I've been looking for a hydraulic roller 350 motor with a mechanical fuel pump and I'm coming up with a lot of dead ends. I know the late 80's or pre-lt1 90's firebird and camaro motors should meet this criterea but I can't find a block code or vin code that would make it easier to find this motor. I figured this would be the place to ask because someone is likely to have the motor in their car.

It looks like it might be casting number 14088526 from what the sticky says but I'm not sure. I'd appreciate it if someone could verify this or help me out with a vin code letter because most the sites I'm looking at list them by vin code for crate motors.

 

That's one.

Another is 14093638...350...87-95...2 or 4...Roller or flat tappet cam, one-piece rear seal. Used in trucks as well, but you need to check whether or not the roller lifter provisions and fuel pump push rod have been machined.

If you aren't dead set on using a mechanical fuel pump:
10243880...350...95-00...2 or 4...Vortec truck, Gen.I crate motors and "ZZ4", roller cam, one piece rear seal

 

I believe the 638's were also used in 90-93 Broughams and 91-93 Caprices/Roadmasters.

 

Yes, the 638 was the "bread & butter" 350 block casting in that time period (kind of like the "010" casting of earlier years). Used in 2- and 4-bolt main applications, roller and flat tappet lifters, cars, trucks, crates - basically everything.

 

Is there any casting number that only came roller cam and lifters and not flat tappet? I don't know how to tell what the motor has before buying it. I'm looking for the motor for my first rebuild to swap out the 305 in the Firebird. I'm not set on the mechanical fuel pump but I'm not dropping the tank and I don't know that a universal electric pump would work or not. If a universal pump would work than I'd just buy an LT1.

 

No, you have to pull the intake manifold, which you need to do anyway, since cracks in the valley are a very real concern. They don't get there from too much power, they get there from old coolant freezing. This isn't a problem with the older blocks, but the provisions for roller lifters are worth it.

 

AFAIK, no; but 880 is the one least likely to have the flat system.

The mech fuel pump is a problem, on account of, carbs ENDED after 1988 (earlier in many body styles), but roller cams only STARTED in 1987 (and only came in a few body styles and with FI). Some applications, ZZ4 for example, had both features, but they use the same block casting as any other motors built at the same time; they merely got the extra machine work which was no longer necessary in motors built for production vehicles, once carbs went away.

No real way to tell from outside, except by application... about the only traditional 350s from out of production vehicles that you can BE SURE will have a roller cam, are the L98 and the L31 (both with EFI, both making the mech fuel pump provisions completely unnecessary and a liability in fact, just an extra-cost machine process and a couple of opportunities for oil leaks). Most all others you can BE SURE do not.

Not sure how this logic here is supposed to work?

The LT1 is a COMPLETELY different beast, as far as building a motor that would otherwise use a mech fuel pump (carb); not a trivial thing to do at all, and not very pointful.

People have been using electric pumps for carbs for longer than I've been in this hobby (which is longer than alot of the people on this board's fathers have been alive). Not sure why that would be considered an obstacle and would make a relatively involved adaptation more attractive?

 

I don't want to drop the tank. If putting a new intake on an LT1 and allowing it to use a carb which I prefer would work with an electric pump than I'd rather have that motors capabilities than the older engines. It sounds like this setup would work with a universal pump from what your saying if I understand you correctly?