I am asking this to help my dad. the first obvious response is going to be of course WHY would he want that, but hey he's 61 and he wants what he wants. with that said. he's looking for a 454 reman. he is looking at oreillys or autozone. we live in 27524 and he asked who could do a quality job on just stocker. I know this is for thirdgen and believe me my 91rs is far from finished but I love my dad and im just trying to help him out real qwik. I would have went with a 6.0 from warrens engines in Clinton,nc but he really wants a 454. Warrens told him 2200 for a rebuild (if heads are ok) on his which sounds really reasonable but the heads are in question along with the bottom end and he would love to get the entire long block for around that price. autozone looks like they offer a ATK for about $1800+tax but I don't know anything about they're quality although it does come with a 4yr warranty. I know its off subject but I love my pop so could you guys help me? thx fellas.


ps, its a 78 short bed. with a th400 295/55r15 in rear and I think 3.23 or better gears. thx fellas

 

Stay away from ATK. Google them and you'll get plenty of reasons why.
$2200 is cheap, I had a 427 rebuilt last year and it was $3750.

 

I think you can get Jasper at Advance. Probably at O'Reilly's as well. That's probably about as budget and as reliable as he's going to find.

 

Thx fellas, soooooo much. O'Reilly is POWERTORQUE
autozone is SUREFIRE
I dont know about advance yet but thank you both and just a plug:

WARRENS ENGINES in CLINTON , NC I bought my 90's model 350tbi engine from him he was very polite, very knowledgeable, and even after changed the heads and cam ( i went with new vortec stuff and a xe274) he was still willing to WARRANTY. Idk if that is the treatment he gives all of his customers but to me they are top notch.

 

https://m.autozone.com/powertrain/en...earchText=Dc44

This is what we went with. My dad wants to leave it stock but of course I want a small nice low rpm torque camshaft in it. So that's what I'm going to buy for him as a gift. Hehehehehe. I'll try to make this my last question. Judging from the heads and a stock intake. What's the best cam just to take full advantage of the little he's got?????
Side note: bad experiences with one of the counter men in autozone hwy 210. I had to walk out guy was treating me and my dad like garbage. My dad got another guy to help him and everything went well. There good and bad everywhere you go.

 

The AAMCO next door to my shop uses exclusively Autozone parts. They put a simple 350 in an 84 Chevy truck and it had a dead hole right out of the crate. Autozone sells complete garbage. I wish you luck but honestly that was a terrible idea to go with a chain store reman engine. I've seen Youtube videos of ATK tear downs.... even Jasper is questionable. Blueprint engines was good to work with - we shall see how their engine performs in a fellow member's IROC very shortly. So far what we have seen looks very good.

GD

 

10-4. I wish he would have went with Warren's, we shall see and believe me. I will post. Thk all of you so much

 

Too late for you, but maybe someone else will benefit from this thread by not making the same mistake of buying a parts-store reman engine. Just don't do that. Too many stories posted right in this forum of guys who had these engines fail, some right out of the crate, and then to add insult to injury, getting zero satisfaction from the seller regarding the 'warranty.'

Instead, buy a new GM short block, long block, or complete engine and have no worry of getting a POS with mis-matched or even worn internals or a block overbored or crank turned beyond spec. Sure, going the 'new' route will cost more initially, but in the long run will be much cheaper than having to replace the reman when it fails.

 

https://www.newgmengines.com/shop/gm...gines/8?rpp=48

Is this place legit?

 

Never heard of them. The fact that their site shows a pic of a big block engine for a 350 is not confidence-inspiring IMO.

Both Jegs and Summit sell GM engines as does Scoggin-Dickey. If I were to buy a GM crate motor, it would be from one of them.

 

10-4 the engine is already in...... I wish he would have went with https://www.warrenengines.com

But hey he's dad and I'm not. Is there anything I need to check or look for right-off-the-bat? That wont void WARRANTY....
Thx fellas will post findings

 

Personally I think ANY engine, from GM or anyone else, is a crap shoot; thinking back to one "Target" motor I had to repair years ago in a car somebody I knew bought and paid extra for because it had JUST had a "new GM" engine installed, where the rod bearings had NEGATIVE clearance.

The big rebuilders like Jasper, ATK, etc. get a bad rap because of installers alot of the time; and because of the volume of them they sell, if they sell a hundred thousand of them, even if 99% of them were PERFECT, still leaves A WHOLE BUNCH of people with legitimate complaints. Local rebuilders aren't any better, especially not the "bottom feeder" types that compete on nothing but price, but regardless, even the best can get tripped up by something they didn't anticipate. Like I recall one motor I built years and years ago where the cylinders didn't point straight at the crank - all 8 of them were "tilted" rearward - which made the sides of the big ends of the rods EAT each other. It seemed strange while building it, that it got so hard to turn after the 2nd bank of pistons started going in, but I failed to notice it. I never woulda thought to check that, until I didn't, and it bit me.

