Pontiac 350 thoughts?

[G-Body_Vet]

Wow, that's a good deal! A low compression 4 barrel is the way to go. First, try not to act excited, and tell him 350's are junk ( ) and offer $100. Point out that the 71' heads are probably missing the outermost exhaust bolt holes and you can't use headers because they'll leak. (The trick is to bevel the flanges so they seal- shhhh). Act like you really wanted a 455 and just need a cheap beater motor for now. If it's tight I guess it's worth several hundred but that's up to you.

if vet gives us the contact info we could low ball the guy to the point where he just wants to get rid of it..

Too bad it wasn't advertised! He responded to an add I posted about Pontiac parts. This guy has a '69 Chevelle too. I'm sure he probably thinks the 350 is a boat anchor. He said he's trying to locate a YS 400 block (IIRC). We'll see though, no big hurry.

I'm eyeballing a limited slip 3.42 rear end from an 84 SS too. If I put that in the GP I'm sure it could help me sell the 305 after a little smoke show :lol:

 

[pontiacgp]

are you sure that's not a 3.73 rear end in the Monte SS

 

[G-Body_Vet]

are you sure that's not a 3.73 rear end in the Monte SS

Yep. 85-88 got the 3.73's. I've also owned 3, incl one aerocoupe.

 

[pontiacgp]

that's right, 83-84 got the 3.42...

my mistake and I feel so bad I think I have to take the rest of the day off to recover..

 

[G-Body_Vet]

that's right, 83-84 got the 3.42...

my mistake and I feel so bad I think I have to take the rest of the day off to recover..

Don't beat yourself up over it. No need to cry over spilled gear oil :lol:

 

[Bonnewagon]

I have a YS 400 stashed away. It's just a garden variety GTO/Firebird 4 barrel 400, automatic trans model with big valve heads.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

That 350 is gonna be a no-go. He want's $400 for it.

However........I located a complete '71 400, 4bbl for $300 instead. Going to check it out this week hopefully.

 

[Bonnewagon]

A stock 71' 400 4 barrel will blow you away. You might not even want the 455 punishing that GP's frame. Just watch the heads, 71' and 72' are usually missing the end exhaust bolt holes. The factory beveled the manifold so the existing bolts holes pulled the whole end tight. I have a set of 7K3's like that. The stock exhaust manifolds will clear the frame nicely with stock head pipes. The factory used slightly better cams in 71'-72' to offset the affect of the then new low compression ratios. Always trying to give the customer the most for their money. May even have an 067 or 068 depending on what car it came out of.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

I'm waiting for him to get back to me on the casting numbers. From what I understand a '71 400 should have came with 99 heads on the 265hp engine and the big valve 96's on the 300hp ones. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the 96's! Either way I'll have a freshly set of ported 6X-4's at my disposal. I may just put the 455 on the backburner if this 400 is a good runner. The costs are adding up quick.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I have a 70' 400 w/6-X-8 heads/278 Crane cam and it ran like a raped rat in my 81' Malibu wagon. As a plus, it ran on cheapest gas and could tolerate lots of timing. It also annoyed the Chevy guys because they thought it MUST be a BBC to run so fast.