Engine on the cheap

[jaredts]

Assuming my motor would have to be bored ('79 L48 350), can anyone tell me how to have a like new motor for less than a $1500 260hp goodwrench?  When I get machine shop prices I just don't see beating it.  Performance is great and all, but I'm not willing to pay for much of that for this truck.  I think I've decided against a used motor.

[jaredts]

Post after post that you can build one yourself for less money and not one person willing to back that up?  From the price I got several months ago, just machine work is about $1000 (including reworking heads).  Add an engine kit with oversize pistons, new cam and lifters, timing chain, etc.  I have my doubts that it can be done for $1500.  Now if you just hone your cylinders and don't have block machining done, that's a different story (not a fully rebuilt motor, though).

[Grim 82]

Just saw this now. I went through my '73 4-bolt main 350 for about $800 but this does NOT include machining on the block or replacing pistons & rings, or doing any head work other than disassemble, clean, replace seals, re-assemble. (not a full rebuild). Mine was already bored .030 over with flat top 4 valve relief pistons and there was low mileage on the build. It had multiple main bearing and one rod bearing failure. The bore looked good with just a slight ridge so I left the pistons in it. The block never left my garage so I can't tell you what boring it would cost. Summit has piston & ring kits for ~$220. I took the crank in to have it ground but it was too far gone and the machinist swapped it out for one he had laying around which was .020 over mains, .030 over rods and chamfered oil passages. I borrowed a valve spring compressor and cam bearing installer. You would also need a piston ring compressor. I can edit in the prices later, but here is a list off the top of my head of what I was able to get for my ~$800.
Felpro gasket kit, new head bolts, Elgin cam & lifters, new oil pump, pick up tube, & driveshaft w/ steel sleeve, double roller timing set, cam, main, and rod bearings, break-in oil, spark plugs, oil filter, crankshaft grind (replacement), umbrella seals for the valves (the o-rings are included in the gasket kit), plastigage, 10 or so cans of brake cleaner, header and collector gaskets, antifreeze, new t-stat, and I'm sure something else that I'm forgetting at the moment. This may be apples and oranges, but it's been my experience with it. Break it down piece by piece and then add/subtract parts and labor costs for exactly what you want and then see if it's in your best interest to buy new or rebuild. I personally wouldn't consider a valve job and reworking of the heads into the rebuild equation because I don't think it's worth putting much time or effort into old GM heads. I would go with new seals and a cleaning and run them as-is or set aside the money for some decent flowing heads, which may or may not be what you'd get with a crate motor. You get what you pay for.

[jaredts]

Thanks, Grim.  So you left your cylinders/pistons alone based on the low mileage and slight ridge, right?  I guess the lack of smoking was another clue that you were o.k.?  I wish I had that confidence to build my motor that way, but I'm fairly sure I can't get away with it.  If anyone else has a different spin on things I'm all ears.  I can't keep driving my truck on 7 cylinders, so will be doing something soon, I think.  I'm surprised I can't find a short block for a good price?  They seem to be almost as much as a long block.

[Grim 82]

This may be helpful, I'll try to keep it concise: My 350 had about 20k on the build, sat for 10 years, then I put another 5-10k or so on it and it lost oil pressure at idle. It never burned any oil. I pulled it and put a 406 sbc in the truck. That ran great for about 2k, then started burning alot of oil and #7 cylinder would oil foul the plug instantly and I drove it around for a couple weeks on 7 cylinders. During this time I tore the 350 down to see why I lost oil pressure, and found the bad bearings (not spun, just hashed). So I put it back together with the parts I listed. With the 406 I was thinking oil is either getting in from below (cracked ring?) or above (valve guides?). When I swapped the intake manifold over to the 350 and looked in the #7 intake port on the 406, there was a big puddle of oil on top of the intake valve. The guide was sloppy and out of round. Now that head is in for a warranty valve job. It's something to check, but if the motor is tired I would have it bored. You could still see some cross hatch in mine, but mostly smooth, no scoring. In another couple years I will go through mine again and have it bored and freshen it up again and upgrade the heads. It's too bad you have to rip the whole thing apart to see what you have to work with, but the process was alot of fun and a learning experience that didn't break the bank too badly. I would get a quote for just a cylinder bore/hone from your local shop and go from there. As far as running on only 7 of the 8, that could be a problem in the head.

