A friend of mine hooked me up with a guy that has a 350 sbc that he wants to get rid of.

Before I went to see it, the owner told me that it had 350 heads as well as new valves and springs. He also said that it has a slightly above normal lift cam in it still and it does run without burning oil. Unfortunatly, when I got there, we found out that it was only a 2 bolt main.

But then he remembered that he had another block sitting over by the side wall. He popped off the oil pan and sure enough, it was a 4 bolt. The crank and the inside of the oil pan were both really clean. I didn't see any deposits or build-up at all. Whoever owned it before this aparently changed the oil pretty regularly.

He wants $200 for the block... it sounds like a pretty fair price to me. He's a friend of a friend... so I don't think that he would try to screw me over. My only concern is that I don't know how to check and see if it is actually a 350. I suppose I just have to take his word for it, unless there is a casting number or something that I can check.

I am very nervous because I have never rebuilt (or even taken apart) a complete motor before. I am unsure of what order to even go in when starting this project. I have 3 books on the subject and I have read them all... not to mention the advantage of thirdgen.org in case I get stuck.

I think that the first thing that I would like to do is get the block cleaned up in an acid bath... bored/honed and pressure tested.

I am building a 350.... :lala:

 

whats the problem with the 2 bolt main 350?

they are just fine for what your doing unless your building up over 400hp

the engine block casting numbers are on the back of the block where the head bolts on there will be a series of numbers you need to write down then check on www.mortec.com for the number that will tell you the size and year of the engine that he is selling then if you decide to buy it i would take it to have it checked for cracks after you disassemble the engine .

just remember when disassembling the engine dont mix up the rod caps or the main caps and youll be okay ....

its a good idea to buy a cheap stamp set at your parts store and mark each one in sequence so you dont get them mixed up

if it were me id buy the 2 bolt engine thats already to go from the sounds of it and put some new gaskets throuout and check out the engine when doing so if all checks out okay then just put it in and go ...

 

The thing about the 2 bolt is that it already has a lot of miles on it and would need a complete rebuild anyway.

My horsepower range goal is between 400 and 450. I am no pro, but I think that's pretty achieveable if the 350 is built carefully.

I still haven't decided if I want to go EFI or carb...

 

YOu arent gettin a case of 4 bolt fever are you? Make sure you dont make more work for yourself. Besides, nothing is stronger than a 2 bolt block with splayed mains.

 

PS If he referred to them as 350 heads, you probably dont want them, unless they are from a TPI motor. if they end in 882, leave them in his garage.

 

The heads are not included with this second motor. It's the block and oil pan only.

I've read that it might not be a bad idea to reuse the heads off of my L03. Something about increasing compression.

 

Its a horrible idea, the worst one you could ever have. The lo3 has the crappy swirl port heads. THese will never perform in any way. IF you want to go with 305 heads, get a set from a 305 TPI, and have them set up. But dont in any way carry over anything from that TBI motor, including the exhaust. LO3's probably had the worst exhaust of all thirdgens.

 

Isee now that you have a catback, nevermind.

 

Yeah,

Thank you for clearing that up. I had forgotten that it was the 305 TPI heads that could be used for that application.

The exhaust was one of the first things that I did on the car. The stock manifolds and pipes were so restrictive that it wasn't even funny.

What about getting a crank out of a 400 small block and turning it into a 383? Sorry for all the questions, I have been doing a lot of reading and a lot of searching and there are about 1000 ideas running through my head.

 

Instead of using the 400 crank, you would be better off with an aftermarket crank. YOu get the different stroke, but with the right main size.

 

yeah check out any of the magazines out there and look for the 383 chevy crankshafts they are definatly worth the price

less headaches...LOL