Hi guys, I have a knocking 305 (TPI) in my car and I have about $1000 to spend on something new. I am wanting a 350 for sure, just not sure what to do. I can get an LT1 + harness + ECM for around $650, but it is from a roadmaster. My car's a '91 GTA, LB9 TPI 305, SD setup, 700R4. I can't find any roller cam motors around locally (350's) not even core's / rebuilders. Is there much of a difference between older style SBC's and 87+ roller cam motor's? I know that there is a cam retainer plate on them. Other than that I am not sure. Any idea's for my swap?

 

'87-up truck 350's often had all of the roller cam provisions cast and machined. Look for one in good condition, put your cam/lifters and heads on the 350 shortblock.

 

Get a 400 block. Those can dish out some mean horsepower and great torque while still fitting in just as easily. You'll want to do a cooling upgrade, but I'd recommend that anyway if you plan on doing a swap while the engine is out.

 

Where in Ontario are you from? We've got so many 350's in windsor it's ridiculous, a guy I work with has a 30 over block with the heads for 500.

 

You don't buy, build and install a 400 for $1000. Especially under TPI.

You don't need cooling upgrades for a 400. You do need some myth-bustin'.

 

I think a new roller style 350 will fit more into your budget than a 400, the 400 cores are kind of expensive, and he will be stuck with a flat tappet cam with his budget, a few years ago that would have been fine, but I just keep seeing more and more flat tappet cams get wiped out.
You can probably get a 350 rebuilt with your budget, and still have some money left over for high performance parts, a small cam and more compression will make this motor run good, and you will have a good base to build on as money permits later.

 

Kinda shame, I just sold a 350 2 bolt last month for 750 with Iron Eagle heads. It was a great runner but I wanted to run Forced Induction and I didn't want to shred it. So, I sold it.

 

if you get a non roller 350, and run a mild solid cam with diesel oil youd be fine. cams are wiping more common due to federal regs on the amount of zinc in automtive oil. diesel oil is still pretty rich in zinc, so is racing oil but that is $$! you can always throw in a roller cam, roller lifters and rockers down the line. just add a cam button, and a beefed up timing cover.

 

Napanee, between Toronto and Ottawa. Windsor is quite a drive for me.

 

Diesel oil is now suffering from more federal regulations as well, the new rotella formula is not nearly as good as the older formula, they just continue to screw us!

 

bummer, guess you have to buy the zinc additive for oil, or drop some cheese on flat tappet cam racing formula oil.

 

I wasn't getting at the common myth of them overheating. I know all about those misconceptions, I was simply stating I PERSONALLY would put in better cooling for it if I chose to go that route.. Kind of like insurance for later prospects instead of something that has probably been sitting in his car since the car was made.. - But really, you can't "BUILD" much for $1,000. I think that's a given unless you did absolutely everything by yourself including all the machine work that may be necessary (which will be if you're wanting to build a foundation for serious horsepower.) Not alot of spending room in my opinion, but everyone has a different opinion.

 

Agreed, it doesn't matter what you're doing, $1000 won't build you much of anything.

There are many reports of 383's, 400's, and even 454's with stock or stock replacement radiators. As long as the system is clean and maintained, it'll handle most any combo.

(Sounded like a lead-in to the "400's all overheat" myth. Sorry, didn't mean to jump on ya.)

 

Im not looking for a hugely capable powerhouse or anything, just something reliable, my 305 knocks, and I want a smooth running motor, so I figured I would rebuild a basic 350 while I was at it. My plans radically changed today though, my 2004 Grand Am has clutch problems now. Seems like it needs a slave cylinder or something, I have NO pedal whatsoever until I bleed it, then I have somewhat of a pedal (driveable, but crap still) and it just deteriorates within 5 minutes of driving. Unfortunately on the Ecotec's tranny, the slave is inside the tranny, so it is a big job for me to do in the middle of this -28 degree Celcius weather we are getting up here, and I dont have money to spare on 10 hours labour @ 75 bucks an hour type of thing. Life sucks.

 

well thats shi*y, im sure you already checked the master clutch cylinder? that would be nice if it was leaking instead of the slave. bummer dude

 

Yes, the clutch master cylinder would be easier and less expensive to replace.

Your $1000 budget is why I made my original recommendation, which I stand by. I seriously doubt you'll be able to do any rebuilding of the 350 other than gaskets for that amount. You might be able to fix the rod knock in the 305 for that, but like I've said so many times, might as well get a 350 instead.

 

How exactly do you spend more than 1000 dollars rebuilding a 350? That seems really high! If you get a good core you can reuse the crank and rods, and just bore the block,resize the rods,and turn the crank, that is about 300 dollars where I live. I could see that kind of expense if you had to deck and line hone the block, but for this kind of build I can almost guarantee just a clean fresh bore will suffice, spend about 150 -200 on a northern auto parts rebuild kit, and wolla, rebuilt 350.

 

Don't forget you have to buy the 350 as well.

