I have made a decision to build a 350sbc that i have in the barn that I bought awhile back and now I am trying to find every piece of literature that i possibly can on the subject. I found some dvds that look good from speed talk http://www.speedtalk.com/engine-building-videos-2.html has anyone tryed these or kinow anything about them. my block is 3970010 and my heads are 10110810 the heads were given to me. and the block was bought for $600. the specs on block are as follows;

Fresh 40 over 350 block 2 bolt main with arp main studs
Bored and honed with torque plate, decked
Brass freeze plugs with clevite cam bearings
Cast crank turned 10/10 with clevite main bearings
Rebuilt rods with arp wavelock bolts and clevite bearings
Speed Pro Hyperutectic flat top pistons with speed pro moly rings
Assembled with all clearances checked

there is a little surface rust that has to be dealt with thru honing or somthing because of sitting in the barn. i'm so new at this that i don't really know what to do. so my question is what books and/or videos can i get that will give me the best knowlege to complete this CORRECTLY. and i know that i will be asking lots of ?'s.

oh and i would it be better to go with vortec heads and intake. or would the heads being reworked and opened up be better ? I found vortecs on ebay remanned for $450 for both.

edit; I FORgot that this is going in a 89rs that now has a bone stock 305tbi and 700r4. I'm looking for a carb'd 350 and 250-over 300hp which people told me should be easy to achieve with the right heads. must be streetable. so me and tghe wife can go to the beach.

 

Just be aware that the vortec heads have a different intake bolt pattern the the tbi intake. Vortec heads are much better then any stock sbc that came before, plus they have fast burn chambers which you cant add to the tbi heads.

 

vortecs would be perfect for your goals

just make sure if you go that route you buy self aligning rockers. getting a cam will help a ton, just keep in mind max lift is .475

if you have the extra cash, go with the vortecs, if not, your heads will be fine for your goals

 

Which requires a Vortec only intake so factor that cost into head swap

 

what about the surface rust in the cylinder is there anything that i can do myself or does it need to go to the machine shop? and are there any differences in the quality of engine stands? oh and should i just dissassemble the entire engine and take the whole block to the machine shop get them to clean and check all over again? its been in my barn for 2.5 years. right now its just block, crank, pistons,rods, aand bearings?ohh and what about the dvds from speedtalk ? has anyone tried them or heard of them?

 

Depends how bad it is and if you have any pitting.
Surface rust will come out with a light hone; possibly wet/dry paper and WD40
Are you going to put new rings in; if so there is a special pattern needed so the rings seat properly that can only be done with a hone and correct technique


Better to buy this bible for newbies
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Rebuild-...item2ebad86fab

 

ok thank you for the response i just bought the book and am looking forward to studying cover to cover before i start and if there is anything else that i need to know or that can help please let me know. I had planned on using all the same parts rings and all unless that is not wise. thank you!!!!!

 

buy new rings and bearings, it is a must! can not be emphasized enough!!!!

 

Ok will do

 

10110810 heads are swirlports used on TBI truck 350's.

There is a good reason they were given to you, and why everyone has talked about Vortecs instead.

 

vortec it is!!!!!!!!!! which is better ebay or dealership?

edit: i dont have vortec cores

 

jegs has a set of gm performance vortecs for 300 each

 

thanks

 

If the short block is fresh as he states and never run then all he need is to clean up the bores.
The new rings will seat into the new bore surface fine if engine run in correctly

 

ok tbh i am a complete rookie at this. so whatever i need to do let me know please and thank you for the advice. the short block has never been ran. but the block has sat for almost two years and has not been turned with ratchet or wrench of any kind. I know it needs honing a guy told me that with a cordless drill and teh right brushes i might be able to take my time and do it myself. but either way i will have to take the block back apart huh?

 

the block has sat for two years without being turned over, personally i would change them for the piece of mind. its what an extra $100 if that.

 

If you aren't going with a cam with over .450" lift, it's pretty hard to beat these deals:

If you stick with TBI:
http://sdparts.com/details/scoggin-d...ter/sd8060tbim

If you go carb:
http://sdparts.com/details/scoggin-d...nter/sd8060kit

If your cam has more lift than .450", then they have "upgraded" head kits as well.