Anyway, glad he got it together, and best of luck to him with his project. Not much to "check" really other than keeping it full of oil and coolant, make sure the carb is working right and not flooding the thing with fuel or the like, and stuff like that.

 

If it's not a roller cam equipped engine, the key is to make sure it'll fire off on the first couple revolutions of the engine. Getting the cam broken in is the first issue you'll have. Must use a good oil like Joe Gibbs break-in oil.

 

Thk yall so much. We got it in. And almost ready to break in cam. I will not repeat will not forget to to install the oil pump shaft -BEFORE DROPPING THE ENGINE IN - AND INSTALLING THE DRIVELINE EVER AGAIN.....
My dad was soo understanding but I was sick to my stomach. So he was going to row it to a friend and pay him about 3-400 to fix and finish the install. But what he didn't know was that i took a day off, waited for him to go work, me my 12yo nephew and my wife pulled the motor and trans, cracked open the oil pan, pulled the new OP installed the pump shaft and new nylon bushing, torqued everything after making sure we had new gaskets, reinstall the engine and trans, and had the hood back on before 5pm. 6hrs of work and well worth it. Of course they had never done it before. And we were working outside ON DIRT..... I told yall I love my dad. The drive line is hooked back up, but I have a problem. The top line of the th400 is the return the bottom is the pressure. So does that mean that the bottom trans line goes to the top of the radiator flows down to then the bottom of the radiator go to the top trans line??????
dont want him to burn up a good th400

 

Fluid flow usually works better the other way; in at the bottom, out at the top. Bleeds the air out better that way. Doesn't make any difference as far as cooling goes.

 

👍

 

oh crap , here we go. we put engine in, I was scared to death to turn a bolt other than those for adjustment. it seems as though anything will void warranty. well we broke cam in. stopping a couple times to let the engine cool so we could try to stay under 200 degrees. I think we ended up close to about 208 on time but after that we took the stat out and stayed under 190 until we finished the 20min. then we went to idle and made adjustments to the timing when we felt like it was close to what he wanted we finished installing the tranny dust cover, changed oil and used zinc. and tightened up a few things and had a good feeling about things. and then while under the truck OH CRAP, I have coolant hit me in the face. the last 2 head bolts on the driver side are ever so gently leaking coolant. of course this made our hearts drop. I called the surefire warranty number and then got smacked with all kinds of things that we have to go back and check to see if we did it correctly and a list things to make sure we didn't touch or else NO WARRANTY...… I think that the heads are ok. it runs beautifully. if it wasn't for the coolant leak I wouldn't be worried. I have to give them the VIN # before they can tell us the do's and donts in detail. Idk, either way the safe thing to do is to take both the heads off, get them checked, fix or replace depending on the problem, replace gaskets, reinstall heads, intake, carb, dizzy, and then pressure check, after refilling with coolant and another 160 stat. those of you that believe in prayer we could use it right now. I know he is holding his breath and hoping for the best and so am I. I thought about retorque the head but he's scared that will void warranty. and we have to find out whether the warranty will cover the labor (for the repairs) if we take and let one of their certified shops do the repairs. we know they will (inspect) our work we're not worried about that we were spot on. and didn't turn a single bolt that would void anything. (Not yet anyway)

 

You don't have to take heads off, pressure check, replace gaskets, or any of that. That's just crazy talk.

Take the bolts out, one at a time; put some of the "high temp automotive thread sealer with PTFE" from Loctite/Permatex on the threads and under the heads, and put em back in. Torque em to 60 - 65 ft-lbs. DO NOT go over 65. For that matter, might not be a bad idea to do all 34 that way, one at a time.

Don't tell anybody and they'll never know.

EFFFFF abuncha "warranty". All it covers is the MOTOR. Not labor, not fluids, not might-as-wells, not the things you have to replace while changing it, THE MOTOR ONLY. YOU will have to take the motor out, schlep it to wherever, schlep the next one back, put it in, and take your chances AGAIN. Makes no sense. If it runs good and is otherwise satisfactory, best to just repair it.

The temperatures you talk about are totally fine. Nothing wrong with em. No doubt they put those little washer looking things on some of the freeze plugs somewhere: those are made of some kind of metal that melts at a known temperature, which is how they can tell if it's overheated. As long as those don't have the metal dripping out, it's fine.

Just handle it and move on.

 

I had trouble with the ATK LT1 I put in one of my 1996 Impala SS's. Their warranty is total "Smoke and Mirrors"!

