New motor in a 78 monte
- Thread starter Mike Geepers
- Start date
- Status
Lil update, so here is the 350 a body motor a friend gave me, and it is a 010 72-73 light duty truck motor. Has all the smog b.s. Not sure why, but igot it out and brought it to work. Now its in a corner and i am either going to rebuild it or core exchange it. I want to do vortec heads n intake, mild cam and strait pipes to dual cherries. Or just get another 350 done and go. But where is the fun in that 😜 So here i am at a crossroads. Just doing a disassembly for now on my lunch. ✌forum
Attachments
I would use what you have and rebuild that. At least then you know what you have and can do it how you want. Parts store remans are a crapshoot at best.
Rebuild the short block, get a set of good Vortec/Vortec like heads, the cam that works with that combo, invest in rear tires to smoke.
Before you spend any money consider the cost of machine work and parts.
I will post this again and currently on sale for $100 off through 11-19 no core required so total cost and with shipping to a commercial address is $1295
www.tristarengines.com
I will post this again and currently on sale for $100 off through 11-19 no core required so total cost and with shipping to a commercial address is $1295
355 Chevy Crate Engine (Shortblock)
•4 bolt main block •9.5:1 compression ratio (with 64cc cylinder heads) This 355 Chevy engine is ideal for a shortblock on a budget. Tri Star Chevy short block crate engines are CNC blueprinted and machined to ensure accurate fitting. Give your high performance crate engine new life with this...
www.tristarengines.com
010's came in both 2 and 4 Bolt mains. The only way to know for sure what you have is to have your motor attached to an engine stand and drop the pan. A quick visual will instantly tell you what's what. This exercise also allows you to check a couple of other things and learn about them as well. Checking the bottom of the pan will tell you if the oil was changed regularly. The oil can be dirty and it not be an issue, but sludge is a red alert item that can indicate neglect. Also keep an eye out for silver looking particles in the oil dregs. Sign of bearing wear and fatigue. Finally, fillet the oil filter. There is special tool for this but you can do it using alternative methods. When you get the filter apart, take the pleated filter element and spread it out flat, then start looking for metallic debris or lumps or anything strange that ought not to be trapped in a filter. Your finger tips can be just as effective as your eyes in feeling stuff caught in the filter material that your eyes might not notice.
Post teardown, if you find nothing nasty or beyond redemption then you get to sit down and give some thought to your options. The cheapest is to rebuild the motor back to stock using a master rebuild kit from Summit or Jegs or ?? Going this route will depend largely on whether the block needs to be bored or honed. Any scoring in any of the cylinder bores and you are automatically in for an overbore.
Another option ,based on the bare block, is to go stroker. 383's are a nice mill with lots of torque and complete reciprocating assemblies are available with all the grunt work of balancing done by the manufacturer. With the right set of rods and cap screws, you could find that you don't even have to clearance the bottom edges of the bores to gain room for the big end to get by. On a budget? Build the bottom end and then bag it. Save up your coin and pick your top end and move on from there.
Oh, yeah. if you are going to do your own disassembly, Remember to use number stamps to identify each main cap and its matching location on the block. Mix 'em up and you are almost guaranteed a trip to the machine shop to get the block line bored or honed to get them re-matched to their locations. You can do the same thing with your rod caps. As you pull each piston, immediately re-attach the cap to the rod and identify it with a number corresponding to the bore it came from. You may never re-drop these rods/pistons but if you do send them out to get them rebuilt then you will still be able to identify what hole that rod came from. Of course this is all moot if you go with a master kit or stroke it but if you are on a budget then having all the re-useable bits and pieces identified as to where they came from will help. And, personal opinion, scrap the existing oil pump and buy a new one. Cheap Insurance and Mellings makes pumps for anything from stone stock to full face.
Nick
Post teardown, if you find nothing nasty or beyond redemption then you get to sit down and give some thought to your options. The cheapest is to rebuild the motor back to stock using a master rebuild kit from Summit or Jegs or ?? Going this route will depend largely on whether the block needs to be bored or honed. Any scoring in any of the cylinder bores and you are automatically in for an overbore.
Another option ,based on the bare block, is to go stroker. 383's are a nice mill with lots of torque and complete reciprocating assemblies are available with all the grunt work of balancing done by the manufacturer. With the right set of rods and cap screws, you could find that you don't even have to clearance the bottom edges of the bores to gain room for the big end to get by. On a budget? Build the bottom end and then bag it. Save up your coin and pick your top end and move on from there.
Oh, yeah. if you are going to do your own disassembly, Remember to use number stamps to identify each main cap and its matching location on the block. Mix 'em up and you are almost guaranteed a trip to the machine shop to get the block line bored or honed to get them re-matched to their locations. You can do the same thing with your rod caps. As you pull each piston, immediately re-attach the cap to the rod and identify it with a number corresponding to the bore it came from. You may never re-drop these rods/pistons but if you do send them out to get them rebuilt then you will still be able to identify what hole that rod came from. Of course this is all moot if you go with a master kit or stroke it but if you are on a budget then having all the re-useable bits and pieces identified as to where they came from will help. And, personal opinion, scrap the existing oil pump and buy a new one. Cheap Insurance and Mellings makes pumps for anything from stone stock to full face.
Nick
Thank you all. An absolute fountain of information. I like the idea of rebuilding it. 565BBC and Nick have great ideas. I do like that 355 sbc. And spidereyes is right, thats how i feel about reman engines. But these guys i am looking at are engine specialist not just parts guys slapping a motor together. Something to consider. Like i said i work in automotive so i can get good pricing on machine work and discounts thru shop account to try n lower costs. Again thanks to all for your input. Oh and it didnt have a steel crank
Best deal out their is the 96-2000 350 vortec truck motors. Find a good running one and freshen it with rod and mains and rings. Clean and a lite touch with a barrel hone and your set. Reuse most of the parts and clean up the valves in the heads and just add a set of 1.6 roller tip rockers to up the lift a little. Some of the blocks are drilled for a fuel pump but most are not. Just get a electric fuel pump and the right intake and a HEI and go at it. These motor move a 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks with ease, so the 78 monty should be a cake walk. One other option if money is their is to stroke the motor with a kit from Comp products. These complete balanced kits are in the $800 range and have every thing to convert it to a stroker. Late 96-2000 vortec blocks only need a little grinding to fit the stroker. You can upgrade the cam with a regrind off of EBAY for $140-160 and a set of Comp Cam valve spring to match the cam. Again with just the fresh vortec and 1.6 rockers with the right vortec heads 906 or the 062s with wake this thing up. One other trick is the marine roller cam and 1.6 rockers and you can reuse the stock hyd roller springs. Its a copy of the 350 ram jet motor. 350hp and 400tq and you shift it at 5200 rpm. 9.1 pump gas motor on 87 octain gas. Keep the timing at 32-34 degrees at 3000 rpm. That same motor combination moves my 4325lb full size GMC pick up at the track to 14.53et at 93mph in the weekly bracket program at my home track. Its a blast to drive to and from the track. I have a little over $400 in the motor and parts, but I did the work myself.
- Status
Similar threads
