ok, well i thought my car just had crappy heating problems, turns out my block is destroyed... never should have let my family use it for a year... o well, maybe its time to put a 350 in it? anyone know where to buy a cheap rebuilt one from? and whats the most cost efficient way to put one in? im also supposed to get married in december...this is kinda jacked up. im on a base so i have all the tools and stuff i could need, thanks for any help.

 

Well, if you're on a fixed income like I was, the GM Goodwrench 350 is only $1290, 3yr 50k mile warranty.

Granted it's not the most powerful motor, but later things can be changed out. Which I am doing, cam is gone, new heads will be on soon.


You would have to get a new flywheel too.

 

what all is not compatible from 305 to 350? i talked to my father and he said everything should bolt up...didnt sound right to me...what other engines? like a website or something,

 

Everthing is compatible pretty much, the reason you would need a different flywheel, is because of different reasons, which I forget , something to do with the 1piece/2 piece rear main seal, and starter I think. Everything that bolts to a 305 will bolt to a 350.

check www.greenwoodchevy.com I think that's it.

 

'86 and newer cars had one piece rear mains which require a different flywheel/flexplate. starting with '87, i believe, they went to centerbolt valve covers and the middle four bolts on the intake come in at a different angle. the intake can be modified pretty easily to accept the different angle

 

Do yourself a favor and don't buy a preassembled engine if money and performance are important. As Mark has found out, besides the initial 1300 bucks, it's going to cost you another thousand to get the parts to make it fast..plus anything else you want to do. If you build an engine from scratch it will cost you much less--even adding in all of the machine work AND probably if someone else builds it for you.

 

I don't know if I agree with that.

If modest performace is your Goal, You could not build that Goodwrench 350 for that price, even if you did all the work yourself.

Same goes for the ZZ4.

If you want to go Full Boogie, then Yeah your likely going to need to do it yourself or commission a shop. But for someoen in the position of needed to replace the existing engine and looking for a modest performer, The GMPP crates are a bargain.

 

depending on what year engine you buy you will or will not need a new fly wheel.. the difference in flywheels is because gm changed from externally balanced engines to internally.. or other way around i forget hehe.. everything for a 305 is transferable to a 350.. a small block is a small block basically.. they just differ in cubic inches... the only differences you will find will be the newer blocks which have centerbolt heads which will require a different intake and such, or have the old one remachined to match head bolt patterns.. if your looking to save money though 305's are a dime a dozen.. i have 3 of em sitting in my garage myself.. cant get rid of the f'in things.. nobody wants em but if your gonna get a new engine n actually want some proformance a 350 would be the way to go and the gm crate engines are excellent for the price and quality.. dropping in a complete engine is pretty simple, its basically all nuts and bolts.. no real mechanical work or knowledge required

 

....and i just noticed you have a 92 so you have centerbolts and the whole issue of having an intake remachined or a new flywheel pretty much doesnt apply to you unless you plan on buying an older engine that is rebuilt.. but in your case i would just go with a jasper rebuild or a gm crate engine and simply transfer anything nessicary

 

oook...if i buy just a crate engine, and its maf or tpi or carburated, how would i modify that? just go by the tech articles???

 

first, to clarify. there are two types of tpi (tuned port injection)- maf (mass air flow) and sd (speed density). sd came into use in '89 i believe. maf uses a mass airflow sensor to measure the amount of air coming into the engine while sd uses a map (manifold absolute pressure) sensor to determine airflow. if you have tuned port and modify the engine from its stock form you will need to either get the equipment and learn how to burn new chips for the computer or have someone burn chips for you. maf tpi systems tend to be more forgiving to mods than sd systems so you can do more mods before having to get a new chip. the disadvantage to maf is the very expensive maf sensor (like $200 or $300), although it's more accurate than sd at measuring airflow. tpi is pretty restrictive above 4800 rpm so you'll want to port it and maybe get aftermarket runners to raise the powerband. definately do a cam swap which will pretty much force you to burn custom chips to make the engine run right. if using stock heads, you would then need to get the valve guides milled to accomodate for the higher lift of your new cam, install stronger valve springs which usually involves milling the spring seats and also get screwed-in studs put in. Factory aluminum L98 heads (came on corvette only) are better than the iron ones that came in f-bodies because they have a smaller combustion chamber which raises compression, weigh less, got screwed-in studs from the factory and rumor has it they flow better but i'm not sure.

on the other hand, you can put a carb and intake on for hundreds less and with much much less work. i don't know your level of experience with cars but if you're new to it i would recommend a carb. the carb won't be tuned precisely to your engine set-up but it will be close enough out of the box that you can run the car and as you learn, you can tune the carb and there's no wiring or chip burning to worry about.

or you can buy a crate motor like the zz4 which comes with a carb, the corvette aluminum heads, a nice cam that's not too wild and it's a roller lifter block which is a notable advantage to flat tappet. it's $3500 though.

whatever you choose, make sure you do research on the parts you'll put on instead of just throwing crap together. you need to pick parts that work together well. like you don't want a cam that makes peak hp at 6000 on a tpi car that can't breathe above 5000.

this is what i did: bought corvette L98 engine with tpi intake but not wiring or ecm for $950. parted the tpi out for $400, got an lt4 HOT cam, had my valve guides milled, installed stock diameter high lift springs, replaced valve seals, main seals, oil pump/pickup, timing set and put on a holley carb and a dual plane intake. the carb and intake came with my car so they were free. the carb is old and way out of tune but i still managed a 14.9 at the track this weekend with a slipping clutch and non-posi 2.73 rear. i expect mid 13s (i hope) out of it after i swap to an lt1 intake and have my friend burn chips for me. i also have a 3.23 posi waiting to go in.

 

i looked through all the remaned engine sites and stuff last night, i think im probably going to have to just get the gm 350
not much...but its better than a destroyed 305
i dont know, the sgt in charge of me was a mechanic for like 8 years and i think he is going to find me a cheap engine or something.

 

www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com

Did you try that one? They have pretty good prices and IIRC, a 7 yr. warranty!!! That's longer than any GM Goodwrench motor.

AJ

 

hey yes those are the best prices ive seen so far, thanks for the link