If you're looking to stay on a small budget, either find another donor Chev with a 350 engine and trans and buy it cheap, or look at crate motors. Crates are great purchases for the dollar, and you get a good warranty too. If you build an engine you goet zero warranty, and all is wasted when or if it blows.

 

Buying a cheap car/truck with the goods I want was kinda the route I was leaning towards. Been searching the local classifieds but no luck so far.

How much is a crate engine?

 

1500-2000 with core

 

Welp... I guess the crate motor is out of the question. lol

I'm just a poor truck driver making $10/hr. I can spend maybe $200/month. I might have $400 this weekend though (trying to sell a guitar) so that will help. Gonna either just buy an engine outright, or find an older 350/TH350 car or pick-up cheap.

 

I found this one... how hard would it be to change this over to carb?

http://www.golsn.com/listings/automo...s/1118384.html

 

It's an easy job to convert a FI car to carb, but I'd hesitate to buy a motor and trans that is an unknown for $350. There's no way to tell if it's a rebuildable core if it's not running, and the trans may be the same thing.
I'd keep looking for a running car to either use, or at least get a donor engine out of.

 

I would not mess around with a FI and try to convert it to a carb. Especially if it does not run. Best thing to do on you budget is take some old back roads and look for those cars in back yards that people just parked. You would be surprised on how people think that their old clunkers are not worth selling and just park them. Or people that have a project car/truck that they have lost interest in and would sell them. I have found a few like that and end up getting them cheap. Even local wrecking yards might have a OK running motor that you can rebuild.

I just put in a good 350 4 bolt in my 80/RS i got from a camaro that we paid $200 for. And it was only bought for the front seats for my buddy's car

 

$200 Camaro's with good 4 bolt main 350's arent as common in the southeast... this is NASCAR country.

I did find me an engine though. Not what I wanted but for the price it will do. Its a 1991 305 (at least he said it was a 91... gotta run the numbers to be sure. Anyone know a good site for that?) Got it for $100. Its complete except for the starter. I turned it over by hand and it seems to have good compression. As a newbie at this I might have bought a boat anchor... but for 100 bucks it was worth the risk.

Now I have to figure out how to get it off the back of my truck!

 

Well according to this site...

http://www.nastyz28.com/gm-chevy-cod...s-suffix-4.php

...my engine is a 1983 (engine code KO517DDF).

 

1983 sounds more likely as i may be wrong but i think GM stopped using carburetors in 1986.

Good luck with your new motor. For $100 you can't go wrong Any idea the last time it was running? Or are you rebuilding it regardless.