my new engine (from the ground up)

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

ok so this is gonna be my thread about my engine from start (buying a used short block) to finish (rebuilt, put in the car and fired up)

so i acquired it last night and took the pistons out, checked the bearings, wiped it all down to get a good look at everything and took mental notes of some stuff. i also cracked the main caps open and the bearings for those also look good. the block is a 3970010 2 bolt main out of a truck. it had no cam (but good cam bearings) one BAD piston and another piston that had some meat missing from the second ring land in one spot. the rest of the pistons looked fine though and dis-assembly was uneventful, nothing broke or went south on me.

i also just learned that some extra numbers on the block means it has extra nickel and tin, 2% extra nickel and 1% extra tin in the block. not a bad score for only 50 bucks.

i dont know if it's still standard bore or not, i think it is but i'm not using a ruler and making a claim, it just measures out to 4" with more than 1 ruler but that isnt an accurate way to measure and i know it.

so now with some questions...what now? what do i do with it? i'll be saving up some money for a trip to the machine shop and look for a good machine shop while saving the money for machine work. the block is dirty but not grimy so i'm not cleaning it so as to keep it from rusting as much as possible until i'm ready to have it machined.

what i'm thinking i want to do with this is do a basic rebuild with a better than stock cam around .420-.450 lift dual pattern cam, dual plane intake, a Qjet, headers with full dual exhaust with an X pipe. i'm not sure about heads yet. i'm not going with camel humps or anything that old but i dont know if i want to use vortec heads either. there are some heads that GM puts on their 290 HP 350 crate engine they sell separately and i may go with those but i dont know yet. i want to keep the compression around 9:1 or so, plus or minus half a point. i just want some heads that wont break my wallet and make it cry like a girl. summit has some aluminum heads for about 850 i think. i dont think i want to use nitrous on it so i'll probably use cast flat top pistons as it wont be a high HP engine. i'm figuring topping out at 300 HP if that. i just want something fun with good low end torque for street use in a car that will not be driven daily.

as for the block i want to make sure it's torque plate honed as i did see extra wear on the pistons where two bolts go into the block on the edge of the heads. all the pistons showed this wear indicating the cylinder walls had been pushed inward making it out of round and producing uneven wear. this happens after torquing the heads down and i'd like to avoid that. i may want to be a little cheap on the parts but as for assembly and attention to detail i want to go all out. even if i use summit pistons and such i at least want to make sure things are balanced and such. i want it durable and long lasting.

as i continue going through with building this engine ill just keep posting in this thread and asking noob type questions since this is really my first engine build of my own so while i've helped others i never had the chance to learn and do it all myself, only some things here and there like piston ring installation, rocker arm adjustment, hand honing the cylinder with a drill...

so be patient and be prepared to read a lot in my posts. i just want to make sure i get information from you as correct as i can so that means giving you as much info as i can give you. i dont want to spend a lot of money just to blow an engine up so it's gonna be a lengthy time consuming labor of love for me. i dont mind taking my time to do it right the first time.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I think you are off to a good start. You know what you want and are willing to spend wisely and get it right the first time. Bravo! My first "rebuild" was a disaster and I wasted a LOT of money and only got a few years out of it. But I did not have the internet and that is a world of difference. You have the world at your fingertips so use it and I think you will build a motor to be proud of.

 

[Longroof79]

It sounds like you have been doing your homework. Bravo for you. It never hurts to glean as much information as possible. So far your combination sounds like a good streetable configuration.
Have your block hot tanked. Go over all your threaded bores with a tap. Have your crank mic'd for size and have it polished if it's still within spec..if it has wear (grooves and such), have it turned down to the next undersize .010 .
It also probably couldn't hurt to have the block bored .030. Or have it checked for roundness with a bore gauge. Again, if it's not worn or out of round, have it plate honed. There's a good chance that the bore where the bad piston was compromised.
Have your rods checked for straightness and have them resized. It also couldn't hurt to have new rod bolts pressed in with a set of ARP bolts. Have your new crank, rods, pistons, etc. balanced. It couldn't hurt for longevity.
Your cam choice sounds right on for a street driven daily driver.
I think you're on the right road. Don't be shy about asking questions. Guys are more than willing to help out a newbie.
Find a good machine shop. Ask some of the local hot rodders who they trust their machine work to.
Good luck!

Another thing I'd like to recommend is a good book on building small block Chevy engines. They usually have a wealth of information.

 

[crotchss]

Sounds like you're definately on the right track with your first build. Don't know if you have the crank and rods and such with this engine or not. But thought I'd mention if you do you can go to naparts.com and order a stock rebuild kit for about $200. This kit comes with everything you would need for a rebuild and even includes items you can upgrade (for more money). I've used these kits before on milder engine builds and have never been disappointed, and they can save you a ton of money when compared to sourcing parts from several places to part a kit together. Good luck with your build.

