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350 worth it?

856 views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  jrm123180 
#1 · (Edited)
I looked at a 350 from an 84 suburban for my 79 chevy pickup. The engine started right up with not problems. It's been sitting for a while. When it first started, it blew a little bit of blueish smoke which cleared right up.

Does this engine sound like it's worth the $350 they're asking for it? The miles are unknown on this truck.

Thanks and happy thanksgiving,
Steve

PS I plan on only using this engine untill I rebuild the original....so it's a temp
 
#2 ·
a good deal

Any idea how many miles the engine has on it? How it was driven?
The root answer in truth is how quick you want to get back on the road. If my vehicle was down and in dire need of an engine, I would easliy pay $350 for a good running engine.

At $350, you cant expect to get a pristine virgin.
 
#4 ·
is it worth it?

I would only worry about the valve guide seals if the engine continues to smoke on light up. After sitting for so long, its not uncommon for an engine to blow some blue or even white or black smoke when first fired up. Even if it does blow a little blue smoke upon first lighting off, unless it continues to smoke I wouldnt worry about it since its a temp engine. When I was racing stock cars, I eventually went to running my engines sans the valve guide seals, to guarentee my valves were getting sufficient lubrication after having one sieze up on me one time. My losses of oil were neglegeable, since I changed the oil after every nite at the races anyway, but even with that, my dipstick showed no significant loss.
 
#6 ·
I bought an '88 Jeep recently that had a pair of cracked heads (it's a 360, 2v). I debated for awhile on whether to put a pair of heads on it, or just build another 360 and stick it in, since the time would've been bout the same. I opted to try the heads first. After I got 'em on, torqued down and everything bolted back together, I fired it up and immediately decided to name the Jeep "Mosquito Killer!", it smoked so badly. However, after running it for 15 minutes or so, the smoke-screen disappeared, and the next couple of dozen times I started it there was a short puff of smoke. Now, however, it doesn't smoke at all, not even under an extremely heavy load.

Anyway, my point is that the odds are, if it hasn't been started for awhile, it will clear up. Even if it doesn't, though, it probably won't use much oil, if any. Be careful, though...many people will bull**** you about an engine. I always get a kick out of the lines "It's just the valve guides", or "Oh, it hasn't been started for 6 months" when the thing fires right up. Yeah, right. And if it's running rough, or doesn't start quickly and easily, I wouldn't buy it, even if it were only a hundred bucks.

If you want a brand new motor, you could always buy a crate 350 4 bolt short block for $1200 or so and slap it in.
 
#7 ·
I would buy it. This would get you back on the road quick and pretty inexpensively not mentioning you probably be able to get your money back out of it when you get your original rebuilt. I agree with everyone else on the valve guides as far as blowing a small amount of bluish smoke at first.
 
#8 ·
I thank everyone for their input. I feel much better now about making this purchase. It seemed to be a good buy to begin with, but I just needed to be sure.

Thanks once again, and have a happy thanksgiving.

Steve
 
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