Hey guys since this is my first engine teardown/rebuild I thought i'd post it up and get some feedback. And not to mention I am extremely excited about doing this and want to do it entirely right.

I got the 350 engine for free from a friend that works at a Machine Shop and he said it's rebuildable. It's an old engine with a 2pc Main Seal. It's 4 bolt main (correct me if i'm wrong) and i'm unsure of what it came out of. The block casting numbers are 3970010 which i'm pretty sure is from 69-79 truck or car which doesn't really narrow it down lol.

Me and my cousin are going to be doing this rebuild which hopefully will turn out good and into a 383 Stroker. It's gonna be a very slow build cause of money and i'm gonna be going to college in 6 months (wyotech). We are following a "How to rebuild Small Blocks" book from Autozone. And i skim through the threads everyday.

So now enough with words and onto the pics.
Please let me know if there's anything I should do differently or need to do. Any tips and constructive criticism is welcome.



*Block when I Got it*


*Crankshaft*




*Without Heads*


Brandon

 

*As you can see, cylinders are a bit dirty lol*


*Overview of Cam and Heads*


*Pistons Out*





Brandon

 

Sorry got a little picture happy
Alright thats it for now until i get the money to take it to the machine shop. Kind of hard to build an engine and save for a new vehicle lol. I'll be back with updates.

Brandon

 

With the cylinder rust will probably need overbore.
looked like there were traces of blue paint on the
engine,that would indicate '77-79 model years-
small block chevys were painted blue from '77-82.
A racer once told me that the"010" marking on the
side of the block meant those blocks were "high nickle"
blocks for heavy duty applications. Heads looked like
they might be the lightweight style which can crack
if they have been overheated-check 'em close.
also those heads can be improved by a mild port job
-really helps(some of the truck heads have small
valves with thick stems for greater durability under
load,not the best for high performance) also helps
the oiling some if the oil hole in the rear main cap
is "ported" some to improve oil flow a bit.
good luck and have fun!

 

Seeing as he plans on building it into 383 he'll have to bore it anyways. Also, I doubt he'll be reusing the stock heads on a 383.

Good luck on the build! Any idea what your power/torque goals will be yet?

 

That 010 high nickle stuff is bunk.

Looks like it has a freeze plug block heater.

Get the casting #'s from the heads. Most likely they're not worth keeping.

 

Are you sure it is a 350 motor??? In 1969 they came as a 302 with 4 bolt mains for the camaro z-28, Also in 69 they were 327 but came with a 2 bolt main and you said that yours was a 4 bolt which leave the other possiblity the 350 made from 69-80 which had 2 and 4 bolt mains.... All three engines sport that block casting.. So what I'm trying to get to is that is could be a 302 or a 350 got to really look at it...

 

Well for power i'm hopin for around 350hp. Sounds do-able? Not sure on torque. Not to sure on how to guesstimate that lol. But the engine will go in a vehicle that i will drive frequently until i can get a different vehicle. So it's gonna be for street use but also want it to be able to go to the track if i decide to do that.

 

So 010 is good? or bad? I'll get the casting #'s from the heads maybe tonight but otherwise sometime during the week. Engines not at my house. But ya i was gonna look into getting different heads anyways. What are some good heads for my application? I know i've heard a bit about the vortec heads being pretty good, otherwise what would you recommend that isn't extremely expensive.

One otherthing. Wouldn't my block casting # tell me if it was a 350. Cause i looked up my casting # and i'm pretty sure it said it was a 350. I think i posted the number in my original post.

 

The 010 on the side of the block doesn't mean anything, its simply the last 3 digits of the casting number replicated on the side of the block. "search" TGO for high nickle block identification, it relies on numbers cast into the block under the timing cover.

First i don't think a 383 is necessary to achieve 350fwhp, but its your call. At that level you would have to do some port work on a set of vortec heads, along with the typical guide machining and stud replacement. That should make then suitable for a 383. However, depending on machining costs wher you live, that might come close to the coat of a set of aftermarket aluminum heads like Brodix Ik200s, or TrickFlow street/strips. Aftermarket heads will always have more potential, plus you can increase compression slightly, and lose some weight.

-Z

 

Ya your probably right i wouldnt need to go 383 just to get 350hp but i know i've always wanted one. And 350 hp is just a random number i threw out. What's pretty realistic and average.?

 

I would say that 400 at the flywheel shouldn't be too difficult on a 383.

 

If the block is a 3970010 block, it could be a 302 or 350 according to the Chevy block casting info on mortec.com. All you have to do is measure the bore or piston diameter, that will tell you which size block you have.

I have the same block, just in the 2 bolt flavor. Got mine for free as well from a friend who was gonna rebuild it but needed to clean out his garage and had 2 other blocks waiting to be rebuilt.

If all you want out of it is 350 fwhp, keep it as a 350. If you do go with a 383, 400 fwhp should be the minimum you shoot for. However, I agree that you'll probably need to have it bored judging from the pics of the cylinder walls. If that is the case, you might as well go 383. The extra machine work shouldn't cost that much more I would think. Especially if you have a friend that works at a machine shop. You could also see if you can take it to school as an extra credit project or something since you are going to Wyotech. Not only could you get the work done for free/little cost, you could help your grades too

Do you know why the block was at the machine shop? From one of the pics it looked like it was leaking oil pretty bad.

 

The 3970010 can be a 302, 327 or a 350, with either 2 or 4 bolt mains. This one has 4 bolt mains. As for bore size, it won't help anybody, all three of the above engines had 4 inch bores, it was the strokes that were different. 302 had a 3 inch stroke, I believe the 327 had a 3.25" stroke and the 350 has a 3.48" stroke. So if you want to know which it is, measure the pistons vertical movement.

 

No he told me that he bought it to rebuild.And in some of the pics where it looks like oil it may not be cause i know i did use some pb blaster and let it sit and took pics. That may be why? But when i got it i didnt have a valve covers or an oil pan so who knows lol. But considering a machine shop manager bought it, i'm assuming it's gonna be rebuildable .

And that's a good idea for wyotech but i want it done before i go to wyotech lol.
Plus i'm hoping to do bodywork when i get there. I'm going for Street rod and Fab.

And i guess my new goal will probably be 450 to 500. I just want it very streetable thats why i dont want too much hp. I want it to run on pump gas. Premium of course.

Brandon

 

Check out these inexpensive Vortec heads at sdpc2000.com ...Scoggin-Dickey sells a stock head with .525 springs pn SD8060AGP for $425 each. They sell 2 kits with Edelbrock intakes. SD8060A kit with Preformer for $1000 with both heads and .550 lift springs and kit SD8060AAC as above with Performer RPM air-gap for $1085. Above heads have 1.92intake and 1.5 exhaust valves. Maybe the best of all is improved Vortec pn 25534431 for $493 each with .530 lift springs. The improved heads has 2.00 intake and 1.55 exhaust.