[bake74]

     Sorry just saw this also, my 77 350, I had the block cleaned ( boiled and honed ), did not need bored, for $110.00.  The crank ground for $110.00.
     The re-ring, crank and cam bearings and gasket kit for $150.00.  The rest I did at home with the help of my dad and some old school work.  I used my pistons, rods, and wrist pins ( they were all in good shape, just needed to be cleaned).  Most of the other stuff I reused after checking everything for proper specs or clearances.  The heads I re-did at home with hand tools that my dad showed me how the old timers rebuilt engines, very interesting.
     In all spent right under $600.00.  Now granted it is not a screamer or torque machine, I built it for an occasional driver to tool around town, nothing special.  I also expect it to last 40,000 to 50,000 miles, and I totally understand that I am going to get out of it what I put into it.

[Da67goatman]

I rebuilt my 350, for about $900 in parts and $350 in machine work and I expect it to last 250k miles or more just like the last one.  You really don't know what its going to cost until you get it stripped down and measure everything.  I had mine hot tanked then re-ringed, new bearing, seals, freeze plugs, cam and lifter kit, high volume oil pump, water pump heads had valve job and did the assembly myself.  Now your will be different cause mines tbi, but prices should be real close.

Get it torn down and mic the crank and cylinders to see what machine work you will need, you might get lucky like me, 175k miles and 4.00" bores.  Plus you can reuse parts like the intake, pistons, connecting rods, heads, oil pan, stuff like that, unless you feel the need to replace them.  Took me all of 3 weeks from tear out to turn key.  Most of the time spent waiting for machine work, can be spent parts gathering.

[team39763]

Reman'd 350's go for around 600, then give them your core and you get 200 back.  Tell them you want a roller cammed motor (I believe 87+ F-body).  You could take them a LT4 hotcam from Ebay(I payed $45) and some "Z28" springs = $35 brand new...this cam may not have the pump tang so might only work with electric fuel pumps.  They should be able to put that together for you for around $800 total.  We did something similar when we bought our reman'd Ford 302, swapped in a B(or F)-cam.  Only thing is we didn't get to take our core back for the $200.

[jaredts]

Reman'd 350's go for around 600, then give them your core and you get 200 back.  Tell them you want a roller cammed motor (I believe 87+ F-body).  You could take them a LT4 hotcam from Ebay(I payed $45) and some "Z28" springs = $35 brand new...this cam may not have the pump tang so might only work with electric fuel pumps.  They should be able to put that together for you for around $800 total.  We did something similar when we bought our reman'd Ford 302, swapped in a B(or F)-cam.  Only thing is we didn't get to take our core back for the $200.

$600, $800?  American dollars?

[bobcooter]

I would recommend that you check Northern Auto Parts. They have rebuild kits that are well priced and you can get everything you need in one shot. They will also upgrade certain parts like pistons, gaskets, oil pump, timmg set and so on. Their Master Kit for a 69-80 sbc 350 is $189.90. That includes cam, lifters, timing set,pistons, piston rings, rod,main and cam bearings,oil pump, freeze plugs and a gasket set. Like I say you can upgrade certain items and mix and match. They have kits without the cam and lifters too. I bought my stuff from them and have been very satisfied.
www.naparts.com

[team39763]

Reman'd 350's go for around 600, then give them your core and you get 200 back.  Tell them you want a roller cammed motor (I believe 87+ F-body).  You could take them a LT4 hotcam from Ebay(I payed $45) and some "Z28" springs = $35 brand new...this cam may not have the pump tang so might only work with electric fuel pumps.  They should be able to put that together for you for around $800 total.  We did something similar when we bought our reman'd Ford 302, swapped in a B(or F)-cam.  Only thing is we didn't get to take our core back for the $200.

$600, $800?  American dollars?

Yep, but it looks like prices have changed at this particular place.  The cheapest roller 350 was $825 while the more desireble ones were around $900-1000(vortec headed).  http://citymotorsupply.com/domestic.pdf.  I dealt with this particular company a while back so prices have changed for them.

[jaredts]

Great stuff.  Bobcooter, that's a good price for a rebuild kit, and Team39763, those are still really good prices for a crate.  Definitely gives me some different options.

[bobcooter]

When I rebuilt my 350 that's where I bought my parts. I really like the fact that you can talk to their sales reps on the phone and get exactly what you want / need in a kit form.

[royo]

Check these guys out for chevy kits

http://www.enginekits.com/

[1980c10]

I had my engine bored, new flat top pistons, new cam, z-28 springs, heads re-done, new oil pump, complete rebuild, rotating assembly balanced, flywheel machined and assembled from the oil pan to intake for 2,000. you could use lower cost parts than I did and skip the balancing and be about in your price range and the engine is good as new.