am working on a stock 74 350 have a set of good 441 heads but am leary of the nonhardened exhaust seats maybe find something else ? hoping to put this in a custom truck that will be driven maybe 1000 miles each summer ? The engine has stock 4 relief pistons and stock cam. I bought a motorhome n drove it home and pulled the 350 n t350 trans which seem fine when i drove it 30 miles It had 882 heads found the 441s on market am really more interested just crusing around in what ever I end up thanks
am working on a stock 74 350 have a set of good 441 heads but am leary of the nonhardened exhaust seats maybe find something else ? am on budget and
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get the exhaust seats modified or get budget aftermarket heads for more power
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1000 miles a year they will last a very long time. Likely longer than you'll want them before updating anyway.
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I agree, with the low usage the exhaust seats on this isn’t going to be a problem.
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ok, wirh the way the economy is going I really did't want to have alot of money sitting in an engine that i would seldom use and Unlikely gas prices will drop. Am really more interested in doing body work custom... there is a guy up here sellin some 327 heads ( 2 sets) Some appear to have larger valves installed may take a look at them thanks
1979 Chevrolet Malibu 496-TH400-9" (cruiser). 1992 Chevrolet S10 355-700r4-7.625" (daily driver).
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I would want to know for sure what pistons you had in the engine. If the "stock" engine happens to have 4 valve relief flat top pistons...adding closed chamber, cast iron heads to a shorter duration "stock" cam might run into problems running on pump gas. If the plan is 87 octane, the open chamber 441/882 might be the safe bet.
One other thing to note would be whether or not you need the heads to have the accessory bolt holes.
One other thing to note would be whether or not you need the heads to have the accessory bolt holes.
ok I'll get better imformation and get back. all this is more involved than boltin stuff on thanks
ok I bought a chev motorhome and drove it maybe 30 mile plus ran it at home. It ran great no smoke stayed cool. I pulled the engine n complete dissembly marked all the pistons, rods.. Install new cam bushing n frost plugs clean oil galleys reassemble with new main n rod bearings a lite hone to cly walls Bearing clearance ckd with plasticgage. camshaft was worn. a guy down the road was given away chev parts got a "like new" stock camshaft n another set of 882 heads. read nothing good about 882s then found a set of 441 heads have maybe 300 to spend thinking of camshaft n lifer kit new oil pump? n some other heads (I was a heavy truck mechanic for 16 years and went through a 350 chevy 25 years ago) there are vortec heads at a local junkyard but much time to remove n no warranty if cracked. so really done to some basic type cly heads the t350 trans shifted fine and was told it was rebuilt thanks for you time the heads in photo are just stting on the block. It took me a week to strip the motor home n scrap all this was done during Covid lockdowm
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Yep you are going budget i have done the same years ago. stick with the 882 if possible i would say clean them up check them out i would say they are good heads most motor homes are low miles i would put new seals in for sure. cam & lifters a good break in @ 1800 for 20 min with zinc break in oil. should be fine.
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almost new camshaft? toss it out
1979 Chevrolet Malibu 496-TH400-9" (cruiser). 1992 Chevrolet S10 355-700r4-7.625" (daily driver).
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Given what you learned by driving it, you could go pretty low buck with what you have there.
Post #9 reads like you have already done what is listed there. Have you done that already AND have 300 to spend or do you still need to do the short block assembly?
Post #11 has the only curiosity I have by the photos. In the photo of the short block, look at the punch marks on the pistons. They appear to be in a 5,7,1,3 order instead of the 1,3,5,7 order expected. If it ran well and the bearings looked good, I would just go by the markings you made upon disassembly. Ignore the punch marks and put it back together the way you marked it.
Dished pistons and open chamber heads would have me thinking Summit K1101 cam and lifter kit. It looks like the factory used a steel shim head gasket there for good reason. I don't think I would do that now though after who knows how many duty cycles did who knows what to how flat the surfaces are now.
