What 350 did you end up going with?

[GUITAR1989]

Hey guys Im trying to find out what direction I want to go 350 wise. It all started when I was looking for a way to beef up my 350 and not kill my wallet. I started by looking at heads and cams...Thats when I heard about roller cams and roller lifters. Im beginning to think my old 350 isnt really worth putting money into. Is the Roller cam and lifter that superior to a Flat tapped cam? From what Ive read about them Flat tapped have a pain in the butt brake in process, and arent as good performance wise. Would it be a good idea to get a roller engine and rebuild it instead of pumping money into my non roller engine. I also thought about getting a newer Vortec or LS1 and swapping it and the electronics into my truck but that all seems pretty complex compared to just building a roller engine and would probably cost alot more

Im not looking to build something insane...decent MPG, some power when I need it, and Reliability are my goals since this is going into my DD...Some time in the future when it isnt my only vehicle Id like to build a nasty engine for it...but thatll have to wait

So...
Pump money into my old non roller 350?
Rebuild a Roller 350?
Vortec or LS1 swap?
Whats the best way to go about this?

[Grim 82]

Cost-wise, I would rebuild the 350. I just rebuilt mine for about $700 including a new cam and lifters, a re-ground crankshaft, oil pump, all new bearings, etc. The only thing I left alone was the bore and pistons/rings because that motor died young from bearing failure but the bore looked good.

Flat tappet cam break-in is important, but it's hardly work and it's over quickly. I filled it up with Brad Penn break-in oil before I put the intake on it. I left the distributor and plugs out and the valve covers off and I cranked it over until oil came out of every pushrod. Then put all the plugs in except #1, bump the key and get it to TDCC and stab the distributor in. Put the covers on, install the other plug, run your wires, and you're ready to start. The break-in just consists of starting it and immediately taking it to 2000 rpms and drinking beer for 20 minutes. You will want to have an overflow funnel for your coolant, and somebody to inspect the motor for leaks or other problems during this time. Then in the future use a high zinc oil like the Brad Penn stuff that I am going to use to extend the life of the cam. I pay $5 a quart for that stuff which I don't think is all that bad.

[Grim 82]

Or i guess to more directly answer your question: A. pump money into your old non-roller 350
With the right cam, heads, and bolt-ons you could have the mpg and power that you want for less money, IMO.

[1980c10]

pump money into your old 350.
I did and have all the things you speak of.
You don't need to go roller with what your looking to do, but do get a cam, heads, pistons, bearing, new lifters, gaskets etc.
just make sure everything matches and fits what you are trying to do.

[jaredts]

edit:  moved to new topic

[GUITAR1989]

hmm thats what my brother said to do...It just seems lame to put all that money into my engine when theres a "new version" out there. I just saw an LS1 with the tranny 80k miles on craigslist for 1400$. Could my 350 with some cash into it stand up to a stock LS1? All I read about them is how awesome they are and how superior they are to the genI 350.

@1980C10 Whats ur engine set up man? What kind of power and fuel economy did u end up with? About how much do you think it cost you in the end? I love your truck by the way

[big bear]

these are always tough choices we face haha.  who doesnt wanna build a sweet motor ya know ?  i say freshen yours up. its, cost effective, reliable, ect.  and it will put out the power and mpgs that your wallet allows it too. its all on budget man.  you have to remember, dont get me wrong, ls1s are sweet motors. but, by buying a motor used, you have no idea if what you are getting is in any better shape from what you currently have. its a risk you take.  good luck man.

[GUITAR1989]

Yeah i think now i just need to find out what will spice up my 350. Im thinking some RHS Vortec heads....and a nice little cam to go with em The RHS Vortecs are gonna cost me about 700-900$ for the set to buy the heads bare and get nice componants to put in them "Unless I find some smoking deals somewhere like ebay or craigslist"...anybody know a set of heads I can get for that prics and have better resaults?

also...ive tried to ask comp cams but they suck and wont answer my questions....Any cam guys out there that would help me pick out a nice cam to go along with my heads?
I just looked at a list of things i need to know to choose a cam and I dont know 90% of the stuff...Ill try and answer as many questions on the list as I can for sorry if some of the questions dont reallyt matter im just answering as many as i can
1. Daily driver want some torque to rip around town
2. altitude is 2000ft where i live
3. not quite sure on vehicle weight....short stepside i think around 4000 pounds
4. 350cid sbc
5. dont know my cranking cylinder pressure or static or static/mechanical compression ratio
6. 2101 Edlebrock intake manifold
7. quadrajet carb
8. RHS, Cast Iron Chev SB Vortec Head, 170cc/64cc
9. 3.73 gears in the rear
10. 275 60r15 tires

