just bought her 2 days ago. 1991 350 out of a full size pickup. Owner said it had a slight knock every now and then. Ive got the intake manifold off, heads off, and oil pan off. I have NEVER built a motor before so I need some serious help. I have picked up a few 350 rebuild books and have been reading non stop. I want to reuse the crank/pistons. When I take it to a machine shop to have them check it over, what exactly should I have them do to it? I plan on taking it to them with the pistons/crank/cam in the block. I plan on doing a crane cam with somewhere around .454 lift and duration, summit aluminum heads, hooker short headers, edelbrock low riser performer intake manifold, holly or demon 600cfm carb, new lifts/rods, and flowmaster 80 series cat back with dual tips. Tranny is a built v8 700r4 with shift kit and a b&m shifter with a built in line lock. If you see ANYTHING at all that you would do differently, PLEASE tell me. These are just ideas that I threw together, and have no idea if they will work or not, especially with the heads/cam combo. Keep in mind this is all going into a 1992 3.1 RS. The motor/tranny swap is a completely different topic though. Also, the block number is 14093638.

 

First, forget the cam until you've finalized the heads, and we'll need a few other facts about your car before picking a cam. Things like compression ratio, axle ratio, intended usage of the car, et cetera. With those pistons you'd do well with the '96-up Vortec heads.

 

oops, didn't mean to post that yet. Anyway, they'll need to clean and magnaflux the block, especially in the lifter valley. If it passes, have them check the bore wear. If that passes, have them hone it and order you new rings and bearings. They'll also need to check the big ends of your rods.

 

ok as far as heads go, where should I get them? Local junk yard or pick them up somewhere new? I have all the rods out and didn't put them in order, I just threw them in a parts box because I knew I wouldn't be reusing them. Is that ok?

 

If you go with Vortecs, better to get them new. They're still under $600 for an assembled pair. And since your block has provisions for roller lifters, that's what you'll be using, so you can discard those old pushrods, they're too long.

 

well I am going to try to sit down with my dad and talk with him about it. He use to be a motor head for a long time but that ended due to financial problems. The last car he owned was a 71 chevelle with a 396 big block, bored, and a turbo 400 tranny which he drove summer, spring, winter, and fall. It was his daily driver, he owned no other vehicle. I was only a little tyke then though so I really don't remember much about it. I remember stumbling across a video of him starting it and me running away with my ears plugged because it was too loud lol. Anyways, majorly off topic. I talked to him a bit tonight and he said its all about brainstorming before I buy. He said I also have to match everything up to make it work right. He said you can buy the most expensive stuff for it but have the slowest motor out there if they don't work together. I will try to find us some time to sit and discuss what he thinks is best.

 

If you're gonna go old-school, most of us can't help you much. Plus most of those old parts are no longer available.

 

what do you mean old school? My local machine shop only wants $150 for a bore and hone job so I think this has turned into a 355 project.

 

You said "keep crank/pistons". Make that "crank/rods".

It's a 350 project that will need the bore increased by .030". The makes the actual displacement 355 cubic inches, but it's still a 350 - just .030" over.

The Vortec recommendation is a good one. Check out www.sdparts.com and their "engine components" link. They have a heads/intake/gaskets/bolts/rockers combo that can't be beat. The "upgraded" heads are worth it. The Summit aluminum heads would be okay, but the Vortecs would be better and probably cheaper.

I wouldn't recommend a Crane cam. They've gone out of business. You might get a screaming deal on one, but forget warranty (unless whoever you buy it from backs it up, and I'm sure Summit would).

Were you planning on keeping the flat tappet lifters, or go with a factory roller set-up?

 

hmm. i have similar plans.. im gonna be watching this. maybe i can finally get an idea of what the hell im going to do

 

http://www.sdparts.com/product/SD806...merIntake.aspx

i like this deal here. gettin vortec heads for about 650 bucks, gaskets for about 50, bolts and hardware for about 20, intake for about 250 and intake gaskets for about 30-50. seems very resonable. what you think bout these heads? good for a lift of 0.525, thats a lil more than what you were lookin for.

 

That's them.

 

oops my bad, i re-read your previous post and now i see "The upgraded heads are worth it". maybe i should read better lol.

 

as far as pistons go, if I bore it out, what would be a nice set to use? I see them range from cheap, to very very expensive. What should I be looking for?