I went to the swap meet today, and out of no where, my dad saw his friends that happens to work in a machine shop set up as a vendor there.Anyway, he was selling a few standard bore 350 blocks for 150 a piece, but since he was my dads friend we picked it up for 50 bucks (thinking that if I cant use it, or to much machine work is involved, I could always get rid of it for the same amount), So anyway when i saw it at the swap meet, it appeared to be in good shape, and the block had already been acid dipped etc. (all that has to be done is to Bore and Hone it...)But when we got it home, I noticed that the Main cap will not totally seat itself, it is less than a milimeter off, but it still will not seat completely in the block. Is the block shot or can it be machined to fit? Thanks

 

Did you have the correct set of main caps? Did you have the caps in the correct order (Had they been number stamped)? Can you check across the flats on both the block and the caps to check for twisting?

A mm is quite a gap. There should be none whatsoever.

 

I assume they are the correct set of caps since 3 of them fit perfect. The problem is, one of them seems to be slightly slightly to big for the block....

 

Semi normal. I have seen it lots of times. As long as he had the mains seperated and marked, or on the block, I wouldn't worry too much about it. When you go to have it assembled, you will find out for sure. Or you can always py to have it checked.

 

So what did you get a roller block or flat tappet?
Is the main cap too loose or too tight?

 

The cap is too tight...Its roller...It was really a good deal....Now hopefully I can use the block...(I also picked up a whole front clip from an 87 t/a for 150....)

 

what swap meet did you go to ??? where you from ????

i need to go and sell some stuff

 

Good Stuff
Choose the right parts and put it all together right and you'll be happy.
Chances are the bearing caps are good, but play it safe and have the bores miked. If they aren't right some aftermarket caps will fix the problem, but they'll have to be bored to match your block.
If you have to go over +.040 on the cyl bore, have the block sonic tested unless you're building a low budget motor.

 

I am from NJ, every year Englishtown Raceway has two swap meets, one in the fall and spring.

Hopefully I wont have to get aftermarket caps...I will probably bring the block to a local machine shop this week to getit looked at...then I have to get a price to for the bore and hone...What do shops typically charged for a bore and hone?

 

they have swap meets every now and again at gateway internation raceway in madison illinois here by us ..i have to make it to the next one

id definatly take that engine to the shop and have them check out the mains before you get to worried about anything...

 

yeah,I am not going to get worriedabout it, it was only 50 bucks, and I really dont think its that big of a problem...if worse comes to worse, the shop said they will take it back...

 

For those of you that have built a block up from the bottom end...What crank and rods did you use? Is it worth it to go with a forged crank for a motor with under 400hp?

 

There are lots of options out there for cranks.
A factory crank would most likely be good, but if you buy the rotating assy piece by piece then the overall cost will be greater and it will still need balancing.
A balanced rotating assy is the best choice.
For 400hp either cast or forged would be adequate.
There are many outfits that sell 3.5" stroke balanced rotating assys.

Personally, I have one engine that has factory rods, cast pistons, and factory cast crank. Another has Scat rods and hypereutectic pistons with a factory forged crank. And another has Lunati rods with an Eagle crank and KB hyper pistons.

When I was parts shopping, I wish I'd known about these guys. It seems like they both have some good deals on good stuff.

http://www.ohiocrank.com/rotating.html
http://www.primediapowerpages.com/cg...00216&2D101022

The printed catalog shows a lot more stuff than the online one does

 

i looked at the ohio crank website, and it seems that there rotating assemblys are priced pretty decently, and the parts look pretty good...I have seen some other kits in summit and the parts werent all that great...i just have one question, What are the advantages/disadvantages of hypeuretic pistons?

 

Summit doesn't give you much bang for your buck as far as rotating assy parts goes.

Some guys hate hypereutectic pistons, because they're more brittle.
On the other hand there are some TGO members who are running them in 10sec cars.
Hypers are lighter than cast, but not as light as forged.
More expensive than cast, not as expensive as forged.
You aren't supposed to use nitrous with hypers, some guys do anyway.
Hypers have different bore clearance requirements than cast or forged, they also have some specific ring gap requirements that it's very important to adhere to.

That's it in a nutshell
Some other guys will probably chime in with some words of advice on that.

