need a new engine, thinking on these... opinions?

[2502]

after finding out that my 350 was mysteriously flooded with fresh water after sitting completely covered, i've been lookin around at some other options.. just not sure what i'm really looking at, and what it's worth, and what i should go for with my replacement...

so here's my first one, that i like the most. engine looks clean, taken care of and maintained. seller says i can take the camaro out for a spin to see that it runs great with no knocks, etc.


I am selling a 355 stroker motor. has about 8,000 miles and runs great new alternator, pulleys and belts, edelbrock intake, aluminum rolller rockers, nice valve covers, new plugs. runs strong and extremely reliable. no problems what so ever. motor is currently in a 79 camaro and u can see it run if you would like. has a mild cam. recently built. runs on pump gas 93 octane and runs 12's easy
that's $1500

the next is:

#2:
very clean and strong 355 sbc 4 bolt main 011 block, aluminum gm bowtie 4 bbl intake, cam is maybe 2 sizes over stock.not radical. not sure of the carb. was also rebuilt and looks great. i'm guessing around 600. this is a good, strong, street motor. ran great when pulled and have video of that before it got pulled from the car. trans has shift kit and shifted excellent. these are both recently rebuilt with low miles and very clean. will separate the pair if desired.
wants $850 for the pair. that i haven't looked at personally yet or seen any pictures.

what's the better buy?

[Lt.Del]

i don't see where a 355 is stroked.  A 350 is usually stroked to a 383 with a .30 bore. 

I personally would buy something I can hear run and check for blue start up smoke and the like.  So, I'd go w/ option 1, but, option 2's price seems right if there is any guarantee at all--heck the trans seems worth that price.

[fitz]

  I would like to see the paperwork on engine #1 to see  what they did to stroke it to a 355 and to verify that it does run 12's in the quarter. Thats fast in my book and would be a deal at $1500 if it's a good motor. Just keep in mind that if those 8,000 miles were put on 1/4 mile at a time this motor may be tired.
 

[team39763]

I kinda like option #2.  It seems like a decent deal and not too radical.
As far as running 12's in a 2nd Gen Camaro...with a 350...I'd think it's gotta be pretty radical.

[fitz]

As far as running 12's in a 2nd Gen Camaro...with a 350...I'd think it's gotta be pretty radical.

Thats what I was thinking. Any chance he was running nitrous?

[choptop]

I would not go with no.1 one. If he says it'll run 12's then he has run 12's in it most likely. The reason I wouldnt go that route is the engine has been run hard. There are alot of 99-02 Camaros and Trans Ams in this area with 80,000 miles max that smoke like freight trains because they have been raced. I figure one trip down the track is the equivalent of 1,000 miles due to the harshness of it. Go no. 2, you dont need to inherit something someone has already thrashed on. Just cause it runs ok now, doesnt mean it will later.

[Donut]

I'm cheap, option 3.  See how bad your original 350 is.  Flooding damage "could" be minimal if it didn't sit to long flooded.

It really depends on what YOUR looking for.  DD truck, just looking for a solid foundation to work from, option 2.
Fire- breathing monster, option 1.  JMO, extremely reliable, mild cam, and easy 12s sends up red flags.

[y2k_harley]

How about a 350 crate motor from Chevy?  I got one a few years back.  I runs pretty good in my 86 and was around $1500 with a 3 year 50K mile warranty.  Just a thought!

[Stewart G Griffin]

1) First off to answer the question, #2.  But really, the way i want to answer it is neither.  


2) So, i'm confused;  What exactly are you trying to do?  And how many trucks do you own?

3) (ties in with #1) why not examine the existing engine---take pictures and, if nessesary take it apart; It's not that hard.

4) (really should be #1) What is your situation----financially and otherwise?

[2502]

well my 350 is flooded and needs rebuilt. so for what it would cost to rebuild a stock motor, i could put the money into something that might have a little guts with it.

option number one, the guy is guaranteeing is a great runner, etc. but if he's beat on it that's an issue that didn't dawn on me. its in a 79 camaro now, he's swapping it out for a big block he's having built. so i thought it made sense.

