He says it was out of a Corvette. This is in a '79 Z28.

 

post up the #'s on the block and we can run them for you.

 

Okay, thank you.

I'm just waiting on his e-mail. The car I'm looking at is out of town.

Is there anything in general you can tell me about this particular 350? I'm a n00b.

 

The 350 LM1 is a "nothing special" engine. It's a plain-jane 350/4 barrel engine that came in all or most of the passenger cars until 1988. The code stamping on the block pad in front of the passenger side head is what tells you what it came out of.

 

Well, if it's a z28 then that's an RPO code for Camaro with a Corvette drivetrain. But I don't know when it stopped really being that.

Here's a lot of information on the LM1 engine.

 

Okay, looking at that site you posted, it looks like the LM1 is a piece of crap?

I'm, 18 and looking for my first car, so would this be alright for a daily driver?

 

How much is the guy asking? Have you seen the car? What type of condition is it in? Do you have any friends that are mechanics? If not, do your parents have friends that are mechanics and can you get one of them to go check it out for you?

Remember, these cars are usually 25 - 30+ years old, usually aren't great on the gas and you will usually find something that needs fixing that isn't all that cheap.

With that being said... they're great cars to have. I drive mine daily and I am constantly tuning and working on it. You will constantly learn more and more about the vehicle and engines in general as you own it. If you want to own a car that will teach you a lifetime's worth of information and is fun to drive then go for it. If you don't have the time, enthusiasm or the attention span then it will be headache to own for you.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

 

Yeah, my Dad, and several of my cousins have built up old cars like these. My Dad has a '74 Formula, built up pretty well, so I'm good with the knowledge base department.

Also, Insurance is a killer for me. But the rates drop by like 85% after two years of me driving, so I'll have 1 1/2 years to fix, and build it up the way I want to.

My Dad doesn't know much about the 350s, he has a 400 out of a '69 GTO in his. My cousin should know more about the 350s though. He drags his 3rd Gen Camaro often.

So yeah, I was refering to the Engine, not the car. I was asking, really, if the LM1 is a piece of crap that I should avoid.

 

Well, if your dad knows a 400 out of a 69 GTO then he should know his way around any SBC without a problem. The only difference between a 400 and 350 is the bore diameter for the piston (400 is 4.125 and 350 is 4.00) and the length of the stroke (350 is 3.48 and 3.75 for a 400). I know the crank's a little different but I don't think it's with the size of the journals but just with the lenght of the pitch for the stroke (correct me if I'm wrong guys). Your cousin might actually have a smaller amount of difficulty if he's trying to figure it out if he's used to running TBI fuel injection stuff vs. carbed stuff and even then it shouldn't be too much of a big deal.

By the way, the LM1 is what you make of it. Think of it as getting a core to build up. If it's a z28 then it should have 4 bolt mains in there and you should be able to do some stuff with it. Even if it's only a 2 bolt main you can splay the caps and make it a 4 bolt that's stronger than stock. It's just how much money and effort you want to put in it.

 

You should still get the numbers off the block and post them here, or look them up to see what it came out of. If the car is decent, I wouldn't let the engine hold you back. It'll still be a fun car.
And a little FYI...the Pontiac 350 and 400 is nothing like the Chevy 350 or 400, it's a totally different animal. Chevy/Pontiac didn't go "corporate" with their engines till much later.