papapayne

I am wanting to do an a engine swap into my carbed z28 305. Wanting to do it as cheaply as possible using junk yard block and anything else that can be pulled. My questions are probably buried somewhere in this forum but haven't been able to find them. So here goes....

I figure on keeping it simple and staying carbed. My goal is just have an aggressive street machine. looking for modest numbers for now while I beef up car to take a pounding. shooting for more torque over HP. Wanting to throw in a 400 block or bigger. 454 would be nice but from what i have seen parts for the big blocks is a bigger price tag for accessories. 400 or 409 works. I dont want to just be another guy with a 350...
Want to stay carbed simply for simplicity dont want to have to try and rewire everything.

So actaul questions now.

What kind of car/engine should I look for.
what should i look for accessary wise?
I have heard that putting smaller heads on increases compression=more torque. good plan?
I want to do simple rebuild with new rings maybe new pistons. I want to keep it cheap as possiable any suggestions?
I do want to get magnafluxed just to be sure no cracks.

anythoughts/suggestions/links to info i couldnt find?

AlkyIROC

Cheap as possible?

Buy a factory replacement engine. If you're going to pull a junkyard engine then get it rebuilt, it will be cheaper to just install a new replacement engine.

Apeiron

Your chances of finding a 400 in a junkyard aren't all that great. Look for late 70s pickups.

Doesn't matter, you'll put the accessories from your current 305 on it.

Any heads that came stock on a 400 are garbage and need to be replaced for any sort of performance use. Compression isn't the only thing to be concerned with though, airflow is more important.

If the cylinder walls are ok, you could get away with reringing and using the same pistons. If not, it'll need a bore, and then you'll need new pistons anyway.

Magnafluxing is a good idea, but if you're worried about the cost you could check for cracks the cheap way too, by hot tanking it and looking for soda lines. Not as good as magnaflux, of course.

papapayne

factory replacement engines...from what i have seen when looking those start at 1500 bucks. plus shipping. and thats just for long block. then you still need manifold, carb, etc etc. I can buy a pick n pull engine for 65 bucks, rebuild kits aren't expensive, rebuild it myself, buy a new manifold or find one, Pontiac manifolds are pretty decent. All for way less then a factory replacement. I guess I am missing how buying new engine is cheaper.
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70s trucks, ok. Out of the bigger blocks (bigger then 350) which would be the easiest to find at the yard ya think?

Apeiron

If your junkyard dog needs any machining to make it useable, then $1500 starts looking cheaper in a hurry.

Pontiac manifolds don't fit on a Chevy engine.

If you're sticking with a small block, the only one that even exists is the 400. It'll be hard to find. If you want a big block, then it'll be a 454, but you'll have to put more money into making it fit in your car.

chesterfield

First thing to consider: California smog laws. Unless you have someone to take care of you and you will never ever sell your car, a big block is out of the question. That leaves the 400 small block. I see one or two everytime I go to the SoCal hi volume junkyards so maybe Sacramento might be alright to look. Most of them I see are in vans (late 70s naturally). Most have the rpo stickers under the hood you can check engine cid as you walk thru. You'll want to be disguising it as your old 305 so it will have to be stock looking. Do your homework, its easy to check casting numbers in the vans also. Make sure you can turn it over by hand without it making grinding clanking noises.

AlkyIROC

First of all, finding a 400 block isn't that easy since they stopped production in 1979. Many of them have been snapped up by hotrodders and racers. Pickup trucks and station wagons are prime sources for the 400 engine.

Rebuild kits. Nothing fancy, just basic factory replacement stuff.
Providing the block doesn't need to be bored out and it probably will need it.

Main bearings $53
Rod bearings $144
Gasket set 400 block $43
Rings $62

That's $302 for some basic factory spec stuff to do a rebuild. Add a couple of hundred more for incidental stuff you might not think about.

If you get the block bored out, that will be a minimum of $100 more plus around $100 for oversize cast pistons. Expect $200-$300 for some good hypereutectic pistons. Of course broing it out means you're using a piston that weighs differently than a factory piston so the entire rotating assembly should be balanced. That's around $500 more.

Any engine rebuild should have some machine work even if it's just to deglaze the cylinders for the new rings. As mentioned above, stock 400 heads are junk and even if you picked up a junkyard 350, the heads should probably be rebuilt. Other stuff to consider is the old balancer which should be replaced.

It all adds up. Although it may look cheaper in the beginning, without proper machine work or measuring tools to assemble an engine, the home rebuild probably won't last very long. At least with a replacement engine, you also get a 1 year warranty.

You might be able to slap together a cheap rebuild for less than $500 but there's no guarantee it will last. To rebuild an engine properly with some good parts and machine work, it should cost a minimum of $2000 to get it all done and even then I'd add half the cost extra to whatever estimate you come up with.

papapayne

I live in a county that only needs transfer smog (amador) I just bought this car a month or so ago havent smogged it yet. NEed to redo all vacuum lines first. After that first smog I wont have to worry about smog again. Knowing that, should I still stick to a sbc? Or should I go to bbc?

chesterfield

You may be exempt from inspection but you are not exempt from the smog requirements. So if the inspection status where you live changes, or if you ever want to move and take your car, you should consider that a bbc will never be a legal swap. Neither will the 400sbc but at least it looks just like your 305.

papapayne

yeah, plus i think going to BB is going to require too many fabrications to get it in. If i can find a 400 I will put that in if not I am just going to put in a 350 and make it a little aggressive. maybe make astroker.