even when its 75 my car will stay at 185 with both fans on and moving with a 160 thermostat. but you can try your stock setup and see how it holds up. i think the stock maf is 3", i cant remember all their options. just put in stock. i descreened mine a long time ago to free it up for more air flow. ive heard good and bad things about doing that, but didnt have any issues

 

Ok, I am about ready for that then. Just need to get at my PCM to get the broadcast code, and to know my compression ratio for sure.

And I guess I'll know that when I see what pistons I'm looking at when we pull it apart, right?

 

yes. if theyre good, submit the compression as what i said earlier. if it needs rebuilt, then you can wait to submit until you know what youre doing with the motor.

 

Alrighty, we got the engine torn apart today- had to stop at the balancer 'cause we didn't have a puller for it, but we're lookin' at finishing it up next Sunday. My helper said not to bother with a rebuild- that it'd probably be ok to leave it as is.

I got the broadcast code- ACTX, so I can finally submit my order to pcmforless. I was gonna put in my compression ratio as 10:1 and leave it at that, unless it might cause problems if it's not accurate?

Here's what we're looking at, anyways:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ny/car/001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ny/car/002.jpg

 

its pretty gross looking in there. is there still crosshatch in the cylinders? i cant tell from the pictures

 

No there isn't. I cleaned out as much of the gunk as I could since taking those pictures, although I don't have anything to deal with the carbon buildup.

 

I would not go through the aggrevation and expense of putting that in my car unless it was rebuilt, at least do a top end. But, a machine shop could clean that up for cheap and you could rebuild it yourself, especially if you tore it down to the block for the machinist. Top ends are cheap insurance.

 

Are you serious? You want him to cut his floor pan out, and put a "frame" in? Where might I ask you put this frame? If he so feels inclined, there are subframe connectors available for thrid gen F bodies that work well. The 350 he is putting in will not do any harm to that car. He has mentioned it is not a high performance motor. The stock 10 bolt will hold up fine as long as he doesn't put slicks on it and take it a track where it'll hook up. A stock rebuilt 700R4 is more than sufficient for his purpose and he can use the money on the misc. stuff that comes up during a swap.

By the way, get a better radiator. I know I overspent on a be cool, but even with the stock single electric fan, it works well. I have a fairly well built 383 with aluminum heads that I'd like to keep from getting much over 180. Keep in mind I'm in Tucson arizona and it'll be 110 here in no time.

 

I've had a couple people telling me a rebuild isn't necessary- since I am replacing large portions of the engine as is, or something. I'm getting impatient to get it back on the road but I definitely don't want to rush and do something I might regret later.

I picked up a 180 thermostat (would 160 be better in this case?) and was going to get a set of spark plugs, only to find out AC Delco apparently has discontinued the ones I need- is there another brand I could look at that would be as good or better?

I figured I'd do subframe connectors over the next winter, and possibly a rear axle, if my 10-bolt isn't gonna be good enough.

 

I haven't read everything, but just replacing pistons and rings might not be enough. If any dirt gets into the bottom end, it will accelarate wear...bottom line. This goes for carbon as well. Me, personally, I would still do a re-build. You may get away without it, but rebuilds are cheap.

Subframe connectors won't hurt, but are probobly not as important as making sure your new motor is completely ready....catch my drift. Also, the 10 bolt is not the strongest setup thats for sure, but on a street car, you will spin tires before any serious stress is put on it. I had 150,000 plus miles on my original open 10 bolt and it was perfectly fine before it was swapped out...no issues. Keep in mind rear end rebuilds are not cheap either no matter what option you select.