option 2, i haven't see that yet. both are a good bit of distance from me, so i wanted to "see" it before i go see it. i'm pretty pissed about my engine as it is. the mechanic said it looked like the flooding was intentional, the water being crystal clear, etc. which if u knew the war i have going iwth my mother's husband over this thing, it's possibel he might have done something. the engine was covered in plastic hefty bags, taped off with duct tape, and then the truck had a cover on it. so how did GALLONS of water work it's way in there? not my area, cuz i don't know a thing about this stuff. but it just seemed funny to me. long story short my mother's husband was paid in trade for a LOT of airbrush work to swap this motor over. he did a timing chain, and never touched it again. me, i dont' play when it comes to paintwork i put out, i charge a lot for my artwork, so i gladly let him know i'd repo the paint jobs. then of course a spray gun went missing from my garage, and its' been a petty tit for tat thing since.

anyway back to the point...

i wanna put something decent in it, nothing too radical for now, my funds aren't large enuff for a big project yet. i want to be able to tow and still have some guts behind it. i see strokers listed all the time, or engine's claiming to be strokers, so i dont' wanna get screwed over again. my funds? i'll dump 1500 at the most right now into a used engine. i'd say i'd go higher, but i can't work on anything myself with cancer treatments back and forth. i thought i'd have more time to devote to this but the doc found 4 more lumps in my neck so back to the chopping block i'll be headed soon. so i just wanna buy it, and as much as this sucks i'm gonna just pay the shop to finish it.

that, and my gf models, so her taking home the occasional 1800 paycheck for standing in front of hummers all day long in barely nothing helps too, she wants to see this thing finished since it's seemed almost doomed this year.

thanks everyone for the input, any suggestions further for what i should be looking for and or spending or not spending is greatly appreciated.

[choptop]

If you can get a crate motor for $1500 with warranty, thats the way to go. I havent priced them, but believe Y2K harley. Ive also heard that before.

2. a 355 is not a stroker motor, it is more that likely a 350 bored .030 over, unless they are stroking a 305 and I havent heard that one.
 
3. if your mechanic cant build you a 350 for less than $1500, you need a new mechanic. The small block chevy is one of the cheapest engines to rebuild there is, and anyone should be able to build a mild one for less than $1500.
I know your old motor was full of water, but unless its seized up, it can most likely be rebuilt. Ive seen engines siezed up with rust, and still were rebuilt

[2502]

i'm also trying to save some time, i get my license back in like a week and a half. so i was thinking, get something to drop in for now, have the other one built up in the shop somewhere while i do some research into the kind of engine i want built for this thing overall... there was what he said looked like chocolate millk coming from cylinder 8 so i assume that's from the oil and water mixing. so i just thought i could drop this off over the rest of the winter and have it built and drop it in come late spring early summer (cancer treatments depending of course) when i have the body work done and ready for paint.

[team39763]

Here's some more of my thinking on #1 engine.  He didn't mention heads, so it probably has some crappy heads.  From what I've been learning, crappy heads need a monster cam to make them work decent.  And if the car ran 12's on motor with crappy heads, it must've been one heck of a cam to make them work that good.  Any good sized cam, will need a good sized stall converter....which is probably not a combo you want to tow with.  I'm not a expert or anything, but that's my thinking on #1.

[Stewart G Griffin]

1) No, i'm still confused---i need a more complete run down of:  how many actual trucks do you have(running or not), what exactly(more detail) are you trying to do(i'm still unclear).

a) And, if i may so bold madam, this may be part of your problem----disorganization.

2) What exactly are you trying to tow?
a) How much weight?
b) How often?
i feel that towing is more a matter of gearing than engine nessesarily;  What rear gear ratio you got?

3) My feeling(s) on engines are that:
a) i would never buy jazzed up engines out of the paper like that.  If these engines were so good, why are they selling them?  Also, i would want an engine that actually idles without stalling out all the time.

b) If you're going to go used, only go for stockers----i.e., 305's, 307, STOCK 350's, 265,301's etc.  For instance the 305 i bought in 2002 for a twin turbo project that still has not happened is now in my truck and it runs great----it can idle all day without overheating or without wanting to stall out every 3 seconds.

If you want a "hot" engine, get a stocker and build it up yourself (not actually completely recommended by me either, but at least you know what you got).
NOTE: these are my personal feelings regarding engines, but i think they hold some validity.

Much more later.

[Lt.Del]

If you do any serious towing, the torque of a 383 is incredible.  I love my stroker in my 79.  Pulling a 7k lb trailer is a cinch.  Since it is a 350 block, everything from my 350 bolted right in to place with ease.
Of course, there are those who say, if you go up to a 383, might as well go up to a 400 cid. 

My 383 has a rv cam that has a  noticeable lope to the idle, but in no way is drastic.  It takes advantage of lower rpms.
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