Hello
My buddy has a 334 for a really good price that has 425hp would that be a good option for a street/ daily driver car?
Thanks

 

A small bore 305 block with a 400 crank. Not really a good incentive unless it was dirt cheap. You could make more power from a typical 350 for the same price.

 

its $300

 

If your 305 is garbage and the 334 is a good running engine then go for it. It's better than nothing but it's still nothing compared to a 4" bore block.

 

I don't have any motor In this firebird. In my other 82 I have a 5.3. The reason I like this motor is that I know the guy who built it.
Thanks

 

For $300, maybe not so bad.

That way, HE gets to eat the $1000 mistake; not you.

Just don't expect too much out of it. If you know the difference between a 305 and 350 as far as how they run, don't expect this to be halfway in between. It'll be MUCH closer to a 305 than to a 350, because of the small bore issue mentioned by Alky.

 

334 can be nasty little motors if setup right unfortunately most peope cant set them up right. and the costs far outwiegh the benefit of building one. for 300 i wouldnt hesitate to buy it though.

 

Of course...

But not as "nasty" as a 350 with equal $$$$ spent on them.

IOW, not the wisest use of money.

Spend more + get less = flawed decision making

Spend less + get more = what most of us strive for. Now there may be exceptions of course, among the "alternate winners" and such as that; but for most of us, this is the side of things we want to be on.

Instinct tells me, although of course I could be wrong, this "425 HP" motor will probably put down track times equivalent to around 225 - 250 RWHP AT BEST. That seems to be the way these things usually go. Just like the import children. "So I bought a muffler and that's good for 25 HP, a cold air kit that says right here on the box it makes 35 HP, a chip that the magazine article ad says bumps it up 40 HP, {list goes on} .... so now my 90 HP Honduh makes 240 HP". Yeah right.

But for $300, it's basically a throwaway, so even though it will have NOWHERE NEAR some fantasy-land "425 HP", it's likely OK to buy it (assuming you trust the build itself), let the guy that made the mistake of building it in the first place eat the cost of his mistake by taking it off his hands at a substantial loss, and save up to build something more sensible yourself eventually.

 

even if it does have some power to it though 300 bucks aint bad depending are what the internals are and maybe they could beused on another engine build later on. obviously bigger displacement would be a wiser choice to add up to 450hp thats a no brainer. buit if he trusts the guy, seen it run before and has 300 bucks id say why not.

 

It runs and is it the car still so i can take it for a ride to see if i like it. What would be a good trans for that motor?
Thanks

 

For street use, there's nothing wrong with a 700R4

If the engine is in a car and running then that's good. At least the seller isn't trying to sell it as a 350 etc. Is the cost of the engine including the engine's removal from the car?

$300 is pretty low even for a running engine. He's either motivated for a quick sell and willing to take a big loss or there's something else wrong with it that he's not telling you.

 

He needs the money to get his 383 built. I am going to look at the motor tomorrow, is there anything specific i should listen/look for?
Thanks

 

Does it run?

Make any weird knocking noises?

etc.

Not too much else to be concerned with. Same as any other used motor (or new one for that matter) in that regard.

Sounds like he learned his lesson, and discovered the hard way what the logical people around here try to hammer home to the n00bs: that combo costs more to build than a 350, EVEN IF THE "CORE" 305 is "FREE" AND YOU HAVE TO BUY A 350 CORE; $$$$ for $$$$, a 350 will outperform it, EVERY TIME; and worst of all, THERE'S NO UPGRADE PATH when you discover it was a mistake. The whole thing goes in the trash, and you start over and do it right this time, exactly as your bud is having to do.

Be nice to him though, don't rub his nose in it or anything; sympathize with him a bit when he poor-mouths about "can't afford to build a better motor until I get rid of this disappointing one"; relieve him of his boat anchor; and don't expect too much from the motor itself. Especially not, "425 HP".

Agreed, your existing transmission should be fine, if it's a V8 one. If yours is a 6-cyl, then you'll need to replace it with a V8 one. No you can't use the 6-cyl one no matter how much you might like to talk about "budget", it won't bolt up.

 

I bought that motor had a good amount of power for a 305 not 425 maybe 325-350hp. will a th 350 fit in my 82 trans am?
Thanks

 

Yup; just jumps right up in there. Identical dimensionally to the 200C that it came with. (if it's an auto)

 

Doesn't he need a different crossmember though? Or is that just for 400s

 

Also should I swap my gears for 3:73 or 4:11?
Thanks

 

Depends on what gears you have now.

Having had cars w Turbo 350s and both of those gears, I wouldn't recommend either for a street car in 2014.

