Within the next few months my car will be basicly torn down to nothing.
The thing is, it's 100% fine the way it is. So it's driveable and working great, but I want some more juice.

Basicly I want to find another vehicle with a 350 carbed in her, and buy the whole thing, pull the engine and salvage all the pieces I can.

I intend to build this engine over time since my car is fine the way it is.

But I need a block to start with, I would prefer a 4 bolt.

Anyone know any cheapie older cars or trucks that would have a great donor engine in it?

Also with swapping the engine, I'm hoping to do away with the computer and needless vaccum lines and such. Anyone know if I swap the engine... Can I toss out the chip or does the chip control my tranny or anything else that I might need?

 

Why do you want to swap if you've already got a 350? Especially one that's better than a junkyard 70s smogger dog that you'd find for cheap?

 

If you eliminate the computer, you'll need a non-ccc distributor and a way to rig up the lock up torque converter on your 700r4. For info on the torque converter do a search or read the stickies for engine swaps or tranny info.

 

To answer a few ques...

I want to buy another block, and start fresh and from the ground up. But I want to keep driving my car while I build the other engine. Plus I'm hoping to maybe even find a sb 400.

As for my computer, it's not that I hate computers... It's that I know nothing about them. And it is just much easier to go a little more old school with carbs and such then try my hand at wiring up something that is basicly unknown to me.

I'm weighing several options at the moment, but since I'm basicly gutting my car eventually down to nothing. I figure I'd get all the info that I could.

So back to the orig ques, any ideas on a block that's good to start from?

 

If you just want the block then it doesn't matter what it comes from, they're all the same, just as long as its in good shape.

 

exactly...why 4 bolt??

 

A donor car just for a 4 bolt 350 block probably isnt the best idea... And thats coming from someone that advocates donor cars for most newer engine swaps.

Yes you can get a donor car and go through all the work of stripping it apart...and maybe make alittle money back. But its just not worth it for something you can pick up for a few hundred. You are gonna rebuild it with new parts anyway right? So just get a good used block from someone, or get a new crate block. If its an old block, get it checked at a shop and cleaned up, bored/honed, new freeze plugs and cam bearings... then build her up.

Now if you were going LS1 or LT1...then a donor car is worth it. Orr...you could go with an LS block and carb it...and probably make more than a regular 350 build. And still be a nice running car with great street manners.

J.