[montea]

ok so i got a 79 350 with 140,000 miles that has never been touched other then basic tuneups and regular oil changes and driven on Very lightly its whole life, Granny driven. i pulled it all apart. the cyls still show the X honing pattern and no ridges whatsoever at the top. i just took the block in today to get it hot tanked and new cam bearings and plugs installed. i am building this engine up and im on a budget that is coming near the end.

so far i got

-hot tanked block
-cam bearings installed
-frost plugs installed
-oil pump
-edelbrock double roller timing chain #7800
-edelbrock performer RV cam/lifter kit #2102
Lift: .420''/.442''
Duration: 278°/288°
-edelbrock performer intake #2101
-brand new 4bbl Q-Jet carberator

i for sure plan on getting a new distribitor with a adjustable vacum advance and the heads redone.

just what i am not sure what to do with is the...

-crank
-crank bearings
-rod bearings

-piston rings
-cyl honing

what do you guys think i should do? reinstall the lower end or get new? i am on a budget wich means i dont have the money to do it now and if i do have to do it then the car is off the road for a couple more months so i can save up some more cash. i will take pictures of the crank and bearings and the cyl walls when i get the block back on wensday.

Thanks for reading

[GoneNova/406]

your heads will need to be gone through.can you do it?the crank needs to be checked and at least polished.you can hone the cylinders yourself just don't get carried away.you didn't say what the c.r. for the pistons and what the heads are so i can't comment on a cam but the one you chose is to small.

[montea]

i just looked up the head cast #'s 482824 and came up with nothing, even went out and double checked the #'s on the heads. they are the stock 79 350 heads from a pontiac pressiane car. i will be taking them to a shop to get redone, i dont have the tools for that kind of job.

whats C.R. for the pistons?

The cam i already got so im stuck with it i guess

Thanks for the reply GoneNova/406

[montea]

cuple pics

[GoneNova/406]

to know everything about engine you need to look at the part #'s on the piston if they are stock and look them up to find out what the affective c.r. is with the pistons and the size of the combustion chamber on your heads and it doesn't hurt to know what size the valves are either.is this a pontiac 350?the c.r. is different with different size combustion chambers.64cc,68cc,72cc,74cc,76cc.

[killerformula]

I would be surprised after 140,000 if you can use the same pistons again. I would think it would need at least a .01 or .02 bore.

K

[Hippie]

Originally Posted by killerformula

I would be surprised after 140,000 if you can use the same pistons again. I would think it would need at least a .01 or .02 bore.

K

That and just about every late 70's SBC head I ever pulled was cracked. Have the heads checked for cracks before you put a penny into them.

[DoubleVision]

I think the head castings your referring to are the 624 castings, which were common of the late 70`s, these heads were real thin and real crack prone, I wouldn`t use them even if they checked out okay. The Edelbrock performer cam is fine for a daily driver and will work nicely. The crank should be fine to use, just have your machinist check it out, by the way it appears he`ll likely tell you it don`t even need a polish. Have him mic the journals to be sure it`s standard size, then you can get a basic rering kit from Northern Auto Parts that includes rings, rod and main bearings and a whole gasket set for next to nothing. You can likely reuse the stock pistons if there in good shape, just make sure you take the time to clean them, make sure the ring lands are carbon free, then go over each ring land with a fine grit sandpaper to deburr them. If you hone your block, or the machine shop does it, either way, make sure you clean it, and I mean really clean it, scrub the bores until h*ll wouldn`t have them, when your done and there dry, spray WD40 on a paper towel and wipe a bore down, if you see any gray color on it, it`s still picking up hone dust, keep cleaning the bores until there is no more. if any hone dust is left in the cylinder it`ll wear the rings out in half the time. As for the heads I would just get a set of 416 casting 305 heads, they`ll kick up your compression ratio and work fine with the performer cam, it`ll have killer low end power but won`t be much on the top end but the performer cam isn`t meant for top end anyways. The combo I just laid out would work for the budget build, and would give you a low end responsive small block that wouldn`t be half bad on mileage either.

[montea]

COOOL! you made my day better doublevision, sounds awesome. im just going to go check out the piston #'s and i also got a set of 305 heads that i will get the casting #'s off of too.

[montea]

ok so these 305 heads are cast # 14014416 and came off of a 1980 monte carlo with a 4bbl.

-14014416...80-86...305..........1.84"/1.5" valves, 58cc chambers

my pistons are # 6271096 and K(78)GM

Thank you!

[montea]

looked up pistons and came up with...

-CYL ENGINE BORE-
V8 350
5.7 L
4.000(IN)
101.6(MM)

CHEVY
ENGINE

-COMPRESSION RATIO-
7.9

-NOTES-
3.16" dia. head recess .08" deep 4 valve reliefs. Use 1986 & earlier rings.

APPROXIMATE HEAD VOLUME=13cc

Comp. Ht. 1.540
Pin Dia..9273 Offfset

info taken from http://www.beckracing.com/slvpg29.htm

[78 monte]

Well for one thing send the edelbrock cam back and get a summit K1102 same cam just about $45 cheaper.And send back the edelbrock chain.A stock cloyes will do($15)for a mild motor.
If it were me I'd go part by part till its done right.
I would get:
Block honed
New frost plugs and cam bearings
Polish the crank
New stock pistons or claimer flattops
Rods checked resized and new ARP bolts
New rings and bearings
New stock oilpump
Stock T-chain
Summit K1102 cam & lifters
Then I would get the heads done(approx $300 for valve job,guides,seals,plane and springs)
Reuse pushrods if straight and not pitted cracked or worn oddly.
Reuse rockers
Reuse head bolts.

Rebuild a junkyard Q-jet insted of new
Distributor from the yard that has good bearings and just curve it.Maybe put a new gear if your worried.

[montea]

i just got my block from the machine shop. costed me $180 for hot tanking, install new cam bearings and plugs.

get it home and put it on the stand and unwrap the plastic. the block is covered in a fine grey stuff that if i wipe my hand across anything it comes off. is that normal after a hot tanking? also a bit of paint was still left on the block and darker wet looking spots that look like oil. then onto the cam bearings, 2 of them are scratched pretty bad, my nail will catch on them. and 1 frost plug was not put in, when we loading up the engine he gave me a box with a frost plug and my old block heater.

i phoned them back right away and asked if its normal and they said well we gota look at it, and told him the bearings scratched and well they gota look at it. so i guess im heading back to the shop again tommarow thats frigen 20 miles city driving. grrrrr


what do you guys think about this? somthing normal to see or did i get screwed over?

i also took my crank in and he said it was standard size but 2 thousands over and i could get away with just new bearings but i will loose oil pressure and it wont last long if i race. wanted me to trade my crank intoday for one that was already reground for $150 plus $70 for the bearings. what you guys think about that?

[montea]

last pic of the scratched bearing

[bobbypantera]

think the guy is screwing you, take the block back to him, ham new cam bearings installed cause the scratched ones will drop your oil pressure....


id take the crank to another machine shop and have it checked......

and if you do need another crank you shouldnt have a problem gettin a new one for 150 bucks, and those 416 heads and the suggested summit cam will wake that engine up alot, its the exact same setup i run on a 307 and it runs 14's in a 3200 lb nova

but i seriously this guy is taking you for money... i wouldnt use that machine shop in the future