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Engine SwapEverything about swapping an engine into your Third Gen.....be it V6, V8, LTX/LSX, crate engine, etc. Pictures, questions, answers, and work logs.
For Christmas my parents decided to help me get an old junked engine. After about a week I found a '79 350 that was listed on Craigslist for $100. It took me two hours to get up to it in the freezing winter, but I got it! The block number is 14016379.
It has just about everything attached to it, V belt assembly, Carb, it even had the exhaust on it! The only thing missing was the starter and the flexplate.
This small block is going into my 1992 Firebird. The car right now is my daily driver, I even drove it to work this morning after the foot of snow here in Iowa. It's a 3.1 Auto....drastically slow car, but it was cheap and good looking. I just cleaned up and painted the interior and it looks great for a twenty three year old car.
My goal is to do this swap by pulling parts from junkyards, craigslist, and cleaning and repurposing the parts I already have. This is my spare change project as I am returning to college this semester after suffering two strokes and being force to drop out last semester.
I've only rebuilt one motor before this one and that was an LT1 engine in my semester of recovery. It just had a blown head gasket and some previous owner caused problems. I'm excited to jump into my first real engine swap, so comments, questions or ideas are welcome!
I attached some pictures of what I'm working with so please take a look!
I'm going to tear it apart in the next weekend and see what condition the innards are in.
Good news is, from the casting # you gave, it's a 350.
If you haven't read the V6 to V8 swap sticky in the top section of this forum, you should do that first.
What are your goals for the project? You mentioned it's your daily driver, do you have something to use while the car is down?
Bad new is, not much of what is attached to the V6 will work on a V8. You're in for a lot of JY diving, and some things have to be from an f-body. Again, read the sticky.
Personally, I'd consider the heads, intake, and exhaust on that engine to be door stops (or bass boat anchors, if you're into that). At the JY, look for '96-'00 light truck 350 heads (forget the rest, just get the heads). Those are known as "Vortec" heads, and you should look for casting number 062 or 906 (last 3 digits) - those are the "good" factory 350 heads (the best the factory ever made). They will require a different intake manifold, but Edelbrock makes one that will work with that carb.
About the only exhaust manifolds that will work are f-body, and most of them aren't very good. Have you considered headers?
I ran the casting number awhile back, rather happy I didn't end up with a 305.
Yeah I know V6 stuff isn't going to work, that's why I got an engine with the entire V-belt assembly. I might convert to a serpentine system if I can find one from a junkyard reasonable cheap. We only really have one junk yard in Iowa that is worth looking at. I need to rebuild the alternator and clean up the power steering to see if that's going to work for me. Some AN adapters should be able to bolt that one up to my power steering box.
I wasn't aware that the vortec heads required a different intake, even so, they are the best option for cheap power on a 350 by a long shot. I'm planning on using an LT1 camshaft, vortec heads, retrofit LT1 roller lifters, 1.5 roller rockers and get a nice four barrel carb. The only thing I will go over budget on will be the exhaust. I don't think there any way to get quality for a low cost in that regard. So yes, headers and true duals are probably happening.
But before I get to that point I need to pull the pistons, camshaft and crank so I can check my clearances and rering.
Thanks for the info, that will definitely help me put the pieces together.
Last edited by HikoriYami; 01-08-2015 at 09:22 AM.
That's a 79-86 block you have. You can not use the factory style roller cam/lifters in it. You would need a 1pc rear main seal 1987 up block for that.
Your block does not have the stand offs for the lifter retainers, nor has the lifter bosses been milled, nor does it have a place to bolt the thrust plate.
You are stuck with flat tappet or high dollar retro fit roller.
But that's ok, flat tappet is not a major down fall. You can still get really good power out of them.
If you need a rebuilt kit northern auto parts has the best prices on good kits with options for performance part upgrades at a reduced price.
Forget exhaust manifolds and stock exhaust. The third gen's exhaust system is the biggest choke point in the whole car/engine.
Go with headers and aftermarket exhaust for sure, if not, nothing else you really do to the engine is gonna make a bit of difference.
True duals are really not needed and do not fit very well. I have always ran true duals and really I would not recommend them unless you need them with 400+ HP engine.
A good aftermarket mandrel bent Y pipe and cat back works great, fits great
Heads are where the power is... You will get the biggest gains from good heads. The vortec heads are the best bang for the buck.
Yes the vortecs needs a few special parts. The vortec ports are taller and narrower than std. non vortec. They also only have 8 intake bolts, straight down.. Vs 12 intake bolts at an angle on older non vortec heads.
So you will need a vortec style intake. Buy used if you can find a deal, or buy offshore intake like summit house brand stage II, pro professional products brand.. They are much cheaper and work just as good.
Vortec heads are lift limited to about .470"-.480" lift due to retainer to guide clearance.. The stock springs are junk.
