Thread: 350 Rebuild Question

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my i ask what you plan to do with the engine if you're going to build it and then not put it in anything? that seems to be a lot of money for a 16 year old to be spending on something they aren't even going to use


I don't know if anyone else remembers Zach and the merry go round we got on when he was looking for that 216 engine, but it finally wore out most of us. I see this one going the same direction. This is a dream build that isn't going to happen. Not being cruel, just honest. Zach gets bored every once in a while and posts tons of questions that never go anywhere, and he won't listen to reason. Sorry, that is just my opinion.


Don

just what i was gettin at i was just beatin around the bush to get there

thesals- I'm not sure. I may end up putting it in my car, and then rebuild the engine in my car.

mooneye777-Yeah I've been checking Craigslist and Ebay around my area (DFW). I found a bare block for $75, or a shortblock for $150. I was planning on buying the bare block. Does that seem like a good price?

Itoldyouso-Yeah I agree with you on the 216. But I've been looking into this for awhile. I have the money to get a block now, and I have a job, so I'll always have money. The reason we had a "merry go round" is because I was asking where I could get one and stuff like that, and yall werent helping me. Yall just kept arguing with me not to get the 216. The reason you think Im stubborn is because I wouldn't decide to go away from the 216. Thats my buisness what I put in it. I was just asking where to find one.

If you're only aiming for 350-400hp, I would get the short block because you can reuse the crank and rods to save yourself some money.

Don
it seems that this kid and the other are one in the same
I had enough

Some people wont listen to you until you tell them what THEY want to hear!

My Uncle told me yesterday to try and get a long block so I wouldn't have to replace all of the internal parts. I think I'll do what some of you said, and just go for a solid rebuild, and not try and just replace everything on my first build.

I will take the time to sit down with you here and exsplain some things to ya...You need to have a goal.Just dont run out the front door with no destination ,you may not get anywhere.
The best way to enter any situation is prepared, with the terminology,with a good understanding of how things work together and good resourses.

The first thing that I did was to go do as much reading as possible on the internet.I used the online magazines,online articles and many forums.I set aside approx 2 hrs a night to read this stuff and I would talk to anyone I ran across that did this type of work and asked them questions that were not answered in other places or questions I had created myself.

After all of this I realized ...other than forums like this most of the articles you read have a agenda...thats to either sell you parts or to lead you into believing that there parts perform the best......I then realized it takes time and effort to learn this stuff ,so most of the articles are very basic and to get some good info you will actually learn from and some hard facts and stats ,...you need to buy books,These people that know this stuff inside and out have spent considerable time and money on this stuff and other than forums people do not want to just give this knowledge away.

My suggestion is to buy some engine rebuilding books ,a few basic ones and a couple of high performance ones.Sit down and read these and ask questions about what you do not know or understand on the forums.After reading these and asking questions and reading some more you will be ready to actually start to think about getting a engine to start with or some parts such as a block.
In my honest opinion I would have a goal for this engine ,even if there was no ride to put it in.How are you going to know if you succeded or not if you have no goal?If the goal is to just be able to do it,you should start with a complete runninng engine ,from the junk yard or 200 dollar car.Take it apart and get a rebuild kit and put it back together.I think I have seen complete kits for less than a 150 bucks.Do this and when it comes time to build a engine with a purpose you will have a good understanding of how engines work,what works together and how all the peices fit together to do it!!!

Take it from me the first engine you assemble and fire will be stressful,I would much rather blow up 3 or 4 hundred dollars in stock parts ,than to blow up thousands of dollars my first try.By buying some good books and rebuilding a cheap complete running engine first ......you just might save your self thousands by spending a few hundred first to learn what you need to know to build a performance engine.I know I know,you have heard it before.......but untill you actually purchase a couple of good engine books and sit down to read them you will never know how much good and understandable information is actually in them for your engine building pleasure!!!!!!

"How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy" by David Vizard

http://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-Yo...4148451&sr=1-7

shawnlee28-Thanks. You've been the most help anyone on this site has given me. I'm going to go to the library in a couple days and I'll pick up a few books. My goal for this build, and what I think my uncle had in mind, is to get an engine that is running, and shouldn't be too dificult to mess with. I'll definitely do some reading and get back to yall if I have any questions. Thanks.

I keep seeing the term "roller block". What does this mean?

that means its a later model block made for fitting a roller cam, you can also get retrofit roller cams to fit into the older blocks

thanks that helps alot.

Well, Zak ole buddy ........

First off, don't go alienating a bunch of good guys who can help you the most (if you haven't done that already). You gotta realize that people here are very willing to help you, but as Bigdude indicated, simply telling you what you want to hear ain't necessarily helpful.

Sometimes we do see somebody put out some advice that leaves people scratching their heads and saying "HUH?" but for the most part, advice dispensed here is on the money, and that advice is FREE, so if a guy takes the time to sit down and give you the benefit of his hard-earned expertise, please acknowlege it courteously even if it isn't a course you would want to follow.

You and I live in the same area, and I have done my share of wrecking yard prowling around here. Your uncle suggested that you find a running engine. If you decide to go that route, we are fortunate to have lots of reputable dismantlers around here who have many engines in a big room that have been compression tested and otherwise checked out and have some sort of a limited warranty with them. That would be a better way to go than to pay fifty bucks for an engine you heard about that's laying out behind some guy's garage, and with only the owner's verbal assurance that it is a "good running motor in great shape".

We know you are in school and have football practice to contend with, so it may not be practical for you to take advantage of a great resource we have available in Fort Worth, but Tarrant County College (South Campus) has an excellent auto mechanics program that is offered in the evening. My college degreed auto restorer brother has taken the courses and does some instructing there. Just a thought. You could take these hands-on courses for a bunch less than the cost of an engine. You could learn what you want to know and not wind up with an expensive engine you don't need.

Jim