i started to tear down my 350 the other day. its mounted to a 4 wheel engine stand. i remove the intake, both valve covers, 1 rocker arm, and 1 lifter. so far i know it is a flat tappet lifter engine. i plan on doing more work this weekend. the outside of the block is quite rusty, looks like a part of the titanic. came out of a pick up truck that was driven in the winter.
1. is it worth rebuilding a flat tappet engine?
2. dont know if its a 2 bolt or 4 bolt main. is it worth rebuilding a 2 bolt main if it is to be used only as a very mild street engine?
3. was this a TBI engine? im not sure, the fuel system was already removed when i got the engine. i did notice that there was never a mechanical fuel pump. there is a block plate installed where the fuel pump would have went.
4. what do you guys use for a valve train organizer. can i make one? i need to keep the rocker, pushrods, and lifters organized so when i do the reassembly they all go back from where the came. lifters dont really matter much, they will discarded and new ones will be installed.

 

Yes.
Absolutely, even if it's a not-so-mild street/strip engine.
What year was the pickup? What are the head casting #'s?
I use a piece of 2x8 board, a little over a foot long. I drilled eight 5/16" holes down each side, marked one end with an arrow pointing forward, then put the pushrods in the holes and the rockers/pivot *****/nuts over the pushrods in order from each side of the engine. I also did 7/8" holes for the lifters, but like you said, if you're replacing the cam, they get tossed, anyway. If you're only doing pushrods/rockers, even a 2x4 is wide enough.

 

i believe the truck was a 1987 but im not 100% sure. where are head casting numbers found? im trying to decide if i should replace the heads or have them rebuilt. i know rebuilding them would be alot cheaper, but are mid-late 80's heads worth it? can they atleast provide some performance?a new set of heads could run 6-700 bucks for the set. thats money i could spend on other parts of the project.