Manufacturing suggestions

[80midnightchevy]

I bought this truck a few months back, and will start working on it in March. Currently it has a 305 from a 78/79 camaro all iron block, per GM. I am planning on getting a 350 from a junk yard and rebuilding it with some performance parts and a mutha thumpr cam. The exhaust I'm thinking of doing ceramic headers, bullet mufflers and 4 inch exhaust. The brakes were basically shot, as were the hub assemblies. I changed them out and replaced with OE parts from O'Reillys. The suspension is basically shot and was planning on doing a 3 inch spindle drop in front, and a 4 inch shackle drop in the rear. I will also do a drum to disc conversion. The steering column is completely shot and have found a few on the CPP website, just don't know the correct size that I need. The transmission slips out of gear and will be replaced with either a 350/400. Since I will be doing a planned engine swap, and have a few performance parts, would it be best to get the 350 or 400? I have looked at the CPP And Summit. Between all of them, I'm not sure which would be the best for the buck. The least amount of money I spend, the wife will be happier, but I don't want the bottom of the barrel parts either. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[roundhouse]

Id suggest looking at a crate engine from your local GM dealer
Lot cheaper than building one


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[Irish_Alley]

what trans do you have now?
you can have your trans rebuilt for cheaper than buying another trans, and you dont have to worry about the driveshaft
why 4" exhaust?
you know you can go too big 2.5" duals can handle 450hp single is good for 220hp

[80midnightchevy]

I have been told it's a t350. There is a garage near my hometown that has the 350/400 for around $250. The reason I want that exhaust is because of a truck on roadkill.

Roundhouse- I was going to rebuild one. A crate would cost atleast 2500.

[Irish_Alley]

you need negative pressure in your exhaust to suck out the exhaust fumes. if you open it up too much you loose this savaging effect. if you dont have enough cfms then you will cause too much positive pressure aka back pressure. 4" duals can handle 1000+hp

[80midnightchevy]

you need negative pressure in your exhaust to suck out the exhaust fumes. if you open it up too much you loose this savaging effect. if you dont have enough cfms then you will cause too much positive pressure aka back pressure. 4" duals can handle 1000+hp

So if I were to get a 350, with performance crank, cam, heads and lifters, what size exhaust would be best while making the best sound? The 2.5?

[Irish_Alley]

depends on the parts and how much money you put into it. a stock motor is about 180-200hp. IF you get to 289 you can run dual 2" if you get to 350 2.25" duals are good for 371 hp. ideally you need 1.5 cfm per hp on the intake side on the exhaust you need 2.2 cfm per hp.

[roundhouse]

I have been told it's a t350. There is a garage near my hometown that has the 350/400 for around $250. The reason I want that exhaust is because of a truck on roadkill.

Roundhouse- I was going to rebuild one. A crate would cost atleast 2500.

there's crate engines for less

Depends on how much HP you want


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[Irish_Alley]

thin a 383 that you build would be cheaper. been a while since i looked a the parts list but want to say under 2k with the machine work

[80midnightchevy]

I will be living in Southern AZ and will be certain that I can find a massive junkyard full of 350/383/454 motors. There was an article from hot rod magazine online yesterday that somewhere in California there are massive amounts of classic cars and trucks untouched. I'll have the find the name of the junkyard but a completed 454 for $399 and a $65 core charge. To rebuild that 454 would be a lot cheaper than buying a crate 350 or 383.

[Stewart G Griffin]

I will be living in Southern AZ and will be certain that I can find a massive junkyard full of 350/383/454 motors. There was an article from hot rod magazine online yesterday that somewhere in California there are massive amounts of classic cars and trucks untouched. I'll have the find the name of the junkyard but a completed 454 for $399 and a $65 core charge. To rebuild that 454 would be a lot cheaper than buying a crate 350 or 383.

Speaking of Roadkill, they did visit one of these yards in the episode with the 50 gmc (or chevy?) pickup.

[Stewart G Griffin]

Episode 31:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLmt_VmPwKE&index=5&list=PL12C0C916CECEA3BC

[80midnightchevy]

I will be living in Southern AZ and will be certain that I can find a massive junkyard full of 350/383/454 motors. There was an article from hot rod magazine online yesterday that somewhere in California there are massive amounts of classic cars and trucks untouched. I'll have the find the name of the junkyard but a completed 454 for $399 and a $65 core charge. To rebuild that 454 would be a lot cheaper than buying a crate 350 or 383.

Speaking of Roadkill, they did visit one of these yards in the episode with the 50 gmc (or chevy?) pickup.

I've been trying to find a truck like that for my mom. But she wants the F100.

[Stewart G Griffin]

These are just my opinions:

First state your exact budget.

Second, why not work on the exhaust only first and see what kind of improvement you get?  Of course, these changes can be carried over to a 350 etc.

Remember that the Monte Carlo SS's with 305's ran mid 15 sec 1/4 miles times and they weren't exactly light cars.   How many STOCK 350 cars can equal that?  i'm talking stock, no headers and intake changes.

Here is my performance record with 305 and 350 in the same truck:
LG3 305 from 78 mailbu = 1/4 mile E.T.   17.9
crate 350  = 1/4 mile E.T.    16.8

As you can see the 350 was over a full second faster BUT the 305 only had a 2 barrel,  everything else was the same.

My philosophy, especially if you're on a budget, is to run the 305 until it can't run anymore, THEN move up to something better.

[80midnightchevy]

These are just my opinions:

First state your exact budget.

Second, why not work on the exhaust only first and see what kind of improvement you get?  Of course, these changes can be carried over to a 350 etc.

Remember that the Monte Carlo SS's with 305's ran mid 15 sec 1/4 miles times and they weren't exactly light cars.   How many STOCK 350 cars can equal that?  i'm talking stock, no headers and intake changes.

Here is my performance record with 305 and 350 in the same truck:
LG3 305 from 78 mailbu = 1/4 mile E.T.   17.9
crate 350  = 1/4 mile E.T.    16.8

As you can see the 350 was over a full second faster BUT the 305 only had a 2 barrel,  everything else was the same.

My philosophy, especially if you're on a budget, is to run the 305 until it can't run anymore, THEN move up to something better.

The switch from 305-350 would be when the engine just craps itself completely. I've don't some research on the engine and a couple of places have said this generation 305 would last for 150,000+ miles! but imp not sure how many it has. The odometer only goes to 100,000 and resets, and the engine is from a different car. There is no real telling as to how many miles it has. I'm pretty certain it has been rebuilt due to the simple fact that the engine block is painted orange.

The exhaust, especially the headers need looking at cause there is a slight exhaust leak from the driver side. More then likely it's just a bad gasket, but the headers will need to come off anyways.

As for the difference in the 305/350, yes the Monte Carlo was a heavy car, but what pre-80's cars were not. (Except gremlin type) I'm not sure how much the Monte Carlo weighed, but it's less than 5500. The MPG won't necessarily improve, but the performance and cost should be better.

The budget won't be much of an issue, just a "how long do I want to save for the next part". I don't want super cheap, but not buying just a name.