Small Block & Big Block Chevy Specific - I want to learn to rebuild a Chevy 350

Hey all,

My buddy has a 2 bolt Chevy 350 sitting in his garage which he offered me for free.

I have some experience with bolt ons, etc. on my LT1 but I had a machine shop do all the internal work. I would like to learn how to do it myself so I was thinking of doing a practice budget build on this 350.

Ultimately I think I will buy a motor less third gen or something cheap, drop it in, and re-sell to recoup some of the money.

I am looking for a tried and true budget combination that has some power but is reliable and street friendly. A pre packaged assembly that eliminates the guess work would be ideal.

I'd rather not endlessly tromp through junk yards looking for parts and the absolute lowest cost possible, but if there is a place or two where you can skimp on quality (cost), I'd love to hear it.

I've heard the Vortec heads are a good bang for the buck option and it's easy to make a 383 motor with a 400 crank.

Looking forward to hear your ideas :judge:

Thirdgen.org and nastyz28.com are probably the two best resources on the net for SBC tech. Both will have a wealth of information and proven combos.

As for vortec heads, they are the best bang for the buck in small block heads, but have some limitations that need to be addressed in high performance builds. Nastyz28 has an enormous vortec sticky thread that you can learn from.

As for the build itself, there are a million boks that will take you step by step through the process. I have the dvd from SA Books and it's very good.

There's alot of books that you can read to help you get started. If the crank in your motor is wasted and you need pistons, a 383 stroker may be a good option. Finding a good machine shop is important, ask around. 350 sbc is a good motor to learn on. Threre are probably a few tools your gonna have to buy or borrow, you probably won't recoup all your money.

+1 on not recouping the cash. I'd clean it up, throw some bearings and a cam in it, sell it and buy a 4 bolt 400 block. Just sayin'...

Hit the local library and look for a book or two. HP Books has a few:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HPB-HP1400/?rtype=10

They also have a LT1, LT4 book. Your library will have enough to get you started.

Al 95 Z28

for build combinations: http://www.amazon.com/Small-Block-Chevy-Engine-Buildups-Performance/dp/1557884005/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315841590&sr=1-1

for how to do it just search on [chevy] small block rebuild.

For a very mild build a set of vortec heads ( you will find they need machining on the valve guides for high lift ) mild hand porting on exhaust and bowl blending, and LT1 hot cam or similar lift and duration cam... Is the block roller lifter or flat tappet? All blocks after 86ish were cast with longer lifter bores for roller lifters but most didn't have them until mid 90s

Screw thirdgen.org dude. Don't bother joining that site, just read some of the tech stuff and hope you find what you're looking for amongst the mountain of disarray. NastyZ28 is your better option as is Google too. Most books can be found online and ordered cheap or you can find a digital copy too. 350SBC is a good choice, good luck.

Look at some nice proform aluminum heads. You can runner a bit higher compression, they are much lighter and run about 650-750 built. I have run a few and spent some time cleaning them and setting them up, Most people on ebay are rod shops and already do the work for you. The older heads were ok but not good. The new version is on top. 64cc with 190 runner and ss valves