midge54

So today i found out that my blown L69 305 is really trashed. The PO must have run this thing ridiculously hot, at high rpms with no oil because 4/8 rod bearings are blown, the main thrust bearing is chewed to the point the crank is trashed. They fried the lobes on the camshaft, and the cylinders are so screwed that it will take a bore of at least .40 over to straighten them out. The block hasnt even been checked to see if its been cracked. I wanted to save it because it matched my 15th anniversary trans am, however when the cost of redoing this very badly damaged motor, and the fact the transmission has already been previously been replaced, i decided to look at alternatives. So my uncle has a perfect running gm goodwrench crate 350 that he will sell me for 400 and help me get it back in the car. So my question is how can i tell what type of crate it is and what the base hp/tq is

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

If it's a "Goodwrench" 350, odds are, it's the "260 HP" one. Basically a phone company van replacement motor. The lowest of the low in every way. Part # for part #, an exact copy of the late 70s 165 HP deep smogger turds that the L69 ran circles around. About 8.2:1 compression, 624 882 or 993 heads, 929 cam, the full smogger treatment.

But hey... sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Ronnie Brennan

a $400 motor is a good deal no matter what its putting out for hp! If its new you are already ahead of the game. You can save up some cash and put new heads, intake and a whole bunch of other stuff on that crate engine to pep it up.

midge54

So if it's an exact copy of the 70s smogger that only ran 170hp how's it now rated at 260 did they change anything in them or is it just cause of no smog crap

Ronnie Brennan

I'm personally not sure but there are most likely different heads. But then again.. I said I wasnt sure so someone else will have to answer that question.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Because that's what it might do with a non-restrictive exhaust, a Holley 4-bbl carb, etc. etc. etc., AND using the only "gross" system for "ratings" besides .... totally unrealistic in terms of, "put this motor in your car and this is what you'll get". More like, "this is the most you'll EVER get NO MATTER WHAT".

Get the head casting number, and that will pretty much tell what it is.

Not that is matters all that much, since regardless, you're probably going to stick it in there. Just, don't expect some kind of miracle.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

If you want something that sounds good and will move the car around for a year or two while you build something better the good wrench 350 is fine.

Sounds good is relative, but it sure sounds better than a v6.

Now another option that might be better...

If you're savvy with finding things on the internets... buy a used 305 pullout. They're for sale all the time here and on ebay and craigslist etc, and people cant hardly give them away because "they're just 305s". Maybe you can get a 305 from a TBI car that has a roller cam, and you can put an LT4 hotcam in it and put your l69 heads on it, it'd be quite a beast and would put any goodwrench 350 to shame. If your heads are junk, get one with the 081 TPI heads or get your heads redone if possible. Try to get a roller cam 305, that rules out most of the LG4's (you may need a new flexplate though) but it lets you run a roller cam that can give you a huge edge over most factory 350's. The thing about running the TBI 305's and changing the heads over is those TBI engines could make enough power to hurt themselves. As long as there was oil in it they were fine. They last forever, so as long as it's not a bad oil burner, it's a perfect performance build up shortblock as far as Im concerned. They had decent compression too I believe. Just ditch the heads in favor of 416s or 081s.

The goodwrench 350's internals are garbage worthy for performance, so if you want a hot 350, you'll have to tear it all the way down and the most I'd say you could re-use is... maybe the crank? Maybe the rods if you replace the rod bolts. So it's not really getting you ahead in the long run either unless you just want something practical and functional.

There are good running 305 pullouts all over the place that people toss in favor of "goodwrench 350s" and old smogger garbage just because "it's a 350!"... in reality the hot 305's in the third gens would run circles around probably 90 percent of factory 350's made from 67 to 92, and a 305 with L69 (416) heads and a roller cam will be a damn fun car. Good thing is you can run the hotcam in a Vortec 350 and push upwards of 350-400hp later on.

oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

260 HP is with headers, exhaust, intake manifold and a 4bbl carb. Oh and its also 325-350 torque, not bad for a $400 motor! Without all that stuff it's probably 160hp or so.

What's with all the Goodwrench 350 bashing? They're not all that bad, especially at $400 for running condition. You can put Vortec heads and a Cam to easily get $350 + HP, long as you have headers, intake manifold and 4BBl carb.

I would much rather get a running Goodwrench 350 from a relative for $400 than some random 305 block from who knows who.

Yes the internals aren't all that great but they'll be fine up to around 400hp.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

No you can't. Goodwrench 350's are flat tappet.

oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

Yes you can. What does flat tappet cam have to do with it? Chevy High Performance got 385 HP out of a Goodwrench 350 using Vortec heads and no they didn't convert the block to roller. If you don't want to mess with Vortec heads they got 330 HP using L98 heads, a far cry from the turds everyone makes these engines out to be.

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ild/index.html

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

You said a Vortec heads and cam. I interpreted that as a Vortec cam (Which is a roller, and the other defining characteristic of the vortec trucks as opposed to the TBI trucks).

I think that's a pretty excusable miscommunication.

I think I'd rather have a cheap roller cam 305 than a goodwrench 350, though. But I wouldn't blame you or anyone else for feeling differently. THe bang for the buck on the nearly free, running 305's everywhere is phenomenal if you already have decent heads and can shove a big roller cam in it.

Keegan84

iTrader: (1)

I did the same thing as the original poster. I bought a 350 GM crate engine for a few hundred bucks. I was just going to plop it into my car, but once I tore it apart one of the main bearings was pretty bad. Ended up rebuilding it completely, except for the smogger heads.

Only thing I recommend is using all new bolts when you rebuild this thing. Even if it is fairly new, the factory bolts will stretch like hell when you try to retorque them..I learned from the school of hard knocks.

For the price I say go for it. If it runs for a year you got your moneys worth and can rebuild it. If it runs for 10 years, you can add a decent amount of power to it without messing with the bottom end.
-Edit- this is what I have and most likely what you have. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...40&postcount=4

stroken85z

for the price i would buy that 350 throw it in and run it and if you want than you can start building a stronger motor on a stand while being able to still drive the car.it doesnt sound like your trying to do a 12 quarter mile so whats the big deal runing a old style 350 some people wont run what they consider junk they go for a "12 second quarter with any engine"

midge54

Right this car will be lucky to see 1k miles a year on it. All I bought the car for was to enjoy on the weekends and take to shows. If I want to go fast I'll take my 300hp turbocharged sonata. It will have my 4bbl on it and I read on a website that these 350s ran 230hp with stock headers and stuff. Still better than a trashed l69. I would keep the original motor but don't see the point when I could take the same amount of cash required to get the 305 running and just build the 350 up

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Well I personally see roller tappet engines as much more reliable.