Thread: 88 350 truck engine rebuild help.

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I am in the process of gathering parts for the 350 out of my Father-in-laws 88 350. It comes out of his 88 1 ton box truck, the truck is used with the 16 ft box to haul furniture and misc objects related to his auction company. This is the 3rd failed engine in 3 years. My goal is to make it more reliable and enhance low to mid RPM power to make the truck work better and the engine last longer.

All new parts are being used aside from the old rods, block and heads. The factory heads have stelite ex valves and they will replaced with them again as I was told that they are better than stainless for hard use and high temps in a truck.

I am prepared to order the master kit from flatlanderracing.com and will use TRW pistons. I will add a Scat 9000 OEM crank, allum roller rockers to reduce heat/friction, and will substitute the stock gring camshaft for something better. Please advise on cam to use for this heavy hauling small block, is a standard "RV" cam good or is there a better grind? I usually prefere to go with Crane Cams.

I will be doing minor porting in the ex side of the heads to reduce any gross restrictions and smooth the ports, most work will be concentrated on the port roof and the short turn radius.

All block work will be performed as expected with torque plates, and cam bearings are being replaced. Block will be bored 0.030" over.

The engine came apart with 2 piston skirts broke, 2 valves sucked, and crank was pushing into the block. Crank is being replaced as I said above.

Am I missing anything? Help on cam specs please!

Crane 262H

Maybe that big box van with a load of stuff inside it is just to much for that small block to handle. Sounds like he might be just pulling the guts out of the little motor. Might want to consider going to a big block and let the extra torque do the work of pulling that barge through the air.

i would make me a 383sb (400 crank in a 350)

good low end power and you do not have to rev it high to make that power

i do agree with all of the guys suggestions . if you keep the small block get the torque cam. there is no substitute for cubic inches however. no one suggested a gear change in the rear to help that poor little mouse out??????????

was this motor over revved????

No it isnt over revved, just over worked :]

The funds just dont exist to get a 454 and re do it. I am also not sure of the emissions problems we may face trying to change to a BBC from SBC. If there were funds available this thing would have a 454, or at least the 350 would not still be setting in parts in the garage! I'm planning to start ordering parts this month and have it back together by late Aug. Until then he is spending all available funding on rental trucks to keep the company moving. I'll end up paying for it and being the good son-in-law and he'll just have to pay me back. Whats the deal with the stellite valves? Are these really the way to go, or is a manley stainless better? I am totally unfamiliar with stellite aside from I remember being told that they are commonly used in recip aircraft engines on the ex side. Also, for a 383, are there not head and cooling issues associated with that? I remember a freind years ago did one and ended up with some sort of steam related overheating that destroyed the engine. I remember something about heads needing holes drilled or something to that effect?

well about the 383, why not just go with the 400? just a suggestion. seems like it would be a better choice too me, but just my 2 cents

A couple questions that I would like help on:

1. If I got a rotating assembly for a 383ci what other mods need to be done to heads/block to make this work? As I noted above, I was under the impression that a 383 is not a simple bolt together issue? There are many 383 kits from flatlanderracing, Summit, PAW, JEGS, etc. The cost is really not much more for the 383 kit over a 350 kit with a new SCAT OEM 9000 series crank.

2. Is the Stellite ex valve really an improvement, or is a good quality manly SS valve just as good?

I would seriously consider the 383 if I think it is within my limited cost bracket. I am trying to limit the total job to $1300 for machine work, parts, and head work. I will do the assembly, I have much experiance with 460 Fords and have assembled 5 succesfully. I have no experiance with SBC. Are there any not so appearant tricks or tips I would need to employ to be more succesfull with this assembly? Also, I have read that Chevy has a great ex port on its SBC heads, but the intake port is where the problem is. I will most likely smooth the ex port and lay back the short turn radius but not hog into the port roof like I would a BBF. What is recomended on the intake port? I am under the impression that the intake port needs the cross section increased from intake to start to the valve throat. Is there plenty of material to work with and is there any advice you all can offer from experiance?

If you are on a $1300 budget I can understand your wanting to use as many of the parts you already have as possible, but just for argument sake if you've fried 3 SB already - a BB might be cheaper in the long run.



Here's an EBAY BB in your price range. I'm not suggesting you buy an EBAY engine, but just saying don't count the big block out without researching.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=34202

Just my 2¢

Check with your local parts stores for a re-man big block, I can get them around here and be in your price range. Maybe sell all the small block stuff that is good and add the money to the pool. Three small blocks in three years @ $1300 ea., would seem to me a big block would me much more cost efficient. Some wrecking yards will sell you a big block with a 30 day warranty for around $800 to $1,000.