If you have to bore, you need new pistons and rings. New bearings should be assumed. Oil pump, gaskets, etc., etc., etc.

Example of a low-ball rebuild kit: http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...ctModelId=3741 You could probably save a little off of that if you talked them into deleting the cam. But, you're still over-budget.

 

I think the only thing I can really think of that you can spend $1,000 on that would really go anywhere is either

1) a stock rebuild assuming not much needs to be done
or
2) take your chance with someone else's complete engine, which could easily need the same amount of work or more. That's a risk that you have to decide.

Aside from that I don't see how you'de keep things at or under $1,000 for any moderate (if at all) gains. I'd just save up and get quality parts. You get what you pay for.

 

I do agree that you can not build a high performance complete engine for 1000$, but he can rebuild a 350 and have a good foundation for other high performance mods later, If he did buy that kit,minus the lifters and cam, which should save him quite a bit, he may spend a little over budget, but not a whole lot and he will have a good motor now, that will be quite an upgrade from his 305, and it will be very responsive to upgrades.

 

Well good news sort of, I did a complete fluid flush of the hydraulics on my clutch, and the pedal seems great again, it isnt deteriorating like it was before. Lets hope this is an easy fix. I never had a problem with losing fluid, it was always up at top level. The fluid however was pretty dirty, and could have had moisture in it.

Also, my main issue about the 1000 dollar thing is that thats all I have right now. The car is going nowhere until spring anyways, so I am sure I can build throughout the winter. I just need some suggestions on how to start. Should I say buy a core and just prep the block (machine work)? I can buy / service the rotating assembly / heads in the coming months. Just wondering what route I should go. I like the idea of a 383. If I have to bore the block anyways, I may as well just go with the whole 383 rotating assembly. Then come spring time I can buy a cam / heads. Then it should be warm enough to do the swap and drive it.

Suggestions on finding motors? I am trying kijiji.ca among various other classifieds sites to find a good rebuilder, but I wanna stick the a roller cam block, which is proving hard to find around here.

 

I'd go on Craigslist if you know what you're doing. Just be really careful as some people are just trying to make a quick buck off their scrap metal blocks.

 

If I were you I would buy a good 350 core, I would get a roller motor, and have the machine work done, just like you said, but keep the stock crank and rods, that way if money permits later, you can build a 383, otherwise, you will still have the crank and rods for a 350 for a cheap rebuild if you need to.

 

I think I have found my deal:


It is for sale in my area. The guy is asking $1200 for it. I figure I have the tranny, headers, wiring harness and a brand new BBK AFPR already, so I offered him $900 for the motor minus those parts. Just waiting for his reply. Even if it needs a rebuild, $900 is well worth it for just the listed parts and core (running or not) alone IMO.

I think I have a bad injector on my 305 anyways, so I was planning on upgrading them when I did the swap anyways. Then I can sell off my remaining TPI parts and the 305 motor, (and my T5 swap that I decided not to go through with) to gain back some of my expenses.

I have a brand new Melling high volume oil pump I can throw on it if I rebuild too.

 

for 300 bucks you build a stock piece of fecal matter. Most 350s get run in the ground and have to be bored, and need cam bearings, you could probably do rings and bearings 300 but i wouldnt call that rebuilt

 

I think that best describes what $300 will get you. I spent over $9k but that included all the goodies too.

 

i know after 1985 small block chevys went from a 2 piece rear main seal to a 1 to prevent them from leaking the flywheels and flex plates wont interchange between the years without an adapter

 

Understand that '89 is MAF, and '91 is speed density. You can make it work, but it's not a plug & play.

 

What is the difference between the TPI parts on MAF and SD cars? Any idea's what I would have to do to make it work?

 

Harness and sensors, mainly. You can use your '91 SD parts on the 350 with the injectors it has, but you'll need 350 tuning to get it to run halfway decent. If you use the '89, you'll need the harness, sensors, and ECM to go with it.

 

I don't know Canada at all, So I don't know your distance, but i have 2 350 engines, on is an L05 no heads, and the other is an L98 with heads, both have provisions for roller cam, the l98 has a roller cam in it, both are stock, both need rebuilt, if you want one, you can have one.. for free.. just gotta come and pick it up. I live about an hour from detroit. :\

 

I'm a stickler for staying original.... so i would say go back with the same motor and stick the one you have back in the corner and rebuild it for future use.

 

Are there any topics you know of on doing a swap like this? I tried searching but could only find swaps from a complete MAF setup to a complete SD setup. I know the 350 has a different knock sensor, but that may still be on the motor. Are there any physical differences in the TPI parts between the MAF and SD cars? I would just use all my TPI stuff and throw the long block in, but this guy has the whole upper and lower intake / plenum ported and has Edelbrock runners already. Seems like a shame to not be able to use those.

 

I'd suggest you inquire over on the TPI forum. They'll know more of the specifics of the set-ups. All my "knowledge" is 2nd hand.

 

Alrighty, thanks for all your help thus far five7kid and everyone else.