 

[Bonnewagon]

That's good advice, Jack. Know what I learned over the years? If the compression and oil pressure is good, and no noises, LEAVE IT ALONE!! Change gaskets, maybe a better cam and oil pump, but that's it. But if you open it up for a rebuild you must go all the way, no halfstepping. I also let the machine shop assemble the short block and heads, even though I've done it many times. Why? Any problems with bearings, valves, or piston fitment, they can correct it on the spot instead of me hauling everything back and bitching about it. I consider it money well spent.

 

[Rooster]

For camshaft, i'd recommend a Melling. PN# c-400-p. It's inexpensive, and has a great sound, and power,all through the RPM range that your engine will have. .447 lift/.222 duration.
This is basically the same grind of the cam Chevy put into their L79 350hp/327 engines, commonly known as a "151" cam.
It's an old school grind, but it's a good one for what you're looking for, Just my 2 cents. I recently bought the GMPP 350/290 hp engine, and it essentially has this same grind of cam, haven't put it in my 86 cutlass yet. As for the heads on the 350/290, they're nothing fancy, 76cc heads, the 350/290 engine fit my needs just right,(alot of the requirements are like yours). I too, have a high nickle 010 block in the car right now, but plan on going radical w/it. Good luck with build, keep us updated.

 

[megaladon6]

like they said, you're doing well.
couple of recommendations: do not reuse the bearings, no matter how good they might look. bearings are cheap enough to just get new ones and be safe. there's no real way to know just how much material is left.
compression--shoot for 9-10:1 on iron heads. it will still run on anything! if you go with aluminum, you have to go at least 1 point higher. (btw, unless you REALLY need to lose weight, don't use aluminum.)
if you plan on using an oil cooler, get a standard pressure, high volume oil pump. if not just go SP/SV.
i recommend going slightly large on the bearing clearances and using a HV pump, FWIW.
oh, and definitely check your quench--the distance from the piston at TDC to the block deck. with the head gasket thickness included, you want about .030-.040in. this will help power a bit, but especially the longevity of the pistons and valves.

 

[85Frankencar]

David Vizard has some really, really good reading material (also good to have for reference) on Chevy small blocks - check out How to Build Max-performance Chevy Big Blocks on a Budget - it's got a lot of good advice on rebuilding engines, etc and several different engine combos in the appendix. It'd be worth checking out..

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

i found out more info about my block. it was made may 29th 1974. the codes on the pad in front of the passenger head deck are still there, at least it hasnt been decked! it was made in flint michigan. also someone wrote on the crank with a magic marker the mains are std and the rods are .0001. while i wont take it at face value it gives me hope the crank can be reused.

as for everything everyone has mentioned...

1. the bearings are worn down to the copper. i'm not reusing them (and wouldnt dare think of doing it) but i did put them back in the rods so the machine shop can inspect all rods pistons and bearings themselves. i am not throwing anything away yet as i want them to see as much of the engine as possible so they can help me have a better engine. the main bearings are more worn down to the copper but nothing gouged or anything like that, the main journals look better than the rod journals and i'm happy about that.

2. with heads i was thinking the 76CC would be ok since i'm looking at summit pistons that give 9.5:1 with 64 CC heads so it would lower it to around 9:1 or so, perfect for what i'm wanting. but i'm not sold on any head just yet, im still looking around and seeing whats good for my application. i'd like aluminum heads, they're lighter but i dont care if i have aluminum heads. i'll be doing more research into this.

3. northernautoparts.com has rebuild kits starting at 189 bucks, not a bad deal and i might go with that. they come complete and any part in the kit can be upgraded by itself without having to buy a whole other kit. that's awesome.

4. yes the block will be hot tanked, new freeze plugs (brass) will be put in, new bearings all around, etc. as i said i want it built right the first time, it is my money i'm spending after all, why spend it twice if i dont have to? also what color was used on 74 SBC's? i might go with a black enamel and call it a day, give it a stealthier look. brightly colored engines give themselves away and i like my car being under estimated.

5. i will take any cam recommendation under advisement. i like comp cams but i'll go with summit or whoever. the only major requirement is i want a dual pattern cam that favors the exhaust side. i need good vacuum so duration and lobe separation are to be kept reasonable so i think no more than 214 degrees of duration is a good stopping point, im not as picky about lobe separation since most in that range arent gonna be too bad anyway.

6. for gaskets im thinking a good set of fel-pro gaskets with some permadry in there for the valve covers and oil pan, i hate using cork gaskets and after using permadry gaskets before i'm sold on them, they work nicely.

7. engine bearings will probably be clevite 77's. i dont have a favorite brand but i like them though ill use any quality set of bearings.

