Hey everyone.

I have a 75 Camaro daily driver with the original inline 6, in good condition, with a TH-350 which seems to be in good shape. Moving towards the big engine swap. Familiar with the needs of a swap, but wanted to hear feedback on new motors. My budget would probably be around $1500 (not much, right?) -- I am going to GM next week to try to finance their 350/290, which I read in a post here that they finance. (Here's the link...)
http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/En...case/index.jsp
I have also been looking on Craigslist for a good rebuilt 350 that I can test and trust. Anyone got a new GM engine? This particular 350/290? Any thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!

 

You could always try to find a good 350 block and build one yourself. You should be able to build a decent engine for around $1500. Heck you should be able to find a good 350 block for $300 all day long on Craigslist. Just be sure to look over the block and check the casting number to make sure you have a good block before you buy. Or if you feel you dont have time to build one yourself you have a few other options. 1) you could but the engine from GM, Summit, Jegs, or something similar. Cant really go wrong with a GM crate engine and they come with one of the best warranties around. 2) You could just buy a complete short block from someone like Summit, and build the engine the way you want it. That would save you the difficult part of buying just a block and having to get it machined and assemble the short block yourself. You just have to pick what parts you want for the top end and pretty much bolt them on.

 

I agree with Camaroguy71. If you have the knowledge to rebuild an engine you can do it for under your $1500 budget. Otherwise the GM engine is a great choice.
If you can find a complete running, tired 350 for under $400, the leftover $1100 will still get your parts and machine work, unless you get crazy on exotic parts. Summit sells a complete rebuild kit for a 350 that's $219 complete with pistons. A cam kit from them is around $100, and that should be all you'll need for parts.
Machine work to hot tank, magniflux, bore, align bore mains, and do the heads will run around $600-$700. So that is a grand total of around $1400. Could easily make 300 HP or more with the right cam, intake, and headers.
This is the way I would go if it were mine. Rebuilding an engine is fun, and you can be driving the 6 while you're building it up.

 

Hey guys- thanks for the great responses. Extremely helpful.
I really hadn't thought of building my own engine from the block up, but it makes perfect sense-for a number of reasons. I have a buddy who can do everything but machining, and maybe we can make it a project together.
So...What makes a good block? What am I looking for?

 

You'll want a 4 bolt main in a 350 block, rather than a 2 bolt as it will be a stronger block if you later decide to do any performance upgrades. GM blocks are probably going to be the most common and easy to get but you want to make sure you get a US made block which you should be able to check by researching the casting number on the block. check the cylinder walls for excessive wear and make sure it doesnt have any cracks or anything like that. You'll also want to check the bore size of the cylinders, as the block may have been machined. You should be able to find one untouched or under .30 over fairly easily. If you're not too sure what to look for it might help to bring a buddy that knows what to look for on a good block. Oh and also, dont buy an engine block without looking at it in person first, unless you're buying from a reputable seller. 1971BB427 can probably fill in any blanks that I missed.

 

Most people will tell you you "need" a four bolt main. This is not true. You can do plenty with a two bolt. I'm sure someone else more versed on this particular subject can offer more info.. I believe the one and only, single most important thing to building any performance engine is balancing the rotating assembly. That is the crank and piston/conn. rod assembly. What kills an engine is vibration. After that the most important thing is getting your performance requirements right. What I mean by that is, you need to be realistic about how much power you should build. How much you're willing to spend and how much headache you're willing to put up with will be the deciding factors. The money part, you've already settled ($1500) so that pretty much settles it for the most part. You should (JMHO) shoot for about 300hp. Most people use HP as the measure of a SBC so that's what I'll use as well. 300 HP is an easy mark to reach, so no worries. Find the original specs. for an early Z-28 or whatever that was reported to have 300hp and build it that way, that's the easiest way. To get the most bang for your buck you need to build it yourself. Along with the savings you'll have the satisfaction of being able to say "I built that". Besides, if you're gonna be a "hotrodder" you better get used to wrenching anyway. Yep, 350/300hp and build it yourself.

PS: This was not a post in response to '71's post. It just took me so long to write it that he posted before I could. This is not a rebuttle to the "you need a 4 bolt" statement. Everyone has an opinion.

 

I'd just ditto what you said CamaroGuy71. If you're wanting to keep the budget down you could build up a 2 bolt main block to probably 350 HP and it would last for a long time. I've built a few small blocks over the years and I wouldn't worry about a well assembled 2 bolt main if you stay under that.
A 350 would be my choice for sure, as they're so plentiful, and good donor cars with all the brackets, etc. can be purchased cheap. Then you can sell off whatever you don't need. If you find a truck, there's always that possibility they are more likely to have a 4 bolt block.
The first two small blocks I built were 283's with 2 bolt mains and being young and inexperienced I didn't know I should keep the RPM's down on them, so I consistently ran them over 6,000 rpm at the drags. The first one was a budget build and a piston blew a hole in the top from being too lean on the jets.
The second one was in my 1955 Chev 2dr business coupe and I really overbuilt it for a 2 bolt main. Set of 2.02 fueler heads with some really stiff springs and roller tip rockers, 11:1 forged TRW pistons .40" over, a solid lifter cam that was close to .490 lift! An old Edelbrock tunnel ram with two 450 cfm Holleys, and a set of aluminum rods that a friend had left over from a old 283 he built. Never balanced, but sure ran like it was! Took that engine out of a '67 Chevelle I wrecked, and even stock it gave 396 Chevelles a run for the 1/8th mile! Fella named **** Ott was the F stock National record holder, and he helped by doing the machine work on the engine. He really knew how to make an engine sing!
I was so green I didn't know what to use for assembly lube, so I used STP on all the bearings! By the time I got the last rod attached to the crank I could barely turn the engine! Had to use a heat gun on the mains to warm them up to turn the engine. When we dropped it in the '55 and tried to start it the engine wouldn't turn over with the starter! Finally took my dad's '59 Chev PU and towed it down the street with my friend at the wheel, and me sitting on the inner fenderwell adjusting the distributor as he let the clutch out. Wouldn't turn over in 1st, or 2nd, and finally started when we got it to 3rd gear on the Muncie 4spd. When it fired the darn car jumped and nearly threw me off the side!
I ran that '55 at the drags for over 3 yrs., and it ran really hard with 1/4 mile times in the low 12's.! Had a chrome straight axle and 4:56 gears, with ladder bars about 4 ft long. It launched hard enough to bring the front wheels about 2 ft. off the ground.
Not sure how long the little 2 bolt main 283 ran, as some jerk stole it one night, and I never saw it again.

 

PS- I'd stick with a cam that's around .440 lift, with 260-270 duration with stock heads. Maybe a litle more lift if you get a good set of heads with the right springs. Then you could jump up to around .470-.480 lift, and 280-290 duration.

 

Great stuff guys-
I'm on Craigslist now looking at blocks. I probably wont get started for a month or so, but I will post again when I am about to buy the first piece. My car is at Costco right now getting new Radial tires-my front right tire somehow blew up in the fast lane 2 days ago on my way to work(since my first post.) Made it safe-thank God. Thanks so much for the help, and I will post again soon.

 

Man, You guys make it sound so easy, almost made me want to start looking for a small block to start rebuilding myself. But then again, my garage is at its max as it is!!!!