well i finally killed my 3.1l and decided i want to put a 350 into my 91 rs. bought the motor and transmission for $300(sbc350 with a th350 tranny).
took the motor apart yesterday and found out that i need new crank bearings, front and rear main seals, and possibly a new crank(has ridges, dont know if it can or has been machined), and im gonna get a new oil pump while its out of the car.

ok so here is some of my problems:
1.cant find the year of the motor as ive been told i need to know the year to get the parts for it. casting number: 10066036

2.need a cheap crank kit(been told just to get the whole kit) hopefully around $200 or so...reliable so i dont have problems for a while down the road.

3.need a air cleaner and new carb as the one that came with it was torn to shreds and had gasket sealer all over it

4. the transmission i believe i need driveshaft as it didnt come with one, and im pretty sure im gonna need it.

5.need some sort of gauges when the motor goes in, i dont know what kind will work or to get?(later on down the road i plan on gettting autometer gauges)

6.rear end?(dunno if my stock one will be fine for a while till i get money and time to get a posi rear)

7.will the stock radiator work for the new motor if i remove the electric fan currently on the radiator?

8.will i need suspension?(the current suspension was fairly new when i bought it 6 months ago from my friend)

9.new exhaust?(wanting something that sounds pretty loud/beasty that isnt gonna hurt engine/performance)

so this is my current project, i havent pulled old motor and tranny yet until i get my sbc up and running. will try to get pics. this will be an on going project as i am redoing pretty much the full car for a daily driver/show car(when the rod run comes into town november).

also if anyone has pics of a blue car with medium or large flakes please show me, as i might be heading in that direction for paint.

thnx,

jj

 

From mortec.com:
10066036...350...........2 or 4...Target Master/Goodwrench crate motor, 2-piece rear seal, "Hecho en Mexico"
It's a run-of-the-mill 350 replacement of the late 70's/early 80's era. That's all you need to know.

Which is more important, reliable, or cheap?

Crank kits are available from a number of sources, including Summit, Jegs, Northern Automotive Warehouse, etc.

Same answer as #3.

The '82/'83 TH200C and 4-speed driveshafts are the proper length for a TH350.

The stock ones will work except for the tach. You need a V8 tach.

As the V6 to V8 swap sticky says, V6 and V8 rears are the same thing, usually had different ratios, that's all.

Again, as the V6 to V8 swap sticky says, the 3.1 and V8 radiators are the same thing.

The V8 springs and sway bars are beefier, but otherwise, they're the same.

As the V6 to V8 swap sticky says, you need all new exhaust.

 

wow that helps alot thank you five7kid. as for the reliability or cheapness for the crank i guess i would go with reliable since if i keep having to buy new ones then it will add up to what i should have gotten before.same with the carb and new aircleaner setup.

any suggestions on a good sounding exhaust that keeps the old sound feeling to it, and still gets attention?

 

Just go on youtube and search different exhausts on thirdgens... here's mine. 40 series flowmaster catback. Really deep rumble at idle, and sounds great when your actually driving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFL9wrvA0Ps

 

ive been told by a friend that if i buy a new crank i need to get it balanced, what does this mean and why do it? will i need to do it?

also is there any way to figure out how big of a cam i have in the motor now? i want a little bit bigger than stock for a cam cause i love the sound of a bigger cam

 

nobody?

 

Balancing the crankshaft will match the counterweight of the crankshaft to your rod and piston combo. There are very few exceptions where someone would not need to balance it (example: removing an existing rotating assembly to refresh the bearings/piston rings ).

If you plan on replacing your crank/rods/pistons, then plan on having the assembly balanced.

What happens if you don't balance it? If the weights are out of balance and create vibration, it can destroy the engine. Balancing is necessary.

Regarding your cam,

remove it and look for numbers on it, search for those numbers and see what you have. If you can't find any info on that cam you can take it to a machine shop and they can measure the lobes to see what kind of lift, etc. that it's got.

 

ok so what if im only replacing the crank, bearings, and main seals...will i need to get it balanced after the purchase even tho the crank comes pre balanced?

 

well my project is at a hault as of right now. took the block to the machine shop to get checked out. got a call and found out from them that if i replace the bearings and crank its just gonna get destroyed again cause some1 took the block and bored it too big

 

Disappointing to be sure, but just another case in point why we say have things checked out before spending any money on used parts. A hencho en Mexico former fleet replacement engine makes that doubly true.