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What to do to a 350 before installation?

806 views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  bullheimer 
#1 ·
What would be some of the things that I could or should do to the 350 that I am putting in my truck? My friend gave it to me. it runs good, it came out of his truck I think he said it was a chevy cheyanne or something along that line. (he put a 454 in it)

Wayne
 
#2 ·
Clean it and paint it...............................

What's it going into?

If you mean hi-perf upgrades, that depends on you and your wallet. If you plan on a cam in the near future, now's the time.
 
#3 ·
Replace the rear main,if it is not leaking right now,Murphy's Law states that it will within the first 100 miles.Put a new input seal in the trans if you pulled the torque converter.These two suggestions may not be necessary to some.But it is a good practice to avoid breaking them apart anytime soon.Other than that do as Poncho said.Clean it good,sand any flakes off before you paint it that way they do not cause your new paint job to peel. Might as well throw in new timing chain.That way YOU know they are new.At the cost it is not prohibitive.Will save you from having to lean over the front and work around the radiator.Inspect the flywheel for cracks between the holes and around the bolt pattern.Get a case of Lite and a good friend to come over and be the "Let it down a little" guy.Make him take pictures also.Find a good channel on the radio and you should be set.
 
#4 ·
Only suggestion I can give other than the good ones already given, is when you replace the rear main seal, rub it down good with vaseline, also coat the oil pan gaskets with it, it helps them to retain moisture, so they don`t dry out and leak. Depending on how long the engine has sat, cycle it when you fire it up, just as if it were fresh rebuilt. I`ve seen many small block chevy`s have a cam lobe failure from not doing this when they sat up for anytime over a few month period, one case it took it 6 months before it wore the cam out, but it wore it out none the less. After cycling the rpm from 2000 to 2200 rpm for 20 minutes change the oil, then drop the idle down to normal and do your tuning, and if the engine has any kind of miles on it, do as the before post said and add a timing chain.
 
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