actually list
-K&N Airfilters
-Ported Plenum
-2.77 Gears (not much to brag about but eh, its there)
-MSD 8.5 mm plug wires
-Problems every other day with the car (probably not a mod, but to me it sure makes a difference)

I had complete machine work done on my Vette 350 last year and it came to just over $1,400. About $800 for the block/crank/rods and pistons and another $600 for the head work. Here's what I got for my $1,400:

Hot tank block - all oil galleries cleaned
Bored .030 and honed for moly rings
Decked
Line hone mains
Turn crank .010
Balance - crank, rods flexplate and pistons
Press on New pistons
Resize rods and install new ARP bolts
New cam bearings and freeze plugs
All bolt holes chased

Hot tank heads
New guides
New springs
Valve job
Removed press-in studs and Screw in studs and guide plates installed
New locks, retainers and stem seals
Heads angle mllled 0-.080
All bolt holes chased

I think that's everything.

You've got to figure the cost of all the additional parts you'll need including gaskets and fluids.

Also, assembly would probably be about the same as the machine work. Of course if you can do the assembly and installation yourself, you'd save big.

Too bad you don't live in Texas because I've got it for sale; I've moved to a 415 CID.

Jake


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1986 Corvette Coupe, 415 CID, Edelbrock 6073s, ZZ9

Depends on how cheap you want to go. I built a 350 back in the early 80's. New camshaft, rings, bearings and gaskets. Reused everything else including the factory pistons. It cost me $500 Canadian in parts just for that.

I'm currently building my 454 race engine and I doubt I can keep it under $6000 Canadian. I just got my engine out of the machine shop last week. Hot tank, boring with torque plates, mock-up for deck height measurement, decking the block, line honing, polishing the crank (didn't need grinding), shot peening and resizing the rods, cam bearings, rod bolts, frost plugs and balancing everything came to $1500. That's just the bottom end. Add the extra cost for some good head work with all new parts (springs, valves, guides, porting etc) and it could be an extra $1500.

The biggest cost will be labour. I can pick up a 350 short block for $1000. Add about 20+ hours to change everything over to the new engine and do the swap plus the labour rate and the $3000+ bill becomes reasonable. When you consider an EFI engine, there's now a lot more stuff to change over to the new engine. That's all extra labour.

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Stephen's racing page

87 IROC-Z Pro ET Bracket Race Car
383 stroker (carbed) with double hump cast iron heads and pump gas
454 Big Block buildup now in progress for the 2001 racing season

Best results before the 383 blew up
Best ET on a time slip: 11.857 altitude corrected to 11.163
Best MPH on a time slip: 117.87 altitude corrected to 126.10
Best 60 foot: 1.662

Racing at 3500 feet elevation but most race days it's over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car
91 454SS daily driver
95 Homebuilt Harley

In So Cal you'll get what you pay for, maybe.
Remember, with our relatively high labor costs out here, your going to pay a premium to have an engine rebuilt. There are some cheap rebuilds out there, but I've seen a few "horror" stories. I've also seen guys spend a lot of money for a good build-up, and get taken to the cleaners with an engine that is substandard.
If you want to go for high performance with a blower or Nos, or run high rpms (above 6000) you should invest in forged crank, rods, and pistons ($$$). If you are going to run stock, or maybe a set of high performance heads, and a cam, the stock bottom end is fine. You can get a brand new "Goodwrench" 350 crate motor for around $1100-$1200 plus labor to install it. The 350 will drop right in, and give you more performance than you can get out of the 305
with mods.

For that kind of money, why not buy a gm crate motor??

[This message has been edited by fbodfreek (edited November 29, 2000).]