This spring I am going to rebuild my 84 LG4. This is my first rebuild, and I need to know about the machine shop work. basically what do they do. I am planning on doing all of the work of taking it apart and putting it back together, i just need things reground, etc. About how much does this cost as well? Also, does anyone know of someplace around Athens Ohio that can do this for relatively cheap? Thanks alot.
Evan

 

I gave alot, and I mean alot of thought to rebuilding my 305 or move up to the 350. It just doesn't make sense to build up the 305. I could see the positives only as 1. keeping car original, but then it wouldn't really be original with all the performance parts, and possibly better gas mileage, but with proper tuning you can make a very powerful 350 that gets good mileage. If you are gonna yank that thing out of there, it's so much easier to drop in the 350.

------------------
1984 Camaro Z-28 LG-4
Q-Jet, dual snorkel air intake, underdrive crank pulley, Hypertech Street chip, SLP y-pipe and 3" cat back with hi-flow converter, Edelbrock Performer intake,Accel ignition. Running better now.

 

Well, i understand exactly whatyou mean, but I do want to keep my car as original as possible, and I need decent gas mileage. I am still in High School afterall. How can you get a 350 to get gas mileagelike a 305? I know 305's arent exactly economy cars, but there has to be a difference. Also, would my transmission bolt up to the 350?

 

i only know one thing about it...taking the engine out is a bastard, but once you get it out i know that getting a valve job on a 305 cost my autos teacher like 120-140

the rest of it i cant really help you with

 

There is not a big difference in fuel mileage between a 305, and a 350. If you replace pistons, then it will be cheaper to buy the 350 pistons.
The bolt pattern on the blocks are the same, so your tranny will go on no problem.

 

The 305 and 350 are the exact same externally, so there is no difference in how hard or easy it is to put a 350 in instead. The major difference is do you have/want to spend the money to purchase the 350 core? With the 350 you'll get more hp and a little more respect from the bigger is better crowd. Parts are about the same with 350 pistons being a little cheaper, however that would be offset by the cost of obtaining the 350 core.

[This message has been edited by 87RS402 (edited February 15, 2001).]

 

But will it be cost effective? Wouldn't it cost more to get a 350, and put it in. Because with the money I have to spend to get a 305 rebuild, wouldn't I have to get a 350 that needs to be rebuilt as well. I have about $300-$400 to spend on it all. Wouldn't it be cheaper to rebuild the 305? I would like a 350, but I would like to keep my car kinda original, and I don't know if I could afford it.

 

I hate to be the one to rain on your parade, but...

You're not going to be able to do much of a rebuild for $300-400. Just the soft parts alone that you would have to buy to disassemble and reassemble a perfect engine, that is the gaskets, bearings and rings, are close to $300. That's before any hard parts that you would need to rebuild a worn-out one like pistons, cam, valve springs, oil pump, etc; or any machine work like a valve job, hot-tank, boring & honing, crank grinding, etc. That also doesn't include any other misc expenses that fall into the "might as well" category like carb or distributor rebuild, water pump, fuel pump, motor mounts, radiator, etc. Then there are the costs for the R&R, which include belts, hoses, fluids, wiring, etc.

I would advise that you not tackle a full engine rebuild until you have at least $2000 on hand; and even then, I doubt a real-world, fully-absorbed job would fit in that budget. I woul dalso caution you against buying your machine work from the low bidder: the money you save that way will cost you dearly in decreased life, mistakes you have to fix, parts that don't fit, work that has to be done twice, ruined stuff you'll have to replace, etc.

That said, you can clearly see that for the amount of money you will have to spend rebuilding a 305, you can spend exactly the same amount plus a $200 core rebuilding a 350, and get that much more bang for your buck. There's nothing bad about a 305, it's just that you get more for the same money by rebuilding a 350 instead. The gas mileage difference is negligible between equivalent engines of the 2 sizes.

------------------
"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

If it cost 2000 to rebuild an engine, what is the deal about all of the
$200-$300 rebuild kits available from summit? I don't want
a race engine, just an engine that doent smoke, and is reliable.
Isn't there some way of doing a rebuild under $500? Surely there is.

 

If you reuse all of your rods, crank, and pistons oh and valves, etc. Then yes you can rebuild for $400. But what does the Summit kit include? At least replace the cam with a 194-204 or even a 204-214 if you do rebuild the engine. Any higher than the later and you start losing alot of low end. BTW a GM goodwrench 350 is like $1200 and include the shortblock plus heads, timing chain, oilpan, pump. You could reuse your stock exhaust, intake and carb.

 

Oh and that engine runs Perfectly fine on 87 Octane. The compression is in the 8's to 1.

 

Here is what the summit kit includes. Pistons, Ring, Main, Cam, and ros bearings, oil pump, gaskets, freezeplugs, Platigage, and assembly lube, and for an 84 305, this costs $259.95. Now, with all of that, what else do I need? Can't I reuse my rods and crank?

 

The rods should be checked/reconditioned. You'll need to have the pistons pressed to the rods. Are you going to bore the block? Cam bearings installed. What about the heads? Do you plan on reusing the belts, hoses, plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, air cleaner, etc. Remember you'll need to have fresh oil on hand, oh, and antifreeze too. The kit your talking about doesn't include a new cam or lifters, so your going to reuse your old cam? Do you have an engine stand that you can use, or do you need to buy one? $12 rent on an engine hoist X2 so you can put it back in. 17 year old motor mounts, those should be replaced. Do you have the specialty tools availble to you? If not thats more you're going to spend to rent or buy.

I can go on if you need more examples

 

The thing is, i have a 305, and I don't have a 350. I also don't plan on racing that much. Sure I like to go fast, who dosent? But with the car at my school, just having a 305 makes it pretty respectable. I also forgot to mention that I was planning on buying a new cam and lifters. I basically want my engine to go fast when want it to, but not have to go through the trouble of buying a new 350. It dosen't seem practical to buy a new engine when I already have one that will go fast enough for a 17 year old. I certanly respect your opinions, you obviously know more then me or I wouldn't be asking you, but keep in mind that I am not going to be racing this car at the track. I just want a decent quality rebuild that dosent smoke becaue my rings are shot, etc....