Ok, maybe not a gawd. Maybe a lesser diety. But here is my long story....

Some of you remember that last year in late summer I picked up a 82 Maro with a nasty tranny leak and a worn out 305. She turned out to be a long winter project. New brakes all round, carb, tranny dropped twice to fix the leak. ( after all that it was the speedo output seal and dipstick o ring...) and other endless items. Ive done so much to this car Ive forgotten stuff. It all lead up to an engine swap. Let me be the first to say that I am the worst kind of shade tree mechanic. I know just enough to be dangerous, just enough to worry myself sick about that little oil leak or coolant puddle. Ive never done a full engine swap before, but hell, Ive done everything else so I decided to tackle it......

It took me about 3 weeks (nights) after I actually got the 350 dropped in the car to get all the bugs worked out. Stripped starter hole, leaking freeze plug, misc little ****. Tonight was the night to fire her up. Again, I must say that before this the biggest car project I had done was swapping heads on a 318 in 1992.....

Bolted up the battery and had the wife start to crank her up. The high torque starter sounded sweet! But she wasnt catching. A little starting fluid, played with the choke, and she coughed. Once. Nothing again for another minute or two. The she fired up but the wife let off a little too soon. I gave it a minute or two to sit, and told the wife to fire it up again.

And then it happened. She started. Smoke poured from the headers and filled the garage. (from spilled oil and grease) I feathered the thottle till she held and played with the timing a little. Then I sat back and listened to her purr. It was the sound of satisfaction. I let it run for about 15 minutes while I checked guages and filled fluids. Had a bit of a lifter knock (from sitting for 5 years) but after 5 minutes it went away. She was running a 220-230 temp and about 9 PSI oil at idle. The oil PSI worried me, but I remember my 318 also ran really low at an idle. I just sat and listened, and gloated.

So here I am. Gloating and drunk and posting on a forum with hundreds of guys who have forgotten more than I will ever know about cars. But Im pretty gdamn proud of myself. It runs. I did it myself. Cant wait to drive it. All the headaches and long nights and busted knuckles were worth it. So, so worth it. Thanks guys. Couldnt have done it without your help. [&:]

 

Well give yourself a pat on the pooper!
Check you oil psi. It should have 10 per 1000 rpm.
Did you fix your leaks?

 

CONGRATS SCOTT!

let us know how she drives!

 

Hey Mike, Im running 10w30. Atidle in the garage (about 40 deg ambient), she warmed up to about 7-10 PSI. (Subject to the wife's eye) I wanna say the idle was around 800-1000 judging by sound. I think Im OK, dont you? Please dont make me any more paranoid than I already am! (remember the coolant leak I thought was a head gasket that turned out to be a freeze plug incident...)

Im almost afraid to start her again, as if it was some kind of fluke!

 

About 10 psi per 1000rpm so you should be good. Don't get discouraged as you start it again if you find a problem. It will happen. Its called working the bugs out.
I remember back when I used to get excited about a job well done. I would get wood!
I put a vortec 4.3 in my mom's 84 S10 that had a 2.8 and it was a nice day when I started it. My brother made sure I would call him so he could hear it. I had completely rebuilt a motor fromthree donors. And I am still taking care of minor technicalties. Butit runs and runs great.

 

Hey congrats scott im just about to tackle a 350 swap in my maro, i just dont have a garage...itll get done though. As far as your oil pressure issue goes, you should be fine but technically, madmike is right and it should be a little higher, around 10 psi. But again congrats now let us no how she runs on the road!

 

Congrats on a job well done let us know she runs on the road. I'm sure I'll be just as excited when I do my swap hopefully later on this summer.

 

Well, Im a little troubled with the oil pressure. I took her out for the initial ride tonight and when fully warmed up, when I come to a complete stop (say at a light) my pressure seems to drop to zero. There is no lifter knock, so I assume shes still gettin oil. When Im driving the pressure is fine. Maybe Ill switch to a thicker oil. Also, the temp seems to be runnin a little high (see new post) Any suggestionabout either?

Now, as for how she drives....I still have to fine tune the carb and timing, but believe it or not Im not all that impressed yet. I had expected gobs of gut wrenching power. The 350 seems to push me back in my seat a little more and have a little more kick off the line, but maybe I was expecting too much. I will say I can sit and roast my tires now, which is all I really wanted! Im sure once I get it tuned in Ill be happy, but I think that my standard for acceleration is marred by the fact that I ride a well worked Harley Sportster and expect everything to feel like that.

Oh ****, maybe I need a 454....................

 

Maybe your gauge is not totaly accurate. Did you use the sender from your original motor? If not try that one.

There is a lot of hype on this forum about 350s. I would only swap it if my 305 died and it need to be replaced.
But when riding my Ducati and I pull up next to a guy on his harley I show him that there is a replacment for displacment. Its called technology.

 

Mike, you ride a Pukati? Wow, I suddenly have lost all respect for you. []Maybe all you need is someViagara? ( Please retaliate with a manditory Sportster girly bikejoke )
Seriously, as a kid growing up my father had this POS Ducati scrambler. I dont know anything about it other than it never ran right. But my dad insisted that Ducati was some high end super performance motorcycle. Fast forward a couple dozen years or so when I met my first 996 Monster.......um, guess Dad was right! I tell you though, I didnt even know Triumph made sport bikes until a few years ago when I got destroyed by some yellow thing that appeared as only a blur to me!