The heads you pulled off the engine are probably "good enough" to use as is from what you described about driving it. If you kept everything in order you could pull the valves, get rid of the crud, hand lap the valves, clean it up and put it together. At the risk of sparking debate or being called a hack...with the K1101 cam I wouldn't be afraid to reuse the springs/retainers/locks after installing the new valve seals from the gasket kit. The same cam be said for pushrods and rockers. Ideally they were kept in order and they do wear mate themselves. For what you're doing I wouldn't be afraid to mix and match if they are out of order.
Oil pump would be a good idea. Melling M-55 or M-55A (my choice). A high volume pump has no place in this application.
Timing chain set would be on the list.
For now I would use the intake for which you had a working carburetor. A working Quadrajet and manifold would be ideal. Whatever combination you use connect the TH350 detent "kickdown" cable to it and take the time to set it up correctly.
Fluid and filter for the TH350 is a given. Now would be the easiest time to install a blue box Transgo shift kit, if budget allows. It really does help the transmission and it adds to the fun factor even with a stock engine in front of it. This can be an upgrade at any time. The shift shaft bracket on that TH350 may or may not work with your truck linkage and is easy to swap out.
Just some thoughts on how I might go about a build like this. Most of the folks here know a lot more than I do and may chime in if there are any bad ideas in any of this. If you end up with different heads (more compression) the cam and valvetrain stuff would be different.
Post #9 reads like you have already done what is listed there. Have you done that already AND have 300 to spend or do you still need to do the short block assembly?
Post #11 has the only curiosity I have by the photos. In the photo of the short block, look at the punch marks on the pistons. They appear to be in a 5,7,1,3 order instead of the 1,3,5,7 order expected. If it ran well and the bearings looked good, I would just go by the markings you made upon disassembly. Ignore the punch marks and put it back together the way you marked it.
Dished pistons and open chamber heads would have me thinking Summit K1101 cam and lifter kit. It looks like the factory used a steel shim head gasket there for good reason. I don't think I would do that now though after who knows how many duty cycles did who knows what to how flat the surfaces are now.
The heads you pulled off the engine are probably "good enough" to use as is from what you described about driving it. If you kept everything in order you could pull the valves, get rid of the crud, hand lap the valves, clean it up and put it together. At the risk of sparking debate or being called a hack...with the K1101 cam I wouldn't be afraid to reuse the springs/retainers/locks after installing the new valve seals from the gasket kit. The same cam be said for pushrods and rockers. Ideally they were kept in order and they do wear mate themselves. For what you're doing I wouldn't be afraid to mix and match if they are out of order.
Oil pump would be a good idea. Melling M-55 or M-55A (my choice). A high volume pump has no place in this application.
Timing chain set would be on the list.
For now I would use the intake for which you had a working carburetor. A working Quadrajet and manifold would be ideal. Whatever combination you use connect the TH350 detent "kickdown" cable to it and take the time to set it up correctly.
Fluid and filter for the TH350 is a given. Now would be the easiest time to install a blue box Transgo shift kit, if budget allows. It really does help the transmission and it adds to the fun factor even with a stock engine in front of it. This can be an upgrade at any time. The shift shaft bracket on that TH350 may or may not work with your truck linkage and is easy to swap out.
Just some thoughts on how I might go about a build like this. Most of the folks here know a lot more than I do and may chime in if there are any bad ideas in any of this. If you end up with different heads (more compression) the cam and valvetrain stuff would be different.
thanks 'ill sort it out in time. You have to figure in the "grandpa" factor. I don't need a highoutput engine just want to tool around in a old truck or whatever. My grandkids other grandpa has a nice 66 impala n just put in a 383 crate motor but I would rather do some custom paint bodywork anyone can spend money but not everyone can put together something cool that everyone likes
I had installed some parts like the used cam n old oil pump, but I got some xtra money n decided to redo it.I work as a maint man in a large nursing home during lockdown I stayed close to home n put the used parts on, It will be all redone camshaft, oil pump...The Covid was difficult maybe 35 deaths when I was there. One of my jobs was to let the funeral home in and go with them to collect the deceased. It appears to be under control now
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