marshalljones4

Hey everyone. Im sure you all get this kind of thread all day long. But Im trying to get good advice on how to start Building A Chevy small Block. Heres how I plan on going about this.... Im thinking of buying a Chevy 350 4 Bolt main from a salvage yard. But Heres my problem, Im not sure Which type of vehicles had good 350's in them. And what Block casting #s i should look for before Dumping alot of money into it. Im planning on Putting it in My 91 RS 305 TBI. I am in no rush to finish building the 350 because My 305 Runs Perfect and its a great everyday driver motor. So i have patience to build it right. I really want to learn more about building my car. So anytype of help will be helpful. Thanks

What would be a good cost for a chevy 350 4 bolt main in decent shape? I just want a block. But if its complete and at a good price that just needs rebuilt Ill take that too lol. But I do plan on building it from the bottom up.

Once i get the engine disasembled. Id take it to a machine shop. Probably have it bored .30 Over....What else is entailed with Taking the Block And getting it reconditioned, and set up for the new Build? How much do you think the average shop Will cost me to have the engine prepped up?

Id like to be at about 350 hp when complete. Doing the build correctly and as cheap but still reliable as possible. How much do you think that all will cost?

IROC-You

Are you going to be using the pistons rods and crank from the block you get? If not, you might as well put a 383 Stroker kit in there, you can get them as low as $600 on evilbay.

Also, the block you get does not really need to be a 4 bolt, yes it is nice but most of the time it is not needed unless you are running forged pistons and rods.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

A roller cam adds gobs of power, along with it being more "friendly" to the noobie building it (take it from me...) and it's cheaper to do that with a roller block.
So, roller blocks are in post 1987 vehicles usually.

Camaro's with L98 TPI motors (probably kinda rare)
Trucks with 350 TBI's (hit or miss if it's a roller, would have to check)
"L31" vortec truck blocks. Would have to be a pretty new block to find a vortec in the yard, but once the magical vortec heads are off it, it's just a 350 block as far as the yard owner is concerned, so that's one thought.
Caprices would have 350 TBI's also. Again, hit or miss if it's a roller, but worth checking for.
....So, trucks, caprices, and camaros, the rest are pretty easy to figure out (buick roadmaster, etc) would have 350's, and after 1988 would have a good chance of being a roller. Also, the newer the block the better condition it would be in generally.

And yea, 4 bolt mains isn't a big deal for a 350HP motor.

Shop prep depends on a lot of factors. I'd grab the book "how to rebuild your small block chevy" by David vizard. It's a pretty good read for a rebuild. Theres also the version which includes the phrase "...on a budget" which is good apparently.
Block work:

bore cylinders -$200 - probably needed, not sure how much, .030" is purely a guess. You only want to bore it as much is needed, .030" is just the very most common # that happens to pop up...

deck block - $160 -may be needed
align hone main saddles -$120 - may be needed
hot tank - is needed $40
balance rotating assembly - $300 - good idea to do if you have the cash.
install pistons to rods - $ ? - If you buy both from the machinist, he might do it for you for free. Mine did, and I only bought the pistons from him
resize rods - $? - I just bought new rods. It barely makes sense to buy nice rod bolts, and resize your old rods when you can buy new ones for that price, and have another stick to put under hood
install cam bearings - easier to get them to do it for $30, rather then buying the $60 tool, and chancing screwing them up. It's a VERY expensive booboo to make.
Those are the prices I paid my machinist, so that's a decent baseline. I

zz4monte

I always asked this question first.1.Do you have to pass emissions?2. Do you want to keep the TBI.