I'd suggest something more about 3.23, and about a 2800 RPM converter. No larger than 10", preferably smaller.

 

With no OD, 3.73 with 26" tall tires, 4.10 for 28" tall tires. Even using a 700R4, you don't really want to go lower than 3.73. Mid 3's works better. The low gear of the 700R4 can still get you off the line quicker and the OD gear gives good fuel mileage. For all out performance use and little highway driving, a deep gear is better but the 700R4's first gear is too low.

 

For a streetcar with no overdrive? 2.73-3.23

With overdrive? 3.73

If you did a T56 6 speed manual? 4.10's

Good score on a running engine!!! Find out what cam is in it and what heads are on it, casting number might be on them somewhere, if not inside the rocket arm area. It would be a great engine if it had Vortec heads and a 218-224 duration cam and a carburated/performer intake.

 

What for?

What part of "dimensionally identical" doesn't apply to "crossmember"? Is there some letter of the words I should explain more fully or offer more detail about? If so, let me know which letter, and I'll be happy to help out further.

 

you dont read into much at all then do you as i opposed a question afterwards. i remember spohn making a th350 swap crossmember or at least it hought i could have easily misread. honest mistake dont have to jump all your guns at once there.

 

To be fair, depending on what parts are in this 334... he can re-use the crank and rods in a 383. For $300 that's about right.... although it's probably balanced for the 305 pistons so ... eh.... rebalancing it for a 4 inch bore pistons might cost enough to make it a wash.

As you said, no upgrade path whatsoever.

 

It has 416 heads I believe.
Thanks

 

The motor has eagle crank and rods, also bored .30 over with ported/polished heads. Also has a aftermarket intake. Will be a good little motor to play around with.

 

i think he did well for the parts in it at least.

 

Right: Spohn does indeed make a 350 crossmember; for cars that came with a 700. Cars that came with a 200c, don't need that, because the 350 is dimensionally identical (that means the same in all external measurements) as the 200C. Which includes, the 350 uses the same crossmember as the 200C.

 

My car came with a 700r4 so does that mean I need a different cross-member?
Thanks

 

You know what Alky.This is a tough call.Small C.I. engine that given heads,cam profile, intake,exhaust,because of it needing to be spun up in a higher rpm for the power curve because of it being a small engine might be just right with a lower 700R's first gear.One down-fall of the 700R's was the steep jump from 1st to 2nd.There now is a fix for that offered by a tranny company.
I think for his build plan,he needs to have run a dyno sym to plot out the power curve and gear accordingly to that.At some point getting to that power curve without leaving much on the table,the street manners go away.But in doing that combo,more than likely it will not crossover to a later plan for a 383.The other thing about spinning up a smaller 334 to get to a reasonable power curve,that can get expensive in a hurry.Not that I am against him building a 334,but more that he makes that decision understanding with him knowing all what that might mean.

 

If your car is a 82, it doesn't have a 700. Or at least, didn't come with one.

The 700 didn't exist until 83.

You can be sure your car, if it's a 82, didn't come with any "features from the future". That means, it came with a 200C, and a 350 will bolt right in, in its place.

http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/me...General-Motors

Find out what trans you REALLY have before making any moves in that dept.

 

Some guys Sofa prefer building the 200's.

 

his firebird is an 82 not this car idt

 

True dat:

But that's the 200-4R, not the 200C. Those are 2 VERY different things. About all they have in common is their bolt pattern and the # in their name.

 

OK-good point.

I think the situation of a relatively heavy car and a small engine still stands in consideration of gearing.A dyno-sym would help with a decision on that.

 

The motor was in a g-body and It had good power in that heavy car.

 

Just a simple question that somewhat fits with this thread, On the 82 models that came with the identically similar 200, does the torque arm mount to the crossmember or the transmission? just curious.

 

My car came with a 700r4 when i bought it and it also has a drive shaft. Would I need the 6" or 9" th350?
Thanks

 

You'll need the longer one, and to come up with the original 82 crossmember (or reasonable facsimile thereof) and some means of attaching the torque arm.

 

In regards to a TH350 bolting right into an 82 Trans Am using the same cross member, that is technically correct. It will bolt right in, however you won't get very far down the road with the torque arm not attached, so in reality, information is missing. You MUST have an aftermarket (I prefer B&M) torque arm adapter in order to have a functional drive train. Sure, if you want to bolt a TH350 in for looks, that's great! However, you won't be driving it without extra parts. So in a nutshell, no it doesn't just go right in which makes it technically NOT direct fit.

 

An easy option in conjunction with the long-shaft 350 might be this

http://www.bulkpart.com/2/product/35...tch/7-35B.html

Then you get to use a regular stock torque arm if you want