 

ok going to buy an engine stand this weekend and begin disassembly oh and i got the book "how to rebuild your small block chevy" its a good book i will be reading thru it thx

 

i have a ton of books and the art morrison 2 books are the best ones by far. they are a bit pricey, i believe i paid 100 for the pair. im sure that one will be fine though

 

well i will definitely be doing the swap I just found out that my stock 305tbi has very low compression in cylinder no.8 so this swap is inevitable no since doing the head job on the 305 when i can put that money into the 350. and since i have to take the 350 to the shop anyway then i'm going to get them to check the bores and magnaflux the block, check everwhere for rust and the whole shebangabang. that way when i start i don't have to stop until i finish or until i have a question ohh and no oil burn or leak so i guess its the valves and head.

 

Ok I just have a question: I have decided to go with the upgraded vortec Kit from jegs, but does any of these kits come in or for size 30 over or do I just order it that way? Is there any extra work that needs to be done to the block,pistons, etc by the machine shop because of the upgraded lift? Does anybody know of a good shop near 28334? I found one in 27524 but don't know anything about them COATS RACING SHOP. I'm going to have the shop recheck the block, bore,cyl. Hone.,crank, crank balance,and magnaflux since I have take it apart. And where can I find new rings and bearings? Also will have them measure. And even though the heads are new and already upgraded what other machine work needs th be done?

 

The bore size won't affect the heads. You could put them on a 3.736" bore 305, or on a 4.125" 400, so putting them on a 4.030" 350 is not a problem.

If you buy a kit with the upgraded heads for more lift, all you'll have to do before installing them is give them a good cleaning.

 

the head gaskets don't have to be 30 over?

 

No. Stock 350 gaskets are well over that.

 

no the headgaskets thatcome with the jegs kit are 4.125 bore, so they will work fine, many headgaskets used on 350s are 4.166 bore. so dont worry about it. you will be fine

 

Thank u so much I know I'm being bothersome but thx. But another "?" Should I go roller or non roller engine? And I'll ask about a nice lopey camshaft later. And will this set up achieve over 300fwhp?

 

for a roller engine you will need roller lifters which are almost 300 for a set. id just stick with a hydraulic flat tappet cam. you will be very satisfied with it. you should easily reach 300 rwhp(not fwhp, the f is front lol) with your heads.

and dont forget to buy self aligning rockers for the vortecs and max lift is .475

 

lol!!!! yeah cant have anyone thinking that i have a front wheel drive thirdgen although that is a thought thx and max lift is .475 gotcha, i'll keep that in mind when i choose my cam. next month i buy the self aligning rockers for flat tappet cam. thx man i think its time to buy the vortec kit.

 

yep i am using the vortec kit and im using this cam

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HRS-CL110961-08/

and these rockers. they put the lift at .476 but car craft used these heads an used a .480 lift cam, so i think your good

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-1417-16/


aside from that im using 9.3 compression pistons and a 600cfm carb, i should be somewhere around 350- 375 hp at the flywheel.

good luck on your build

 

Thk you!

 

just read that the vortec kit that i bought has stamped steel self aligning rocker arms in it. are these what i am going to need? oh and i found me a shop that is getting some pretty good reviews so i think that i am going to try them but first i have toget the rings and perhaps some bearings oh an the camshaft bearings so they can be pressed in. I did not know it was this involved so thankfully i got people to ask advice from.

 

that would be it

 

hey scroggin can't ship my order b/c they don't have the rocker arms yet while i'm waiting i need to order the cam bearings so i can have them pressed in while the shop has the block. what kind are the best for the buck and where can i order them from? roller or babbit? and my cast no. means large journal right?

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SLP-1235M/

these would be the ones you want...

 

gottem thx! just in case i need to get rid of the ones i have in there when the shop hones or cleans the block again.

 

alright got my heads and intake rocker arms so no later than fri i should be able to take the block to machine shop!

