1978 K10 355 restoration

[gcochran223]

The 175hp torque monster is out.

[bake74]

     Yea, new wiring harnesses are not cheap, nor should you buy a cheap one. (you will get what you pay for), My suggestion is try to see if any junk ones are around that you can get the wiring harness from.

[gcochran223]

took the motor to the engine buddy today. got some scares it was a 305 according to him so we ran the casting number.1980 corvette 350 motor?ha ha whatever. under the intake was alot cleaner than expected. major teardown is next week so we pulled off a head to get the big question out of the way.and I'm not sure if the picture shows justice but the piston walls need bored. so seems if the basic freshen up has now turned into project k10 355. he is more into the numbers and what works but next Friday i will post the list of goods to be ordered.

[bake74]

     The pic is not the best but good enough to get the jist of it.  Yea, I would agree, the minor has now turned into a rebuild.  But when all is said and done, you will know the engine is a good running engine.
     Why did your buddy think it was a 305 without running numbers ?  It is really hard to tell the difference by just looking.

[gcochran223]

I'm honestly not sure. every Chevy guy i have ran into says. oh that's a 305 not a 350.so the first time the water pump was out, got some number off by there and confirmed it was a 350. now my buddy who is rebuilding it now first dame thing. oh this is a 305, that balancer on the front was a common 305 thing blah blah blah. if it would have turned out to be a 305 i wouldn't have rebuilt it, but we ran the numbers and confirmed it was a 350. he has a 400 sitting back there i would have acquired and ended putting it up in the truck. some of these guys around me who know it all and can sense when a 305 is present, ha ha who knows.but as off right now no parts have been ordered that's all waiting til next Friday. now I'm on a mission for seats for my cab and i have called on 3 different bucket seats for that thing and there all sold. so I'm about to call on a set near Akron so that's a solid 2 hour drive.holding up progress on the cab.

[gcochran223]

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/FEM-CSMHP752-300

Here is the engine kit getting ordered tomorrow.

[gcochran223]

got the engine tore down to the block today.cam was warped like heck and a $#@% to get out.bearings showed wear in certain areas and one piston had blow by i think number one or two.some rings were pretty bad.engine kit got here two days ago and monday the block,crank and pistons i ordered get dropped off.ordering a harmonic balancer tonite along with my bolt kits for the motor.

[gcochran223]

the block is done, went up and paid that bill, vortec heads are getting checked today. here's the prices i paid through a local shop not sure if its normal, high or a deal.

thermal hot tank block- 100
final wash -30
bore and hone- 200
r and r pin bushing and fit- 30
magnaflux crank- 25
magnaflux rods- 25
align hone block-75
balance crank drill and machine-220
rods for pistons-75

should start assembling the engine next week. frame has had little progress lately due to a snow plow truck issue taking up 80% of the garage.frame wise got some wire wheeling to do it, put some supports in for the new fuel tank and I'm probably going to buy the rust encapsulator from eastwood corp,apply that and do a gloss black on the frame and be done with it.

[gcochran223]

well after serious debate and checking of the pocket book, project 78 was abandonded.its a shame but for the money and time involved i was able to pick up another truck needing alot less parts and money involved.

[bake74]

     So what is going to happen to the 78, back burner for now or ?

[gcochran223]

the 85 cab and bed are getting sold which were supposed to get put on my 78 frame, to help offset the costs of the new truck.i was at a good breaking point where i could go with either project.i thought about it for a week or so and when i sat down and ran the numbers in the long run i would save money going with the 86 over building up my 78.the only downfall is i enjoy the round headlights but could always be done in the future. the main issue i ran into with the body swap was not having a place of my own to do it in.being dependant on a Buddy's garage and time and alot of his tools was taking a toll on my patience, 3 hours a week wasn't going to get my 78 done (when he felt the need to say lets work on it). this 86 sierra is fairly clean, has tires on it i plan to sell and with selling this sierras th350,np208 and the tires i should hopefully pay for the majority of the truck and with selling my cab and bed pay for the whole project.i began to dump to much money into it and my 355 project went way over budget tipping the scales at $2800 but everything is new.the issue is i planned on building this, selling my newer silverado which i hate and buying a car, well the truck ain't selling, so i ran into issues there and there was also selling my ATV for a rhino or something.i wish i would have just fixed the rotted cab mounts and kept driving it.

[gcochran223]

some progress on motor and the new 86

[gcochran223]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-SK12-231-2/

the cam kit ordered

[gcochran223]

99%done

[gcochran223]

got the clean fenders on, radiator support coated, had to order the bolt pieces from   to connect the inners.