[Meangreen]

This is my first post in this forum so bear with me.. I got a 71 Chevelle malibu as my first car around spring break, im 15... Since then i have added a 4 barrel intake, holley 600 (pain in the butt),headers, an accel distributer was on it when i bought it, valve convers and air breather, Air shocks in the back, new shocks in the front, center line wheels, BF goodrich tires, New carpet,new front seats to replace bench seats, and new master cylinder. Well the other day i was driving it to a car show and it breaks down on the way there and come to find out i dropped a valve... , So i call the wrecker, get it home, and there it sits. MY problem is that it is a daily driver and i need to get it runing soon like in the next 2-3 weeks. So what do i do? Replace the valve and make sure everything is allright or try to do a rebuild? I am very capable of doing a rebuild just not sure how long it would take. And i would have a very limited amount of cash flow, Around 500-600. So if i am gonna do a rebuild what do you guys and girls think about summit racing kits? Also would i need a new crank or just new bearings.. Thanks for your help..

[redcamaro4spd]

Well don't quote me on this, but if the piston is okay and no damage was done to the cylinder head, combustion chamber, and cylinder walls, you should be able to replace the bad valve(s). BUT MAKE SURE that all of your pushrods and rocker arms are undamaged. If they are, you'll just have more probs. Hopefully I'm correct, but maybe one of the true experts can verify...

[slider in wa]

Untill you tear it down and see. Just tear down the head on the bad side frist and check it out. Some on here will help you work through this. You can e-mail me at home if you want. But posting on here gets more input. Also be sure and read through the knowledge base frist,as this will allow you to undersatand and us like terms on your questions. I like everything i ever bought from Summit or Jegs!!!
Slider in WA.

[Hollywooding]

I know exactly what your going through, im 20 myself and had a similar problem.

The problem with dropping a valve is that it can slam the piston head and pop a hole, or damage the head. Best bet is to pull the head and look.

Option 1: If the piston looks ok on top, bring it to the bottom of the stroke, and check the cylinder walls for scoring, if there is no scoring or tearing, then chances are the block is alright. Take the head in and change the valve, keeper, etc.

Option 2: if there's a hole, scoring, tears, metal in general, sorry bud time to pull the motor. Check the bottom end, but remember what you leave in there can / will cause damage later. Preventaive maintenance saves a lot of headaches.

PS. what 'caused the valve to drop? bad springs, or redline? if it's redline, start looking at keeping your foot out of it, or upgrade the valvetrain (spend some money now to save time and more money later). Just my 2 cent's

[Meangreen]

Well what happened was i was going down the interstate the the car show and was doing about 75 (i have a th350 by the way) and i punched it to get around these cars and stayed on it for a little while and it sputtered like once and died. I would like to rebuild the motor since it has around 77 thousand miles on it and is 32 years old. What kind of kits would you suggest? Preferably cheeper because i dont have too much but dont wanna do it wrong. I have around 500 dollars.

[78 monte]

Pull the head and see.If you swallowed a valve check your valve guides for slopp.If your cylinder walls and piston look alright have the heads done.
If your motor needs more work rather than rush it cheaply. 1 option is pull the motor stick in a $100 wonder 305 2bbl.And save up to give your 350 a full rebuild.

[Hollywooding]

The biggest thing is that you wont know till you pull the head, that will tell you at least what direction to start looking in.
As for kits, the only real kit's i know of are just gasket kits, and the rest is just what do you need. I like the 305 100$ wonder idea though. Besides if you take the time to rebuild the motor, you can start beefing up bottom end or boreing or what ever your budget over time will allow.

[Meangreen]

Where can i get this 305 2bbl for 100? because if it would run good and get good gas mileage i could be beefing up the 350 and drop it in and go

[48liner]

If a rebuild is in order, go to www.northernautoparts.com and look at the kits they offer. The kit I bought came with pistons, rings, bearings, timing chain, cam and lifters, oil pump, and gasket set for $154.99 plus shipping. The shop who did my machine work turned me on to these guys. The parts were all name brand (Federal-Mogul/Sealed Power, Mellings,etc.), not a lot of junk.

[Meangreen]

Thanks, that place has some good deals. And all of that stuff is reliable? What about the performance package for up to 87 or w/e. I could get that couldnt i for my 71 Chevelle? And is that all i would need to do the rebuild?