Hey guys, it's been a while,
As posted months ago, my poor ROC had the engine blow up in her. My 350 is toast, and I suspect it might have been the crankcase bearing that started the whole mess. Now she sits in my garage waiting to be repaired. I have a limited budget, and I am starting to put money aside every month to hopefully have her on the road again next summer (hopefully May). I have a machine shop right down the road a bit from me that has been in business for 25 years and so far from what I have heard, has a great reputation for doing a great job on engine rebuilds. If I am going to spend a good deal of cash to fix her up, I would like to make her faster and more powerful than she was before. I was just wondering what you guys suggest I do, I was most likely going to try the engine rebuild. I was hoping to keep it around 2,000 dollars or so. If I do rebuild, what parts should I go with to get more bang for my bucks? Also, should I try and have the tranny rebuilt while it is easily accessible? The 700R4 in her does have 103,000 miles on it and a recently fresh complete change of tranny fluid. I have read that if I plan on having the rebuilt engine push more than stock horses and torque, it could quickly kill a worn tranny, and it would suck to put all this money and effort into rebuilding it for the summer, and then drive it for two weeks and blow the tranny too. That would be just enough to drive me crazy. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance for the input!
JCRULZ

 

Sounds like you want to do alot on a limited budget. The kicker is that to do a quality job, you really do have to do alot. Give us your budget here, so we know how far you want to go with the rebuild.

Choosing which parts to use for rebuilding the motor all depends on what you want to do with the car in the long run, and what you use the car for.
If this car is going to be a weekend warrior, and you plan on pushing out over 400hp, then you need to consider using stronger, yet more expensive internals. Theres no point in getting to that high hp point and then having to go back into the motor to change out the cast crank for a forged one, and put in I beam rods. I would trust my motors internals to 400hp (crank), as it is what I am making now for a daily driver, but I don't even expect it to last that long.

Now for the transmission, I know you don't want to hear it, but I would opt for the rebuild, preferably with stronger internals as well (kevlar bands, hardened sun gear, stronger sprag, etc). It would save a lot of headaches down the line if you just did it now. But again, if you are only planning on making 300-350hp, you might be alright for the time being. Actually, I am reminded of a seller on ebay that sells strong 700r4s on ebay for like 750, and apparently he knows his stuff and has a 100% positive feedback rating, with a 12 month warrantee on the transmissions he sells. Might be worth searching for; theres actually a few companies that sell these transmissions for under 900$.

One other thing that you also wont like (please dont shoot me) is that you need to be concerned about your rear too. I've been looking into it heavily lately, as it is time for me to beef up my 10 bolt. To do a strong 10bolt conversion (a good one) look to spend at least $1000 (if you plan on having a shop put it together, you need to factor in labor, that $1000 is assuming you do the work on your own). If you wanted to do a 9inch or 12 bolt, expect over $2000.


So basically, give us your budget, and give us your plans for this car, and we will be able to help you more directly, and suggest part numbers.


Hope this gives you some help
_Clark

 

This does help Clark. I forgot about my rear end. Yikes. Before the engine went, the rear end would kind of clank every now and then. It only has the stock 2.73 gears too. I was hoping to rebuild the engine with only 2,000 dollars, but that sounds pretty foolish now, considering what you just wrote. The car is my daily driver in the late spring/summer (May to October, maybe November). If I can beef her up a bit, I might use her for some local spectator type races (most likely oval track). Nothing major right now. 400 HP may be a bit excessive, I was hoping for around 300-350 HP. I would love to have a 400 HP beast, but I have a feeling that is too expensive for my blood. The guy I talked to at that local machine shop told me a complete rebuild of just my engine, with some decent parts, will most likely cost more than 2,000 bucks. Man, I love this car, and I want to keep her in good shape, but financially this is going to be a challenge. I really want to give this challenge a shot, though.

 

Well, labor is going to kill you in the long run with cost. You seem to have another car that you can drive while this one is out of commission, so you could take your good ol time rebuilding it on your own, if you were willing to learn, and bought the right literature to help you along with the process. It also helps to have a friend that knows what they are doing.