Gd Lk

 

Hypereutectic pistons are basically what Streetiron said. They are inbetween cast and forged pistons in regards strength, cost, and weight.
Why they are called "hyper" is becasue of the amount of Silicon mixed in the aluminum. It is above the eutectic line giving the piston a more brittle characteristic. I can't remember the term that describes the "mixing" of the two.
Anyway, if you're planning on a 350 with vortec heads, a nice set of hypereutectic pistons will be able to handle all those vortecs can dish out. (get it? "dish" out , pistons... , I try)

good luck

 

oh my now ive heard all the good engine puns ...LMAO......


im gonna HEAD out now .....
LOL

 

well I brought the block to th machineshop today, and they said everything checks out ok, there was only one spot on the cap that was making it not fit, so they machined it down and it fits perfectly. So I left the block there and its going to get bored and honed...So now i ma going to start looking for the rotating assembly...I like ohio cranks prices, but are there any other companies out there that have good prices on rotating assemblies?

 

awsome glad to hear everything checked out okay on the block ......

 

There are quite a few places that sell good parts.
Something to keep in mind is that you aren't nessecarily looking for the best price on parts.
You can't get something good without paying for it, but you might end up paying for something good and not get it.

http://www.primediapowerpages.com/cg...titionproducts
http://www.dyno-flo.com/proddetail.a...SPC003&from=26
http://www.flatlanderracing.com/index.html
http://www.cnc-motorsports.com/category.asp?CtgID=1020
http://www.parts123.com/PartFrame.as..._Track_Thunder
http://stores.ebay.com/Racers-Outlet...enameZl2QQtZkm
http://webapp.jasperengines.com/catalog/catalog.asp

I've bought from most of these places and they all seem to have good prices on good stuff, if you know what you're shopping for.
Do your homework and it'll pay off... happy parts shopping!

 

I am not looking for the cheapest, but I dont want to pay an arm and a leg for parts that arent that great....

 

Thats good to hear that the block checked out. What kind of power are you looking to get out of it? Daily driver? Any track use? Are you going to use Vortec heads? If you don't plan on going over 400 hp and keeping the rpms relatively low, below 5800-6000 a cast crank should be fine. A decent set of rods and some hypereutectic pistons would be good for a mild to medium street build. Are you going to assemble it or have the shop do it? Make sure to get the entire assembly balanced, and your short block should be good. Oh, what kind of budget are you working with?

 

I ma looking to make around 400hp, and its really only going to be driven on weekends. I plan on assembling it with the help of my neighbor who builds his own race engines...as for budget, its kind of open. I mean I am not going to spend 3k on a forged crank, but since I plan on taking a while to build the engine up.

 

Don't know if this helps or not...but...

I just finished up a motor for buddy of mine... he wanted something with some decent power, but not TOO nasty since it's going in his 17 year old son's car...and they were on a pretty strict budget.

It was a '89 roller 350 block ( my suggestion since it's cheaper keep it roller cammed than to go to retro fit )

Factory crank, polished and cleaned up, it mic'd out fine.

Factory rods, ARP bolts, mic'd and resized

I ended up using TRW forged pistons, got 'em on Ebay for about the same cost as a decent set of Hyper pistons.

I had my machine shop balance the rotating assembly ( I like to on EVERY engine I screw together ).


Used HOT cam $100


He scored some used Vortec heads in a Pick and Pull for $100, they were in good shape, but we ended up having my machine shop do a mild "clean up" on the ports and we gasket matched 'em, and a valve job. Right about $450 in 'em ( this included springs and reworking them to take more lift )

Edelbrock Vortec intake off Ebay was around $90

Edelbrock 750 carb $75 used

With a set of 1 5/8" full length headers and a reworked HEI this motor actually surprised me... I thought the cam might be too much, but it was cheap and available ... lol..

It made right at 380HP / and almost the same on torque...both at very livable RPM ranges...

NOTE : this is on a flywheel dyno....and after a few hours of tuning.. this would not have been an option ( $$$ wise ) if I didn't know someone with the equipment....read: beer for payment....

It's enough to push a 3600lb car ( w/ driver ) to low low 13's with a considerable amount of traction issues....


And it's not too awful bad on gas either...although I am talking him into going EFI with it...


HTH