350 Rebuild, Where would you put $1000
 

OK, since the 455 is a little harder to find than I had hoped, well at least a rebuildable core for less that $1000 (here in Vegas) I need to get rolling on getting the car back together. It's been painted for more than a month and it's just sitting there looking all mad at me. Anyhow, until I find a rebuildable 455 for a reasonable price I figure I'll limit the 350 rebuild to $1000. I have an Edelbrock performer and qjet that I bought on e-bay a gazillion years ago. So, with that, where would I get the most bang for my $1000?

'69 YE motor with '69 #47 heads (which I believe are 73cc D ports).
I was thinking about having the heads cleaned up and putting in a cam. I'm seeing alot about the Comp XE cams so I need to strike the balance of bump vs. capability. I figure I'll run a set of pypes and redo the rear end with some sort of limited slip (neither of which are part of the $1000).

I'd also be interested in doing NOS, but I don't know if there is enough breathability into the heads.

I've seen a few threads on building a 350, but I couldn't easily find anything with the $1k threshold.

START with a 400. or get a 2.10 stroke crank & 3 inch main journel size

STEALTH 455, HEADS are the biggest issue... they just dont flow.

Use the money to have a stock head rebuild, makeing sure the shop understands the pontiac seats. Cast pistons are not made for the Pontiac 350 now and only option is to use a set of 318 Mopar and have a shop fit them, but better to buy stock forged if needed or some good used ones. MAke sure not to run to tall of an intake, decent cam with good HEI maybe and make sure the engine is balanced and alinge honed. One Pontiac magazine I just got the other day shows a family 68 project using the 350 and it runs like mad. Look at it and decide what you can use.

As far as a rear end goes, the best little money I spent on one of my 68 birds was to buy an 8.5" posi from a junk yard and I beileve it was from a 71 Nove. A litle bit wider, but not enough to cause any problems. Also, you can get one from some of the later A bodies. Have to have the drive line trimed a bit but the cost is not much. BUt well woth the fun you get from a rather inexpensive way to get a posi. Using the parts sold for the BOP 8.2" limit you to 3.55:1 gears if buying new ones and the carrier is a bit steep. You should be able to get a decent rebuild, and keep under your budget. Things like port work on heads is not cheape, and you can also look into using a small bit of nitrious but ask the racing people the best way to use it with a 350. same money, can also do a 400 for you if you could get a decent core and look for parts selling at close outs or on line. The 350 engine kits were always more thsn the kits for the 400. Also, a kit is a decent way to go to save on everything you buy. Also, on tracking down the parts. Good ay and have a blast. Mike

350 pistons!! LOL!!! >>>http://pacificperformanceracing.com/...idProduct=1430

Be Cool,
Ace

I'd be kinda cautious about nitrous with a stock 350 bottom end.

i'd put $1000 toward a 455

surely they're not that hard to find via ebay

i've got one i would have shipped to you for that

If the 350 didnt have to run more than a year or two, I'd do a bare-bones rering.

Put heads in shop. Have them cleaned and surfaced. Only replace what absolutely needs changing. Tell machinst to keep expense under $250. Believe it or not, that's hard to do. Head work can get obcenely expensive.

Have crank turned. Buy stock rebuilder quality FM bearings.
Use the $100 gasket set.
Have the block magged and baked clean. Install new cam bearings, freeze plugs. If the current pistons and bore are in halfway decent shape, re-use them. Have cylinders honed and fit new speedpro rings.

Install new oil pump, and pump driveshaft. Install Summit 2801 cam kit and timing chain. Clean and reuse stock pushrods and rocker arms. Buy a new balancer and water pump. Clean valley and oil pans and re-use them.

Clean up the performer. Find a carb and put a kit in it. Find an HEI and drop it in. Find a cheap chrome aircleaner and slap it on. Slap on some stock manifolds, stock accessories and go driving.

I usually tell people here to spend a lot on builds, for power and longevity. But I see no reason to spend a lot on a 350 that just has to go down the road for a few years. So what if it puffs a little smoke when you start it, and has a little piston slap. The SOB will run for years like that. Vola, $1,000 Re-ring job.

good luck

chip

Why must you start with the hard to find and expensive 455? From my perspective, a 400 block is a better foundation to start with. Want big cubes? - Buy a stroker kit for it. 400s should be a lot easier to find. I'd use my $1000 to buy a 400 and get started on building it into a 462.

At least out here it is even proving difficult to find a 400 that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg.

I figure I still have a week or two before I have to commit, so I'll se what happens in the mean time.

When you say stock, do you mean rebuilt or not rebuilt? What would you do to beef it up to handle nitrous?

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=481913
Call Brad about shipping it to you. No more excuses.

Not to insult, but being that I don't know anyone on this board, is this seller honest?

Thanks,

Bryan

You would use forged pistons.

there is an honor system here, and to burn someone on this board would be like pissing in your own bed.

he's been here a few years, so if he were a crook, he'd of been ran off long ago :D

looks like a great deal...

:sorry: Ok, OK, I'm sorry I was thinking about the 326 pistons that I've never been able to find. FYI, the 400 blocks are still around in my area for as little as $150 carb to pan if your willing to pull them out of cars. Most are 69 to 75 2v engines but it's a fair price. I just boought one of them a while ago from a running (but real damaged) 73 Le Mans Lux. Beautiful car, and a shame it was so messed up. How about a 1975 455? However, you have to pay a grand for it and drive the wagon away with it. Beautiful Ralley wheels, but wrong size for my A body. Last week, someone decided to buy the 75 Q-jet off of it though. This is in Oregon.

Forget nitrous unless you want to spend several hundred on a good fuel and ignition systems AND spend way more than $1000 on the engine.

Lets say you spend a grand on a rering job on a 350. Then add a $400 basic 125HP Nitrous system. No special fuel system, no special ignition system, no special nothing. You'll get approx 10 to 15 good uses out of the nitrous system before you hurt the engine.

Head flow isnt really the issue for small NOS shots on stockish engines. The cheap headgaskets let go first. If you run lean, you'll melt the pistons. (remember, no fuel system improvements) Then if you're detonating, you'll shatter pistons, spin bearings, throw rods, etc. (No special ignition system). If you put the $$$ into fuel and ignition systems now, you'll be able to run nitrous more without hurting the motor. Maybe get 25-50 passes on NOS before the 350 goes BANG. And the improvements can swap over to bigger engines.

Anybody ever see that Car Craft article a few years back? They took a dodge 318 2bbl out of a junkyard. They put a 4bbl on and dropped it in a duster body. No rebuild or nothing. They had a good fuel system on it. They kept feeding it NOS until it blew. At a 175 shot, the stock ignition couldn't light the mixture. The engine stalled when the button was pushed. So they installed MSD system. It ran low 12s on a 250 shot before it melted a cast piston. I don't expect such a performance out of a stock rebuilt P350. I think a 250 shot on a stock rebuilt 350 would blow it through the hood. LOL.

chip

I know this isnt the place to post this. But Ive got a good 455 that was running a few months ago (completely stock). Complete from air cleaner to pan, all accessories included. Ive got the matching TH400 long tail as well... Im in south texas. PM me if interested....

just bought a standard bore , 428 BARE block -- noe come the fun part -- which way and how BAD do ii make it ?? for a street driven 70 GTO , \ hmmmmmm EFI , 700r4, edlebrock heads .. etc etc etc ..

blhu, you should start a new thread with those questions, you'll get plenty of opinions.