I just found one for cheap. The guy selling it is telling me that it has 4 bolt mains. Is this true?? Anyone know anything else about it, like cam specs, head specs, etc? The only info I found was that it came with 295 HP stock. Help!!!

 

Do you have the numbers for the block?? If you did I would be more than happy to find out for you.

 

no, all I know is what he told me. And I wont be able to see it for a couple weeks, and at that time, if it turns over I am gonna buy it. Thanks anyway tho. Are there any generic things you can tell me about the motor? I have no idea if there was more than one 350 made for that car, this is why I am asking. I thought there was only 1 combo for the 350.

 

The base SS engine was a 295 Horsepower small block. And it says the other two engines besides that were a 350 horsepwer 396 or a 375 horsepower 396. So it is more than likley that the enigne you are getting was the 295 horsepwer 350. That was the only 350 they had listed in my SS book. But if anyone else has anything to add please do to help this guy out. By the way nice find on that motor.

 

Thanks a lot. Yea, I got pretty lucky on this one. I was at the guys house and we were talking cars, and he said he had it just sitting in his garage. He's moving and he wants to get rid of it, so I get it pretty much for free. I just have to move it. ****, I'd carry the thing home for that price! Now I just need to find out if it hasnt siezed up. Hopefully not, and then I have a new motor! Anyone else have any other info on this motor?? I want to totally refresh the motor, but I want to know what I am working with first. Thanks!

 

Remember that the 295 hp rating was a gross rating, if you wanted to convert to net you would roughly minus 80hp off that # to compare with post 73 sae net ratings.

 

A free 350 engine is worth it even if seized. Unless something is poking through a casting, it'll be rebuildable.

It will have a two-piece rear main seal, flat tappet lifter cam. You'll want to replace the cam and heads, as the factory parts really were junk back then. With the bottom end freshened up, and cam and induction matched properly, you'll have a great engine for very low cost.

 

I don't know about the heads being "junk"... they are probably 186 casting, which is a very good stock head. That is assuming that they're the original castings.

The cam is crap though, it's the same 929 POS that we all know and hate (almost as bad as the 151). Put a Comp XE262 or XE268 in it, and it can fly.

The 295 HP rating was also without an alternator, PS, WP, exhaust, or any of the emissions stuff (IIRC those would have had AIR); and with a very low-restriction air cleaner; sitting on an engine dyno with a perfect supply of cool air. As installed in a car, i.e. using the same rating system as is now used, it would have been good for somewhere around 240-250 HP. Not bad for a motor with no cam, but no race car either.

 

Yeah the heads wont be that good for hp, and you'll definitely have to change the valve seats for compatibility with unleaded fuel.

 

Well, maybe junk was a little too strong for the heads.

However...

They won't have hardened seats or valves for unleaded gas - you'd have to get them machined for seat inserts and put in new exhaust valves. Cracks were common. Guides typically died an early death. New valve springs would be required since 34 year old pieces aren't likely to be up to the task of either of those Comp cams. So, being cheap and lazy like I am, I'd rather put all that money and work into new, improved, hardened-seat castings.

 

So it sounds like I'll be getting new heads and a new cam then. I was planning on using my TPI setup on it, and besides the 4 middle bolt holes on the intake being the wrong angle, is there anything else I will have to do/buy? I imagine porting the plenum and base, and possibly new runners, but otherwise will everything bolt up? I was thinking of Sportsman II heads, and possibly the comp cams XE 262H cam. Does anyone have any other ideas on head/cam combos for TPI? Thanks for all of your help guys.

 

:hail: :hail: :hail:

Plus they dont flow all that well....lets face it is 30 year old technology.