So I am taking my block to the machine shop in a few weeks, and i really need to know what I should have done to it.


I have done a lot of searching of what should be done, but i want a educated opinion. I have a chevy 350 small block, and i want to bring like 400hp out of it. I dont want to bore the cylinders too much, I realy only want to have them bored as little as possible.

So far I have that I need to:

- make sure the crankshaft is strait in the block
- maybee bore and hone the mains
- make sure the bores are machined to crank centerline
- make sure decks are parallel to crank centerline
- camshaft and lifter bore alignment
- hot tank

What else should I do, are any of the above worthless to have done, and what does blueprinting do? And when should I have this done? ( when i am done building?)

I havent picked pistons and heads yet, should I do that first? And what should this cost me, should I have anything done to the crank and the rods?

Also, my block is casting #3970014, i found some info, but it says that the block was for a LA built camaro, is there anything you can find?

You are on the correct path but here's what you will find.

you can see if the crank is free, (line check)if you have it ground, then assemble the crank and the bearings in the block with no rear main seal, use oil for assembly, the crank should spin free. This will save you some bucks.
You should stay away from line honing/ boring the mains. Anytime you do you end up with sloppy T-chain syndrome, at $125-150 a pop it isn't worth it on a common block.
Most common local machine shops cannot correct bore to main mis alignment, most boring bars use the top deck for reference. You can have the block parallel decked, then get it bored but you should deck to your piston,rod,crank stroke, not the factory spec which usually isn't even close in most cases.
Lifter bore alignment is another thing that will get you a "ya, sure we will" at the average shop, very few lifter bores are off, so most shops don't know how or have the tooling to do it.
When you build an engine you want to fit the parts you have going into it and come up with reasonable figures. Replacement manufacturers use different specs than the factory did so you have to keep this in consideration, this is where an experienced builder has the advantage.

Most of the 014 blocks were 68-69 327-350 block castings but were used in various years.

i would call a few machine shops and try and find one that uses torque plates on the block when he bores it. through shopping around i was able to find a shop that uses plates (most around here charge more for this) for the same price as other shops that don't use them. you will end up with a truer bore.

Have the rotating assembly fully balanced.

skip the complete process and buy a completed shortblock to your specs.....

you will save $$$$

jmho...

unless you like the buildup part then go for it..

ya I agree stay away from line honing if not necessary many machine shops do not do a good job of it either and you end up much worse plus the sloppy timing chain as bob mentioned unless you get a custom shorter timing chain.