 

This father of 3 believes "BudgetBuilder" is a Great SON! Happy Father;'s day to your dad! God Bless!

 

Sofa thk u. I will talk to him and offer your suggestion. Mike I really appreciate you thk u God bless you and happy father's day to u also

 

I'll pull the last plug also and make sure we don't have any water on the plug or in the cylinder also. Thx fellas

 

It's bad out there for crate motors..... we just installed a "name brand" (probably THE most recognizable name these days in performance long blocks - I won't explicitly say since we are still in warranty negotiations) 400 HP 355 in a customer's IROC and it promptly ate the #7 rod bearing about 3 hours into test and tune. Oil filter just absolutely filled with BIG hunks of metal. All their instructions were followed exactly and of course we are well equipped as we are a professional speed shop. The oil pressure is still 60 psi (mechanical gauge).

Doesn't seem like ANY of the crate engine builders are paying much attention to what's going out the door. I find this absolutely ridiculous - the Chevy small block is a relatively simple engine and not all that demanding. As with any engine you simply PAY ATTENTION to what you're doing and generally they are quite forgiving.

GD

 

I have long said, starting when I managed Auto Repair Shops, an "Installers Bill Of Rights" is needed in the automotive trade. One that would require parts manufacturers to pay labor and shipping, on defective parts. I would also apply a "Fitment of merchant-ability" clause. IE EXAMPLE If you buy , say, a set of headers, and they don't tell you until after the purchase, that other equipment on the vehicle must be disabled, to use the product. This should be spelled out, in the sales information, before purchase.

Above would clean out the crap peddlers real quick.

 

Long post....... But eye opening....

Fellas you wont believe this. I took SOFA's advice. I went to my dad' house early before work one morning took the lasst bolt on driver side head out after dumping the water out the radiator. Of course a waterfall ensued. Looked at the bolt and saw a teeny tiny spec of what looked like thread seal on it. So i did what was instructed and re-torqued. This gave the thread seal i used a good half day for it to bond and seal. Now fast forward my dad comes home, we fill with water fire it up and voila.... Now fast forward some more a day or so later he calls me at work the truck shut off and water is leaking every where. He sasy hes out of gas and he doesn't see where the water is coming from. I get there the truck wont start. Weve tried 3 starters and several shims all the teeth got ate up. so my father found someone who says they will sell him a high torque mini. I said good deal for $50. i fix the starter good enuff to make it to the shop filled the rad with water found out the lower hose was cut (right on) nothing serious. The next day my i find out who the mechanic is. OMG!!!! Noooooooooo. I beg my father to reconsider. He wont, the truck shuts off on him on the way there ( sign from above) we pull it the rest of the way about 4miles. The mechanic start on the truck after about 8min he has to leave. Well a starter and fuel pump is a simple enuff job. (U would think)..... 2.5hrs later the first mechanic says he cant the bolts to line up. The second mechanic goes under the truck and puts it on finds out the 1st one broke the small ign wire. Now the the owner shows back up and says "lets try it" connects the hot cable to the battery and the starter spins. Wait wait wait why did that happen? I look at my dad and shake my head. Pops says someone crossed the wires. I said not only that but why didn't the starter hit the flexplate? The owner goes under the truck and says " your flywheel is ate up" fellas i was just under the truck the day before remember. I would have seen the (FLEXPLATE) ate up. In 15min the starter was fixed and engaging i guess he had a magical way of changing the flexplate without dropping the tranny. I told my dad LETS GO, ILL TOW IT TO MY HOUSE. Heck I'll fix it beside the road just get it away from here. Pops said calm down (i cant) but hey man That's my dad. So i shut up. The owner left again. 1.5hrs later standing waiting in the hot sun(91 degrees) for them to put on mech. Fuel pump......smh...... they took the new warrantied fuel pump and drilled holes bigger to (make it work) smh. The owner comes back and said lets try it. They turn the key the starter is wonderful. But the truck wont run. Starting fluid or brake cleaner heck i dont know what they used, it'll turn over start and die. He looks at the see thru fuel filter by the carb and says its getting fuel .... See... But when i pull the fuel line off the carb nipple is the only time it'll keep running. When i reattach to the carb it wont run "U NEED ANOTHER CARB" because edelbrock is garbage. Whoever put this on this motor didn't know what they were doing...... I BOUGHT THE CARB NEW.....
I said well wait there are 2 fuel filters on the truck. He says no there isn't. I said there's one by the gas tank. He says yeah i saw it but you don't need that u need a carb. I don't know why u put that there anyway. By now im beyond furious. How u gonna tell me what i needed on my truck? I have 3 on my Camaro, 2 the factory ones and one at the carb. its mine if change my oil 3 times a month what's it to u? He shuts the shop down at 4:00 and tells my father leave the truck there he'll fix if tomorrow and will have a carb he can buy. And leaves takes the other 2 idiots with him to go look thru some parts someone is trying to sell him. (Really????) And he leaves my dad hood up in fact several vehicles still had the hood up. My dad closes his hood and tell me lets go. I'm livid str8 PISSED the ride home for 30min. im begging my dad to listen. The only thing between the tank and the carb is the filters. First he said u were out of gas, then your gas needle didnt work, we put 7 gals in it yesterday and u only drove 3.5 miles and we just put another 2 gals in it 10min ago. Not counting the 5 gals we put in for the breakin. And one of those idiots actually tried to convince us that because it was a 454 it used 7gals of gas in 3.5 miles. You haven't driven the truck.... Finally i break thru. (Thk u Jesus).... My dad says i know where he is lets go pay him for he did do and get the truck. We do exactly that rush back, get under truck, take off filter and cant even blow thru it. He knocks a hole thru the filter we clamp it and turn the key twice and drove the truck back home AND BUDDY WE DROVE IT. From 11:00am to 5:30pm for a starter and a fuel pump it didn't need. I told my dad 1. Either they were idiots and didn't know what they were doing
2. They were playing him wearing him down and trying to get him to leave his truck there over night
Buddy i stayed right there with them and shut all of that DOWN!!!!!

