I lost a rod bearing so I need to do a rebuild on the bottom end but also considering the miles on my engine I'm also going to look into replacing the valve seals. I'm on a $0 budget but I don't want to use crap, I also don't want to pop for good stuff like forged components. The idea is to get it back on the road and smogged and tagged ASAP as I need it for work. I have an engine build I'm saving for but that's the future, I need this thing on the road like next week, lol.

Here is the list of what I'm going to need right off the top of my head:

Crankshaft
Crankshaft Bearings
Main Caps
Connecting Rods
Rod Bearings
Wrist Pins
Pistons
Piston Rings
Main Seals
Oil Pan Gasket
Timing Cover Gasket
Head Gaskets
Intake Manifold Gasket kit (Base, Runners, Plenum, TB)
Water Pump Gasket

When it finally gave out, and trying to start it pissed off after lol, I beat the crap out of it by running it and turning it over when I knew dam well it lost a bearing. Soooooo, I'm not going to take a chance and just replace the crank, rods, main caps, and bearings knowing I had metal in my oil and also being pretty sure I scored the rod and/or crank. Besides, I'm pretty sure stock equivalent parts for SBC's are cheap anyway, lol. I also figure that with 180K on the motor, hell I'll just do the pistons too to finish off the package and have that extra piece of mind.

Now my real question, I know TPI motors are known for leaky valve seals and a tiny bit of blue smoke on cold start when the mileage gets up there. Now mine has never done this, however I don't want it to start right after going through all this trouble, lol! So, exactly what's in involved with getting the valve seals replaced? I'm guessing simply taking the heads to a machine shop and having them remove the old ones and press in new bronze ones right?

Lastly, I feel the need, even though this is a budget project, to upgrade the valve springs and camshaft. I'm also going to port match my 52mm TB to my plenum, my plenum to my SLP runners, the SLP runners to the Accel base, and the Accel base to the intake ports on the head. Of course all that is free, I even have the bits I'll need for my air grinder, lol. Hell, maybe I'll port the heads a little too. Anyway, exactly what valve springs and cam should I buy that is worth the $$$ but will also work with all the other parts I have and pass smog? I'm thinking an LT4 hot cam or something.

Thanks! Oh yeah, where the heck is the least expensive place to buy all this stuff? GMPartsDirect? SDPC? CarQuest? Some other place?

Thoughts? Comments? Answers?

EDIT: Forgot about an oil pump to protect all this new hardware. Is the stock one good enough for a near stock application like this?

EDIT AGAIN: Ok, I think I'm going to buy this exact kit: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...CSMHP749%2D000 and based on what I find on the engine stand, THEN I'll look into buying the crank and rods and stuff if needed.

 

haha, geez, might as well buy a whole new engine while you're at it eh? Heck, why not a new car?

Seriously though, why not just toss in the 350 block right now? I mean, that really opens the doors to future mods eh? No point in redoing a 305 bottom end, especially if you actually plan on upgrading in the future. What you've got planned is no small feat, the 350 block is not going to slow you down compared to everything else here.

I've had good luck with summit, i'd go through them for everything.

Comp 981 springs are pretty much THE answer.

Don't use a high volume pump. A melling M55 is what you want - totally normal pump.
That FM kit has dished pistons I think, 8.4:1 on 64cc heads? I don't know offhand what that would be with your 58cc's, but i'd use a flat top if available. And in a 4.00" bore

Buy yourself a hone, to hone out the cylinders before you put in the new pistons.

Valve seals are not the same as valve guides. You're thinking of valve guides (press in new bronze ones). Seals are just a rubber/teflon/viton seal that pushes onto the top of the guide. I think there's a tool to put them on to prevent you from gorilla handing them, and mangling them.

Either way, i'd look at JUST doing a basic rebuild on this (crank kit and valve seals ONLY.) Or going all out and doing a 350 with hyper pistons, cam, ported intake. That'll be all you need for future stuff. Widen the ring gaps and you're set.

 

Thanks but that kits does have flat top pistons so I should be fine with my heads.

I'm not going to upgrade to a 350 because the future engine plans don't include that either.

I'll add the Comp 981 springs and the Melling M55. Thanks!

 

K, ummm, under the required parts for those springs that are listed, which retainers are the right ones? http://store.summitracing.com/partde...ew=8192&N=700+

 

you should be able to reuse your stock retainers and locks. If you have your heart set on replacing them, any of those (most likely in the 7* variety) would work fine. The 7* TFS ones look good.

How far in the future is the next engine anyway? Just seems like a whole lot of money wasted on a 305 here. Unless you plan on keeping it for another 100,000 miles at least.

 

Cool because I didn't want to replace them. I'm also looking and throwing in a ZZ4 cam.

I'm *hoping* I can get away with only the $320 for the rebuild kit, $60 for the springs, $20 for the oil pump, and $150-$200 for the cam. That's pretty cheap to me. I already have the bit for the porting and the only tool I need to buy is the hone thing for the drill.

Now of course if I really did screw some **** up then it will get expensive.

The engine plans are for this winter and finishing next spring but that doesn't matter because I need this motor running right now for work.