I'm looking at getting a 350 "207" block, it's been bored over .40, and has a small amount of rust from being sitting. the seller wants 275 for the block, rods and pistons. they said it was from a 77 chevy. I would like to build this motor myself to put in my car for the experience and to give it a little more pep (it has a worn out 305 in it currently). Is this a good block to build for performance? Also is the surface rust something to be worried about? is 275 a decent price? and how much would i be looking at to get a good set of heads, a nice cam, crank and all that, I've never built a motor if you can't tell, but my father and grandfather will be helping me with that part, I just need to know that I'm starting out with something worth building, thanks!

 

for what it's worth here are some pics of the block

 

Unless chevy 350s are very hard to find in your neck of the woods, I would pass that one on by.

Around my area that is a $100-150 core engine.

If it tells you anything, I'm selling a 1997 vortec 350 roller cam short block for $350
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/pts/5040935049.html I bought that engine for the heads. Guy said it ran but intake gaskets started leaking before they rolled the 4wd truck it was in..

It would be best if you could find a std. or small over bore. At .040" over, it only has 1 rebuild left in it. .060" is the max over bore and some won't even go that much.

Northern auto parts will have the cheapest price on rebuild kits. Stock type rebuild kit is around $210, you can upgrade and add in performance options and end up with a good performance kit for $400 or less, but that does not include rods or crankshaft.
Scat 9000 cast crank is around $175

Heads can run you from $100 to 3,000 depending on what you want. Vortec heads are the cheapest budget performance head you will find.. Used they go for $200-400 a pair.

Aftermarket heads like Brodix, dart, edelbrock, pro filer, etc will be in the $1000-1300 range

 

207 is an early 80s block. RH dipstick. (as of course, you can see in the 2nd pic)

Might have last been in a 77 car; doesn't really make it a block "from a 77 Chevy".

But that's no big deal one way or the other really. Apart from that detail it's just an ordinary, mostly used-up old block.

Questions to answer to your own satisfaction would include: has it been run before, with those pistons; why is it apart now; if so, what did it come apart for, and why is it still apart; how worn are the cyl walls and the piston skirts. If it hasn't been run before, why not, why is it for sale, why is it not together and running. Just looking at the pics, if I were the guessing kind, I would guess that it spun a bearing and destroyed the crank, and it isn't worth putting back together, so the present owner is just looking for the next "greater fool" to come along and take his worthless problem off his hands. In either case, do you REALLY want to pay that much for a bunch of USED stuff that you can get the same thing except FRESH and NEW (or LIKE NEW, in the case of the block) for the same money?

I agree; pass. Doesn't look like a solid foundation for a work truck mule, let alone anything "performance".