Well I got a 350 for free from a friend that came out of a 67 chevy truck, its a 4 bolt main and he told me it runs just fine. Im want to get it rebuilt and get some work to it done at a machine shop. My friend knows a guy that will do the machine work pretty cheap. My main question is what do i need to tell the guy to do to the block? I know it should be bored out but what else? I also work in metal finishing so I was thinking I could dip the block in an acid bath to clean it out and then powdercoat the block and everything else as well. the powdercoating will be at cost so thats 100 dollars out of the 1000. What would you guys do to a 350 with 900 dollars to put into it?

 

well if this block is in such great running condition why the rebuild? why would you suspect a good running engine to have to be bored out? with the machining process you are going to spend about 500 bucks before you get to put any "goodies" into it. once you do get the motor ready for your car i suggest headers and a complete free flowing exhaust first. an engine cant perform if it cant breathe.

 

see the thing is i dont know if it runs great, i just know that it runs and this will be my daily driver so i just dont trust it lasting. Im not really too worried about the goodies now I just want a solid block that will be reliable.

 

Well, what I would do is try to get a good idea on how many miles and how long ago the (or old) the engine was rebuilt, if ever before you dumped any cash into it. I mean, why waste the extra $$$ if the motor is good when, assuming the engine is in great running shape open it up and stick in a good cam and get a good carb and intake manifold. After its in go with headers and a good exhaust system.

 

For the record, engine parts are not cleaned in "acid". It's a caustic solution.

I've heard of internal engine coating, but not powder coating. Is it a coating made to withstand the heat and fluids it will see?

As to what to ask the machinist, first you have to know what you've got. Then you have to know what you want. Most likely, that engine has been rebuilt (it didn't come in a '67 pickup, that's for sure), so if it was overbored in the last go-round, that may limit what you can do this round. The machine shop needs to check it out to determine if it is even rebuildable before you spend any money beyond finding that out.

Same story for the crank. Magnafluxing of parts is a good idea to make sure they aren't cracked.

Most likely the heads are performance junk. Not assured, just most likely. Heads alone could bust your budget.

What is this engine for? The car in your profile? What's your budget for getting it into the car?

 

Powdercoating is only on the external parts of the engine, its made to withstand anywhere from 450 degrees to 1000 degrees depending on the powder. This engine is going to either be for a 88 transam that has no engine or my current car. I have 1700 to spend on getting it into my car

 

Don't powdercoat the block. A waste of money and will hold the heat in.
You want a thin coat of engine paint on the engine block only.

Powdercoat the valve covers if you must.

If the motor is a true 1967 motor the cylinder heads will not have accessory bolt holes in the ends of the heads.

may be an issue when installing it in a Fbody.

 

The powdercoating will cost me like 100 bux total, I just have to pay for the costs of using the oven. I work as a powdercoater so I want to get every part done. I will know everything about the block once I get it this weekend.

 

your gonna need another $1000, just being realistic. there are too many little things that are gonna add up. find out if it really needs a rebuild, or just bearings and a rering.

 

The heads probably aren't very good, anyway, and would need hardened exhaust valves & seats to run unleaded gas. Besides, if the motor is a true 1967 truck motor, it isn't a 350.

Spending 10% of your budget on powdercoating, which won't make a lick of difference in how well the engine runs (and may make it worse) nor how long it will last doesn't make any sense at all. Spend it where it will do some good.

Is $1700 the total budget, or above and beyond the $1000 for the engine?

 

sorry I talked to the guy today about the engine and it wasnt a 67 it was a 76. It had about 100,000 miles on it and it hasnt been messed with at all. It is a completely stock engine with no work done to it at all. my budget for the engine is 1000 without the powdercoating. I have to get a carb and intake for it for sure so thats like 400 to 500 bucks, i will also need the gaskets for it and that will be about 100 bux right? Then it has to be bored out which i have no idea how much that costs. So what else has to be done to make this engine solid?

 

Skip the powder coat unless it's a triler quenn show car, even at "your cost" of only "$100" it's not worth the effort or money. Buy some quality ceramic engine paint, all told maybe $20 and motor will look pretty as long as you keep it clean.

You will have a minimum of $500-600 in the block prep work alone if you want it "solid", price may vary slighty depending on your area.

Then when you have you crank checked that'll cost money and there's no garuntee it's any good and may not be turnable so you may have just spend the $50-80 to have it checked...for nothing, kind of the chance you take. Rod will need to be R&R if you want to reuse your stock rods, they will need new rod bolts pressed in so figure another $160 roughly for that. New pistons and rings, you can get some cheap azz cast silvolite pistons and rings for $150 then figure another $50-80 to have the old pressed off and new stuff pressed on. New bearings-main, rods, cam, frost plugs, oil pump, gaskets....literally by the time you add up all the little things to have something that would be bare minimum you just shot your $1K budget in the foot. You need I feel a minimum of around $2500 to get you something comlete that would be "reliable" or should I say worth the money you spend and time involved to do it.

A better option might be to just start looking on the machine shop floors for complete shortblocks ready to go, they can be had assembled for as little as $600 depending on internals. Then you need to figure heads, what'd it cost you to have yours gone through, typically $250-400 depending on what parts you buy and what you have done. Then you still new a cam, lifters, carb, intake, etc....your $1K will not get you much at all, you can even get stock GM 350 engines where you just install intake, carb, distributor, and oil pan for about $1700 so maybe that'll be a better route for you since it's all new/fresh and come with warranty also.

The big components are expensive, yes. But the little stuff to bolt on and make all the big components work about equal them.

 

A 1976 350 likely has the dredded "882" 76cc smog heads.

Do not use these heads if you expect to go fast. This is a low compression, dished piston low horsepower engine.
You'll want to rebuild it using flat top pistons.

You will need to get some high performance 64cc cylinder heads. You have many choices to choose from.

Some factory heads to look for are: L-98 cast heads L-98 aluminum .

Any of the old 69-70 era Z28-corvette hi perf 64cc "fuelie heads" with accessory bolt holes.
96-2000 L-31 Vortec heads

When on a shoe string budget , I like to use home modified, fully ported 305 head castings, using larger valves for a budget performance build up.

Any of the popular dual plane hi rise manifolds will work.
www.professional-products.com has the chineziem versions. Pick up a good used one with a holley or edelbrock 750 carb.

 

I just did my block for about $1000. I took it apart, had it bored, and boiled, etc. I re-used the rods and crank, but had the assembly balanced with my new pistons. I bought new rings, and studs also. I did the assembly/blueprinting....oh i also bought a new cam. I took the heads apart, ported them and had them do the valve job, but did the reassembly myself. It cost me just over $1000. Don't bother with powdercoat. If you can't do the assembly,( and it's a lot of time and research to do it right)...then you don't have enough money.....good luck. -Justin