 

let us all know how it turns out!

 

ok thank you and i forgot to ask: the heads are machined to allow up to .525 lift but we know that the max lift for the heads are .475 so I need a cam that will take full advantage of the allowable lift give me a great lope when running and still allow me room for error just in case i'm off on my numbers? and also I'm wondering if there is anything that needs to be done to the heads or the intake by the machine shop? is there any checking/grinding the valve guides or anything that needs to be done? I know that they a good cleaning. and I can't seem to find the flow numbers on these heads this is the kit that I bought: http://sdparts.com/details/scoggin-d...ter/sd8060arpm
and what do the flow numbers tell you anyway? I know that this is alot of "?'s" but yall please help a rookie
edit: my block is 1969 - 1979 casting no. 39700102 bolt main.

 

flow numbers will tell you how well the intake runners and exhaust flows.

and what i was told is that you need a cam that has a longer exhaust duration because vortecs head have stock exhaust ports, in comparison to the improved intake.

so i am taking my cam back and getting the lunati 60103,
the cam is supposed to be good on the street and will get a 350 over 400hp.

and the heads are fine, they have already modified them.

 

thanx and i'll look into the lunati 60103 because if I can get over 300hp i am happy! if i'm missing anything please let me know
edit: hey isnt that a little too much lift for the heads although i looked at some stuff on youtube and it sounds awesome?

 

not if the heads you got were modified for .525 lift

 

ok , got ready to take my short block to the shop and found out that to take it apart one shop told me that it would cost about 150 dollars. then the second shop told me to disassemble and clean would be about 5oo dollars. The last place I went just happened to be an old high school wrestling team mate. and he told me after examining that the rust on the head surface can be cleaned with 320 grit and the cylinder walls didn't have any rust. maybe get some scotch bright pad and lightly rub then thoroughly clean.

 

if there is no rust on the cylinder walls, then i wouldnt bother sanding. i would just take oil on a rag and wipe the walls with that.

 

Ok I have to choose a good cam and when it gets here I will get started I'll be using brake cleaner and small brushes to clean everything thx

 

just dont use it on the bores

 

after a good cleaning wipe all the decks and cylinders with either light engine oil or wd40, rust takes a matter of days to show up on a nice clean surface like that

 

Ok cams? I think I know about lifts a little about duration I know 355sleeper does but does anyon else have close to this combo and what cam has worked best for you on the street? Made the most power? Torque??? Still kept driveability? (No racing) oh and I want a nice lope. And double roller timing chain. And ineed a high volume oil pump.

 

i will let someone else chime in on the cam for you

but i have personally used the summit double roller timing set on 4 different motors without issue. its a $30 set

and for oil pump i have used the melling high volume and the summit racing high volume. the summit one gave me 30 to 35 psi at idle @ 1000 rpms. (digital gauge) at wot it maxed the gauge out at 100 psi. so its a very good pump

 

http://www.compcams.com/v002/Pages/388/XE268H-10.aspx
well this is the cam that i've chosen and already purchased its on the way and will be here on monday. I ended up bringing the block and engine stand in the house so I can have some light to work at night. (no light in the barn) I checked the short block and the cam bearings are in and in good condition just need more lube, the oil holes, and water jackets are in good shape. there is very light rust in no. 8 and no.6 I'm going to try the scotch bright and light oil idea first. I'm getting a good torque wrench and double checking ALL the bolts. I used a flashlight and checked ALL of the holes for clearance. the pushrods,oil pump,carb,valve covers,oil pan,and headers, are the only things that I have not ordered.

what size bolt needs to be in the crank so I can try to turn it? and 3/8-16 grade 8 are for securing the engine to the stand correct?

 

jegs.com shows the size at 7/16-20 by 2 1/2 inches, part number 555-82800, grade 9 bolt. i think that cam you picked out is a little big for a street car to take a ride to the beach. lol. it will work and sound mean but if your running an auto tranny, your most likely gonna need a mild stall converter. i wouldnt use sandpaper to clean the bores. your buddy gave you good advise about the green scrub pads. best of luck on your build.