fellas BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!

 

Your post reads like a thriller novel

 

Oh sunday when he took it to the gas station. 1.5gal is all it held and the gas needle worked we drive it 7miles and back and realized the clutch fan isnt working. Bit the truck has PLENTY of torque for a 4000lb truck. We ordered a fan clutch. So far so good. Thx fellas

 

Roughly 2200rpm at about 60mph 295/50r15 rear i gotta figure out gear ratio

 

Please please please if u cant do the work yourself have someone u trust. Please do. I dont understand my dad was the one who taught me that. If i had known who he was going to in four oaks, nc there is no way he would have made it there. Id fix it in a school parking lot or on the side of i95 before id let that happen...... 😁😁😁💪💪💪

 

Ok fellas the engine for the most part runs top knotch. There is a cooling issue. We had a 160 stat and the truck would go over 210 sitting still so i put a 195 stat and chaged the remanned WP to a brand new WP and used some prestone radiator flush. Im in the process of running the engine with the flush in it. The water seems to be circulating fine. The clutch for fan is new but even with the temp gauge reading 220 the clutch still has only engaged the fan to full speed once in a couple hours of drivig and that was while sitting still in Driveway. I know that while driving a vehicle should never really need the fan. Its while a stop light that im concerned for him. (i heard and seen it finally lock up). Its a mechanical gauge mounted in the stat housing. My dad said get a nonthermal clutch im thinking the same any suggestions? I know this is not a thirdgen and if u want me to post somewhere else i will. Oh and yes it is shrouded. Its aftermarket so it fits decent, it has a 1/2 to 3/4in gap on the sides but it is there.

 

New fan clutch was not locking up....
swappped to new non thermal and 195 stat and to brand new WP. Viola!!!! 200 degrees all day idle and cooler driving. Thx fellas yall are lifesaver s

 

Its probably 3.42 i told him 3.08 would probably be a better gear if he wanted to cruise @ 70. Hes pulling 2500rpm @ 65. Plenty of torque.

 

Hey fellas hopefully last ques....

HEP-02A
https://www.ebay.com/i/303061899580?...QaAnuKEALw_wcB
are these any good he's tired of having to turn it over and over and over when he goes a week or 2 w/o driving. He's thinking ditch the mech. And plumb one of these to ign power and be good. Idk if they can keep up with a big block.
4stock 454, 750cfm ,

 

Good question! I want an electric F Pump for starting (after extended sit) my '79 Trans Am, one that won't impede its mechanical pump, once started.

 

I used one of these mounted at the output of the fuel tank to give the gas a push up to the block-mounted mechanical FP.

 

Do you turn it off after filling the carburetor? Any evidence if it impeding fuel flow, when it's off?

 

Yes, I wired it to a switch and only use it when necessary.
It doesn't seem to impede the flow when not operating.

 

Would it be any goodd as a standalone????

 

I don't think it has the capacity to keep up with the fuel demands at Wide Open Throttle.

 

👍

 

Need 2.76:1 ring and pinion for 12bolt 78c10 truck?
lowest i seem to be able to find at summit racing, and rockauto is 3.08

 

Truck running top notch only about 10-12mpg ha. Lol. Posi 3.08.

Doing fine. Just wanted to say thx fellas.