8. i may get new rods, as i mentioned before, a couple of the caps looked like they were whacked a couple times with a hammer and i know that raised the edge on one of the mating surfaces and while it could be fixed i just dont like the look of a couple of the rods, one in particular. the casting of one side doesnt look good, it's just not smooth like the rest, like it wasnt cast very well. so i'll probably get some summit stage I rods something of similar cost.

9. no old fasteners will be reused. i want peace of mind knowing i have new hardware for everything including the main caps and rods. those are especially critical areas not to skimp on IMO. and who needs a valve cover stud kit? seems like overkill for valve covers.

10. the crank looked good but may need a slight turning. most journals are pretty smooth but there's a slight groove here and there on the rod journals that will probably necessitate having it turned and repolished.

11. oddly enough the cylinder for the piston that grenaded looked pretty decent, no gouges and i ran my fingernail all around. it doesnt look that different from the rest so it must not have run too long after it went south. i think it just burned a hole in the piston the outer part/ring lands looked ok but a bit coked up from burned oil but nothing too bad.

12. im using just a regular oil pump, no high volume, no high pressure. i dont think either is needed.

13. i plan on looking at books at the book store soon for engine building anyway and getting the block now gives me more of a reason to get one or two. i love reading so this will be fun learning new stuff.

14. thanks for the patience and answers. i am doing a lot of reading research and asking. if i dont understand how an engine goes together correctly then i dont know what i want as well as i would if i was more educated. knowledge is power.

15. the cylinders may need boring, i dont think they'll clean up with just a honing. after looking at them with better lighting i see they have a bit more wear than i could feel with my fingernail. but still there is no ring ridge at the top and that's a plus.

now for some questions...

1. with a fairly mild cam is it necessary to get matching springs or can i get away with using springs that come on a new set of heads as long as they're new springs? mild cams dont require the really high pressure springs so i'm thinking it's not as big a deal but might be worth thinking about at the least.

2. whats a good set of piston rings to use? i never had to pick my own out so with this one i'm kinda clueless, the basic ones all seem the same to me. BTW used pistons and rings makes for good practice of spiraling rings on and off. also do all ring sets need to be filed to fit or just some sets?

3. bolts or studs for mains and heads? i'm thinking wavelock bolts for the rods. i realize for my application bolts would work for the heads and mains but i've also seen bolts give inaccurate torque readings, not cool so it's the main reason i'm considering getting studs for some parts of the engine.

4. also i'm considering an oil pan for "high G" driving, baffles and one way doors to keep the oil in the bottom of the pan and not sloshing around. i love to take turns and curves pretty fast so loss of oil as a result is a major consideration. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MOR-21900/ like this one. it has kick outs on both sides and that allows more oil to stay in the bottom of the pan. i just dont want the engine having an oiling problem just because i like turn fast. they have a pic of the inside of that pan, showing you what i'm talking about with the baffles.

5. would it be worth having the holes in the crank chamfered? how much does that usually cost?

6. who sells a heat riser pipe for headers? i want to continue to use a heat pipe for the air cleaner so it has better drive-ability during the winter and cooler parts of the year.

7. what's a good stock air cleaner to use? i'm thinking of getting two and taking the snorkel off one and putting it on the other to make my own dual snorkel air cleaner instead of trying to find/buy one. i'm thinking one with short wide snorkels would be a good choice. cheaper than buying some after market stuff or a factory dual snorkel. or am i wrong?

8. any suggestions on good books for chevy engines? i'm looking at basic rebuild info as well as performance upgrades

as for other stuff...

i already have the cooling done since i have an aluminum radiator (i put in a V8 model for a caprice in my V6 cuz i knew i'd upgrade one day) plus an electric fan so that isnt something i need to worry about in the future. but i want to upgrade to a fan or fans with a larger shroud to cover more surface of the radiator core. right now i use a regular black magic fan and it works great but i dont like the shroud's size and i want more coverage so i might use an dual fan set up from flex a lite.

i dont really want to redo the fuel lines all the way back to the tank though it's a tempting idea since i need to get brake lines from classic tube and they sell fuel lines as well. however in the event i dont is there a fitting i can put on the end of the hard line to the old fuel pump and bend a line to run to the other side for the chevy's fuel pump? i realize that's not the best idea but i dont want to use rubber line to do it as a temporary fix as we know sometimes temporary fixes become permanent ones.

the battery stays on the passenger side wouldn't it since the starter is on that side?

 

[TheFullMonteSS]

Take the time to clean up the block of all the casting flash on the outside (makes for a very nice looking block once painted), and open up the oil passages up top so the oil drains more effiecently. You can even go as far as polishing the entire lifter galley and under the timing cover. Just takes time and some elbow grease. Pays off in better oiling and small thing like that are what makes an engine last.