Into the 350 we go

"MM54" (mm54mk2) 07/23/2018 at 22:00 • Filed to: '71Chevelle

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Made some more progress tearing down the 350 today, got the intake and valve covers pulled.

I have no good excuse for the drill press sitting on the floor

Someone wasn’t great about oil changes, but I’ve seen worse.

I feel bad for my shop-vac already

The areas around the exhaust crossover are pretty coke-y and the low spots in the heads have some sludge buildup. I’m not concerned (yet) about the condition of the bottom end; but I’m suspecting based on apparent mileage alone this will be in need of a bore.

Not the kind of coke you hope to find... err... so I hear...

Next up will be pulling the rockers, pushrods, and lifters. If I’m lucky I’ll have the heads off soonish to actually survey the bores. I have a lead on a good machine shop from a coworker, will give them a call before too much longer. I want to get this stripped and out of here (to be tanked/bored/honed) so I can clean up (anyone want an intake, an exhaust manifold, waterpump, some heads, and/ or other odds and ends?) and get back to working on the front end of the car. I’d like to be done disassembling before I start putting the engine together and begin refurb’ing all the stuff for the front of the car.

I also really should finish the hardware storage solution I got started with before tearing into this car...

Sovande > MM54 07/23/2018 at 22:16

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What’s the anticipated cost to have it tanked, honed, etc? With new heads, intake, etc will you end up with more into the motor than a crate would cost? Heads, rods and rockers alone will be north of a grand, I would think. 

MM54 > Sovande 07/23/2018 at 22:29

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I’ll be making more power than an equivalent-cost crate engine would make for sure. Tank/bore/hone should be a couple/few hundred bucks. Crank should be good, if it needs bored I’ll be buying pistons. Rods should be good, I have an intake, carb, and headers. Heads, cam, and valvetrain are the real cost, mostly good heads. I’m doing all the non-machine labor.

I am surprised how many people (even on oppo of all places) are skeptical of rebuilding it and think “why don’t you just buy an engine” - maybe it’s the modern mentality of “throw it away and buy another” or something but it’s surprising. No reason not to rebuild an engine unless a majority of the parts are scrap. If nothing else, it’s fun .

shop-teacher > MM54 07/23/2018 at 22:38

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“If nothing else, it’s fun .”

Which, after all, is the point of all this madness :)

Sovande > MM54 07/23/2018 at 22:45

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I wasn’t suggesting you should throw it away and buy a new one, I was just w ondering what the cost comparison would be.

What are you HP goals? What kind of heads? How much compression? Sounds like a fun project and one I’d like to take on at some point.

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > MM54 07/23/2018 at 22:46

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When I was growing up crate engines were a luxury. SBC are meant to be rebuilt over and over again. There is no reason not to rebuild it. How else are you supposed to worry if you remembered to torque the rod bolts. Engine building is the best and I mean the best part of cars, yes even outranking driving. 

lone_liberal > MM54 07/23/2018 at 22:50

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Have you decided what heads you’re going to go with? I know I’m going to go with 64cc chambers to raise compression a bit and stay with smaller ports  but beyond that I still don’t know.

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > MM54 07/23/2018 at 22:51

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What heads are you going with?

When I do engines I just use pieces of cardboard for hardware sorting. I’ll write/draw the part on the cardboard and tape/pierce the cardboard with the fastener . I try to put the bolts back in the same chases if possible. 

MM54 > Sovande 07/23/2018 at 23:17

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I’d like to end up somewhere around 350- 400HP in a torquey street motor. Haven’t picked exact heads/cam yet, probably 9-10:1 compression so it’ll be pump gas but premium.

That long-winded second part wasn’t directed at you in particular, just in general how many people have told me “you should just get x crate engine its only like $3k” when I can build a better one for 2.

MM54 > lone_liberal 07/23/2018 at 23:19

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I haven’t picked exact heads/cam yet. Waiting to see if I am buying pistons or not (due to bore requirements) and will go from there. Looking to stay on pump gas (and not the ragged edge of it) so no more than 10:1 at the end of the day.

MM54 > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition 07/23/2018 at 23:23

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Heads/cam TBD - once I know for sure it needs bored (and thus that I’m buying pistons) I’ll get it all sorted out. My big concern is to make sure the crank is good. If it needs pistons and a crank, I’m only rods away from a 383 but that’s getting to more than I want to spend (and approaching/exceeding the power capacity of the rest of the drivetrain).

There isn’t a whole lot getting re-used from this engine, especially the top end. The intake bolts were sort of mix-n-match so I may not be the first one in here. Obviously the bottom end will be marked and kept together (and I’ll probably keep the rockers/pivot balls together even though I don’t intend to re use them now ). I mainly bought it for the shortblock, knowing I already have a carb, intake, and headers (and that I’d be buying new performance heads).

Sovande > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition 07/23/2018 at 23:25

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The problem is the cost of the individual parts has risen to a point that by the time you get new good heads and all the ancillary parts you are looking at $1500 easy. Couple that with paying for machine work and the rest of the stuff that you may as well replace while you have it apart and you are at or above the cost of a crate engine. I certainly agree that the fun is in the building, as when you are done you can say that you touched all the parts. You did it yourself.

Crate motors are no longer a luxury, at times they are the most sensible and cost effective direction. Even more c ost effective, in some cases, is an LS motor. I was quoted $1200 for 5.7 LS, ecu, harness and transmission which is certainly cheaper than heads, porting, machine work, a cam and pistons and I would end up with more power and more potential. All in a package that will start no matter the temperature and will be more fuel efficient and easier to use. It’s just a different school of thought. Some people like to tinker, some people like to drive.

Sovande > MM54 07/23/2018 at 23:32

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That’s cool. Sounds like a fun build. I would be interested to see if it can be done for $2000. I priced out doing heads and a cam on mine and came out to more money than that. Admittedly I am a complete novice and it sounds like you know a lot more about it than I do. Good luck and have fun! 

MM54 > Sovande 07/24/2018 at 12:00

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Thanks. I’m not saying this one is going to total out <2 grand, just as an example in the whole “just buy it” argument thing. This will probably be around there though, unless something costly comes up I’m not expecting (like a crank) .