marshalljones4

No Sir, No emmissions

zz4monte

You could do it for under 2,000 easily if you find parts at swap meets.First of all if all you want is 350hp then 350 cubes will be more than enough,but if you ever plan on building more power you might as well get the 383 now.If you stay under 400hp you should have no problem with cast or Hyper. pistions stock cast crank and good factory rods. As long as it is all balanced correctly your fine. The TBI is the only thing that I am not sure about.It will need extensive mods to work with 350+hp.You might want to ask some of those guys who have TBI on that board who have power in that range.As for engine combos,since you don't have to pass emissions I would find a 350 block (newer roller block if possible but not needed) and you don't need 4 bolt mains but hey why not just incase you want more power later on.I think no matter what you could find a block under 300 bucks if you took your time and look around.Not sure it all depends on how prevolent the blocks are in your area.A comp xe262 218 224 dur 462 469 lift with 9:1-9:5:1 compression should be good with a set of voretc heads,Performer RPM intake and 650-750DP and 1 5/8 headers should do the trick.350+hp right there.If you want you could run a xe268 224 230 dur 477 480 lift and make another 10-15hp but the 262 should reach your goal give of take a few hp.The only thing you really need to worry or figure out is what type of fuel deliver you are going with.Carb or TBI and the fact that all this new power is going to put a strain on your 700r4 and the stock little 7.5.

marshalljones4

Yea thatd be sweet. Im lookin for a nice block to start the build Ill Let you all know when ever i get one.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

That's probably the LEAST IMPORTANT piece of the whole deal.

The factory 4-bolt main caps are even less important. Setting your heart on that, is a good way to guarantee that you'll pay more than you need to, for something that won't affect your finished product in any way.

ANy block that will bore out and clean up at .030", is a "nice" block. However, some are "nicer" than others.

I'd put roller ones at the top of that list. You'll pay no more for that than you would for one with 4-bolt caps installed on it, and it will do you AHELLUVALOT more good.

The one thing that will make the most difference to the outcome is THE HEADS. Spend you time, money, attention, and effort THERE instead of on stuff that doesn't do anything for you, like factory 4-bolt caps; just get a block from a 87-up truck or something, and move on.

marshalljones4

ive been looking on ebay for a cheap block. Which blocks are the best? What all should i look for? casting #s, bored, not bored?
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oh and btw Im planning on using this as an everyday driver haha. So How much HP is actually enough for a fast street car, that still has impressive times at the track?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

eBay isn't the right place to find a block.

Your local junkyard, machine shop, or REAL parts store, is much better.

Get a block that matches the year series of your car; 80-85, or 86-up. Doesn't really matter what casting # it is, as long as it matches the car. Dipstick needs to be on the pass side, and the right rear main seal design to match what you've got now. Try to find one that isn't bored, or that's newly bored and ready to run, from someone you can trust - might be cheaper to buy one already ready, than to buy a junk one and pay to have the same work done to it.

If you can top an honest 300 HP, you'll be faster than practically anything on the road, and still get decent gas mileage. That's enough to get well down into the 13s in one of these cars; 300 HP at the crank will take a typical one that's well set up, to about a 13.6 to 13.8.

And don't forget, there's ALOT more to making a car fast, than the motor. A typical novice mistake is to spend every dime they have on the engine, and have nothing left for exhaust, gears, converter, suspension, and so on. You'll probably actually have more effect on how fast your car is with those things, than by jamming the most HP you can between the fenders. Watching a car with a big lopey cam try to leave the line with a stock converter and 2.73 gears is pretty hilarious; as is watching a 450 HP big block sit still at a traffic light and smoke the tires while some little underpowered small block car with a weenie motor like a 350, hooks up to the pavement and leaves it behind.

marshalljones4

Hahaha Thats awesome. Yea man, Im all the way with you with the Gears to support the Amount of HP. I really like my car and plan on keeping it a long time. So i just want the Whole thing to be Perfect. Good Motor. Excellent Tranny. And i guess ill have to find out which gears will work the best for my set up. I know The new Camaros are going to be fast. 400 HP i heard.. I kind of want to be able to keep up with them and keep the older style design.

1989GTATransAm

iTrader: (3)

Here in Southern California the late Vortec 350 truck blocks are not hard to come by. I got a 4 bolt for my current build. There was no difference in price between the 4 bolt and the 2 bolt so that was an easy decision. Also they come with the latest rods and the cranks are good for at least 500hp if you find one assembled. They come with the roller cam which is good.

Two things to look out for when building a late vortex block. If using a double roller cam chain you have to grind on the upper oil gallery boss for clearance. No big deal if you know ahead of time. Also make sure the starter location has enough holes. Sometimes one has to be drilled and tapped. The last 3 digits for the best block is 880. Hope this helps.