Engine problems... good deal on replacement?

[chevy4ever]

Hey guys... i hate to say it... my 350 is circling the drain. The main bearing is going out on crank... a god awful knockin lol. Neway.. i have located a replacment. 350 rebuilt less than 12 months prior... bored over 30... other than that its stock. Comes with holly 700 cfm and a performer intake... 800 bucks. And since hes got cherry picker at his house he said he would help me out over a weekend and not charge nething to put it in. Right now the engine is in a 84 burb 4x4 and powers that beautifully. A few questions. First he wants my old engine to put it in the burb because hes trying to sell it. How much should i ask for my engine to do the swap. It does run... has the knocking... but runs good. How much hp should a stock 350 bored over 30 have? Is 800 a good deal?

thanks guys...

matt

[piecesparts]

I take it you have heard this $800 motor run? If so then have you driven it? Does it have a good power band? Does it idle smoothly, accelerate easily and cruise out OK? I ask this because a person tends to overlook the obvious when they find something that may be a "GOOD" deal. The $800 dollars is well below the price of a new "Crate Motor" replacement, which is about $1400.00. A lot of rebuilt motors are sold through parts houses for $800.00 and up to about $1200.00, depending on who it is. This motor sounds like a deal that would be fair. If the guy will give you a small amount for your engine, then take it, because you will not get much from a salvage yard. A good 4 bolt main 350 block will go for about $175.00, if there is no damage to the block itself. No one cares about the crank in most cases, due to the fact that there are so many of the factory ones around. He is going to help you do the work, that should be worth something, to you.

The Holley 700 cfm carb is a little large for a truck to work efficiently. That size of carb is really great at higher RPMs, such as a well built street performer (like a Nova or Camaro). If you run the vehicle at 2100 RPMs and higher then it will work, but otherwise it will be sluggish around the city streets. The smaller CFM carbs will keep the air charge flowing at a higher rate and keep the engine running at a more optimum power band. So after you install the motor, it may run a little sloppy and act like it is fuel hungry, I would think about a little smaller carb.

The horsepower is questionable, what cam profile is in the motor, along with the .030 over bore? The Edelbrock intake is worth some in volumetric efficiency, so with a guess, the horsepower will be somewhere around 270 to 290 HP give or take a little.

[Daubs]

Great reply piecesparts. I'd add an old saying my Dad used to tell me when I came up with a "great deal" -- "sometimes you get what you pay for...and sometimes you are buying someone elses headache." Be careful!

If he's wanting to put your worn out engine in his burb to sell it...well, you see what kind of ethics this person has (???). If it were me I'd buy a rebuilt engine, or have your engine rebuilt. That way you know what you are getting for sure!

Or just pony up the $1,400 for a brand new GM crate. 3 year 36,000 mile warranty is pretty darn good. I have a crate motor sitting on engine stand waiting on a few parts before it gets dropped in my K-20.

[Crank]

But you must think Daubs, a roller Burb wont go as fast as one that someone could buy and drive home to put a new motor in or a motor someone could pull and send to the local engine shop for a rebuild. Maybe this guy is cutting you a deal and that. I would certainly enquire more about that rebuilt motor and drive the thing and see how it does, if you dont like the carb, you could probably switch your old carb over to that aluminum intake and put the 700 on the one going back to that fella, it's still a carb correct?
Brandon

[boot85]

Very good points, a few others would be if it is over carburated now I would have to ask myself how long has it been this was, because if it is over carburated that can wash out the rings and that is not very good. You will wind up rebuilding that motor after 20,000 miles or so. Another thing to consider is that if your motor is original then is probably has a casting # of 397001x. That means that you have a highly desirable block with a high nickel content. You can tell by taking off the timing chain cover and it will have a .10 and .20 cast into it. That basically says that, that block will last longer than its later counter parts if rebuilt.

On the other hand if you don't care about that then drive that suburban around and get a feel for that motor and you be the judge. I am not sure what good driver engine runs in your neck of the woods but I would atleast ask for $200.00 for your long block core.

[84slopwaggin]

Chevy4ever might be getting the better deal if the motor in the burb runs good and has good power. I'm not so sure he can get anything for his core if the guy owns a cherry picker and is will to swap engines for nothing. You have to think how much it would cost if you hired a mechanic to do it at a shop. If you think yours if worth anything(TO YOU) just have him pull it and you buy it and rent a engine hoist and drop it in yourself.

[piecesparts]

Take a look at the block (just below the passenger side head). Is the tab (where the number is stamped) a long one? The later motors had a short piece that the number was stamped into and the older (heavy block) had the longer tab. In most cases the tab is an indicator of the desirable blocks and supports the fact that the block may also have the 4 bolt mains.

I understand the thought of buying a motor that is rebuilt and ready, but I favor the thought of KNOWING what I have. I would look at the investment of doing the rebuild of the motor in the truck vice buying a motor with an UNKNOWN item to it. Who rebuilt it and how good of a mechanic are they? I have seen some guys do really crappy work and the motor run great for about a year or so. I believe you get what you pay for and I have in the past. The motor that is overcarbed will most undoubtedly have a large amount of deposits on the valves and this can influence performance.

[Daubs]

When you hear the word "rebuilt" are you like me and just assume that it was rebuilt by a professional machine shop (bored, honed, decked, etc., etc., etc.).

Then there is the other "rebuilt," the guy who just tears the engine apart and replaces what he sees as warn parts (rings, some bearings, etc.), and puts back together (???).

Again, I'm with piecesparts -- I like KNOWING what I have. Nuff said.

[chevy4ever]

The motor was is a 350 4 bolt main rebuilt my a guy thats being doing it for 30 years. Block was taken to a machine shop and bored. IT runs very clean. Sounds like something ive never heard before... no abnormal noises whats so ever.

[piecesparts]

Sounds as if you have looked this over and you know where you are going. Good Luck.

[chevy4ever]

thanks

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Sounds like a good score to me. I hope it all works out good for you.
-Later

[chevy4ever]

Well, lol... bad news... my tranny blew....so that sucks. I decided to wait and notbuy the engine. I baught a 2006 altima today instead. got a good deal on it.