[1980c10]

@1980C10 Whats ur engine set up man? What kind of power and fuel economy did u end up with? About how much do you think it cost you in the end? I love your truck by the way

'75 4 bolt main block. bored .030 over
-gm vortech heads with heavier springs and a radius grind on the valve seats.
-crower torque beast cam-(mild street cam)
-flat top pistons
-edelbrock vortech preformer intake
-holley 670 street avenger (re-jetted)
-1" phenolic open spacer
-proform hei distributor, vac adv hooked up
-balanced rotating assembly
-flotech ceramic coated headers, 2.5 dual magnaflow exhuast
-32 degrees adv timing
-cooling is t-stat controlled e-fan
-non a/c truck an no emissions hooked up
transmission is a nv3500 5 speed(over drive)
engine dynoed at 393 hp and 432 ft lbs
-I fed it some camaro and thunderbird tonight
when i'm not playing I guesstimate the mileage to be about 18ish
I know it does better than the old inline 6 and 3 speed-that got 16-17, checked the mileage on one trip(took it pretty easy)got 20.9

[1980c10]

forgot to add the cost...
machine shop total was $2000 for all machine work and assembly from oil pan to intake and timing cover and internal parts, cam pistons bearing gaskets etc.
$250 for the dyno tune, this way the engine is run, tested, tuned, cam broke in ready to run before I installed it.
$125 for the vortech heads from a friend.
$300ish for the headers
$300 something for the carb
$170ish for the intake
$120ish for the e-fan set up
dist, wires, plugs, high amp alt, gear reduction starter, clutch, air cleaner belts and hoses, etc would be also included at whatever price I paid.
$400 for the trans, 300 for the custom driveshaft, also converted to hydraulic clutch and newer brake booster and master cylinder
-after all was said and done probably 5k-6k, a lot of little things and upgrades and changes were also done at the same time a little  1000+ of that was spent adding the 5-speed. When I break the tires loose at 50mph rolling start it all makes sense to me.

To do just the engine you could spend a lot less I also replaced just about everthing with new on the engine,
Talk to a local reputable machine shop, get a price, find some used vortech heads, don't forget to add other parts such as the intake, carb, headers, dist, wires, etc if you need them(they add up too).

[team39763]

An LS motor(5.3 or bigger) will flat out spank a 350 with similar mods.  A local yard here was selling a 98K mile 6.0 LQ4 for $600.  Add $500 for the carb setup, $300 for headers, and $200 for an electric fuel system.  If you have money left over buy a cam, pushrods, and spring upgrade(around $700 new, but $450 used/deals).  With the right cam you'll have good power, good street manners, and good performance on the track.  The LS ain't the greatest motor, but it's pretty simple and can make good power without being too complicated.

[The dream]

i was just looking up on getting a 6.0, im also running on 7 cyl., i have a 78 K20, how hard would it be to make a swap from my 350 5.7 to the 6.0? will it hookup to me 400 tranny?

[team39763]

As long as you get the correct motor mounts, it should drop in place.  I'm not 100% positive if the oil pan needs mods though.  It will bolt up to the TH400, but you may need to use a pilot spacer depending on the year of your 6.0L(some had a longer crank, some didn't).  Headers may be hard to find for a 4X4 truck, but the stock manifolds might work just fine.

[1980c10]

An LS motor(5.3 or bigger) will flat out spank a 350 with similar mods.  A local yard here was selling a 98K mile 6.0 LQ4 for $600.  Add $500 for the carb setup, $300 for headers, and $200 for an electric fuel system.  If you have money left over buy a cam, pushrods, and spring upgrade(around $700 new, but $450 used/deals).  With the right cam you'll have good power, good street manners, and good performance on the track.  The LS ain't the greatest motor, but it's pretty simple and can make good power without being too complicated.

A 5.3 with similar mods that that can "flat out spank" a mildly built 350 with 393 hp and 432 tq would be the "greatest motor"

[team39763]

What all does it take to make 393hp in a 350?  I can tell you this, mild 5.3's have been pushing fullsize trucks to high 11's/low 12's down here in Texas. Right now there's a guy in the valley running high 10's on a 150-175 shot of nitrous in his 5.3 powered fullsize.  I'll agree that when it comes to "all out" N/A motors the Gen 1 seems to have more potential.  But I don't know crap, there's guys on this site who could prove me dead wrong about everything I said.