You can pick up a rebuild kit for around 500$, and new rods for 250$. You'll probably need other odds and ends, and I don't know the extent of your damage, and what you can re-use/need to replace.

You can also get an eagle rotating assembly for under 900$. This includes the crank, rods, and pistons, along with balancer and flexplate...again you might not need all these parts. Provided you have the tools, you can rebuild your motor yourself for $1000 (unless your heads are screwed up too, then thats a whole different story). What exactly is wrong with your motor anyhow?

Then you have your trans, rebuilt with stronger parts...maybe 600$ to have a shop do it, or you can buy a brand new rebuilt one on ebay for 800$ including shipping with all the high strength parts. But that is something I wouldnt worry about until it goes, because you might be able to squeeze alot more life out of it, especially if you are only looking for 350hp max, I think you'll be alright.

As far as your rear, since it is showing signs of being on it's way out, well then I would address that in some way soon. Read the tech articles on the front page on how to build a better 10 bolt. I'll be doing mine with a Truetrac differentail from eaton. This is my setup that I will be installing myself, just to give you an idea of what you should expect to spend, but I maxed it out since I am paranoid, and am at just around 400hp:

-Eaton Truetrac Differential DTL-912A317 - $365.95
-Alloy USA 28-spline Axles ALY-12103 - $209.95
-Richmond Gear Install Kit RMG-831044M - $128.95
-Richmond Gear 3.42 Ring and Pinion RMG-4900451 -$185.88
-Aluminum Rear End Girldew/stud kit(from LPWracing.com) 3017.5G - $190
-Solid bearing spacer (dont know where I'm getting this yet) ~$30
-Welding of axle tubes to pumpkin - Free


Grand total: $1110.73



Search around on summit for potential parts you will need to give yourself a better idea of the cost.

 

Wow, thanks a lot dude! This info has been very helpful. I would love to do this all myself, but I don't have any tools, I have a tiny garage and very little mechanical skills. My wife's uncle is awesome at this kind of stuff, but is kind of reclusive and I would kind of feel weird asking him to help me along. He does love doing rebuilds though. Maybe I should ask him and see what he says.

 

Oh yeah, about what happened to the engine, I haven't had it officially checked yet, but I am pretty sure I turned one of the crank bearings and that in turn busted up a bunch of other things. The car was practically peeing oil down the oil filter housing, so hopefully I didn't shoot a rod through the block. The thing is, if I am going to rebuild the whole thing, I might as well replace the majority of things in there so it runs the best it can. I would definitely use Summit for parts, because they are awesome to work with and have tons of awesome parts for our cars. Any good literature you can recommend to me when it comes to rebuilding my engine?
Thanks,
JCRULZ

 

For one, I recommend this board for any questions you have. Haynes has a good write up on engine overhaul, and would be very helpful.

Since your block might have incurred damage, I suggest you take it to a shop and have it magnafluxed to check for cracks, and bored .030 over to ensure a clean cylinder wall. Even if you cant physically see cracks, there could be tiny hairline ones that will compromise the integrity of the block. You will basically be starting on a clean slate here if you get this done.

The fact that you have a family member that can help you is a bonus. Alot goes into rebuilding a motor, and doing it on your own might take some time, you have to realize that it is an in depth project. Also you will need to get your hands on a cherry picker to get the motor out and a stand to keep the motor on while you work on it. Now that I think of it, and your budget, you might want to start looking at the alternatives:

You might want to start with a brand new crate engine,
summit p/n NAL-10067353 for one. You could swap over everything not included that probably isnt damaged, such as your intake, serpentine accessories, etc. You'll then have the extra money for tools, etc. Just pointing out one other option you have. Rebuilding an engine can get pretty hairy if you arent experienced, and you might end up breaking even here, with the cost of getting the block checked, transporting it etc. Might just save some headaches here, so search around for some good crate motors.

OR, if you want a really really easy swap, just look for the motor you have now on ebay. L98s go for dirt cheap and you can definately score one with a medium amount of mileage for under $700. That would bolt directly into your car now, and you wouldnt have to go through the issues with wiring harnesses, etc.

Just weighing the options here. Maybe start talking to your uncle in law and see what he recommends.