I use howards 1.25" od springs (they are cheap) and do the "ghetto grind" google it, on the retainers and that works up to about .500"-.510" lift
The vortec heads also needs center bolt valve covers and the 1987 up style self aliening rocker arms.
You need the correct intake gaskets for vortec heads. The only ones I have had good luck with are the fel pro MS98000T
Don't waste your money on roller tip rockers.. No gain there, if you are gonna do rockers then go full roller, but IMHO at this point for you, it's just not worth it.. The $325-400 you spend on rockers to gain 10-15 HP, could be put towards other items to gain more.
V belts work fine, I have never used a serpentine system on any of my performance cars. Never needed it, the V belts work fine for me, even at 7300 rpm shift point. I do have deep groove pulleys on the one I spin up that high.
The v6 to v8 swap is pretty easy overall.
The hardest parts are changing the Kmember mounts (hard to get to the bolts), and figuring out the fueling system.
On the mounts, buy new part store replacements for a V8 third gen. Then get ready to cuss and throw tools for a weekend as you try to get to those darn nuts. IIRC the wrench heads are 15mm. I got a couple of cheap hardware store china wrenches, heated and bent them to angles I needed to help reach the bolts better. Also had to use aray of wobble/u joint, extensions, sockets to get to some of the bolts, and wheel bearing grease and magnets to hold bolts/nuts in said wrenchs/sockets.
On the fueling system you have a few options
You can use your stock v6 elec pump for a mild V8. You need to add a$95 mallory adjustable high pressure reg to your supply line and turn pressure down to 5 psi.
If you need more pump, you can add a bigger elec pump in tank and do the same thing.
Or you can replace the fuel tank sender/pickup with an early third gen non efi unit, and run a block mounted mech. pump.
Or you can remove the stock elec pump, replace it with a same length of metal fuel line, joined to sender with a compression fitting or rubber fuel line and fuel injection type hose clamps, and use a block mounted mech. pump
Night Rider, I know that the block is not currently capable of supporting the roller. I'm in the works of retrofitting the spider and hold down plates from an LT1. With the hold down plate and thrust button to control the walk from the cam, it should work perfectly. Is my back yard science mistaken?
I knew I'd get some flak for trying to do true duals... Basically I want to do headers back to dual cherry bombs in the stock cat location and then run the pipes straight out the back.
I'm hoping the fuel pump will be one of the "easier" parts of the build. I rebuilt the entire tank assembly on my LT1 trans am, so I plan on just sticking a regulator on this one. I don't feel like chopping up the trunk in this 'bird, and I'm certainly not dropping the tank yet.
I'm not really set out for a certain threshold of power, hopefully over 300. but I'd be happy with getting anything more than whats in it right now...
Yeah duals are a pain on these cars. Like I said I have ran nothing but duals for 15 years and I got many bumps and scrapes on many sets of pipes to prove it. lol
Some of my 1st dual setups was hooker shorty headers, custom bent 2.25" pipes ran straight back 1 per side, flowmaster 2 chambers placed before rear axle, with turn downs.
Then same as above, but with tail pipes ran out under the axle to the rear.
Then same as above with summit turbo mufflers.
Then hedman long tube headers, dual 3" pipes, summit 3" X pipe, lowered transmission crossmember down 2", spaced trans up 2", ran pipes over crossmember, all the way back, under rear axle, and dynomax ultra flo 3" mufflers mounted in very rear, on the left and right of the cargo/trunk floor drop down.
To tell you the truth, this 3" dual system ran this away has the most ground clearance of any of my duals. Not the prettiest looking system but the most clearance. I couldn't find anybody local that would try to bend 3" pipe for this car, so I used the flexable exhaust repair pipes with clamps to get some of the bends, cut and welded other bends, straight pipe and of course the X pipe and it's bends on the "legs"...
Putting a regulator on your fuel system will work fine.
The roller conversion has me alittle concerned... I have not done any research into it, so maybe you know more about it than I do... The spider would be the easy part, just drill and tap, add standoffs.. That would work..
But my thoughts are on the roller lifters into the lifter bores. The roller lifters and flat tappet lifters are diff lengths, and the roller cam blocks have the lifter bosses machined down to fit the dog bones.
I don't know how you would get by those 2 things.
IIRC the one of the V6 engines (may have been the 4.3L v6) roller lifters are closer to the std. sbc flat tappet lifter length
But then you still need a lifter retainer/link like the dog bones or retro fit lifter's link bars
300 HP would be very easy with vortec heads. In fact 350 HP is more common with vortec head builds. With 9.5:1 to 10:1 compression and a cam in the 220/230 @.050" range, vortec heads, summit stage II intake, headers, good exhaust, etc etc.. That should be 350 HP no prob, maybe even a little more
Yeah, the only problem is getting the spider bent to fit the "dog bones" when they are in the older block as you call them (I like that phrase...I'm stealing it). I have some broken lifters (long story) lying around from my LT1 rebuild, I'm going to check their clearances when I get a chance. I've head of the lifters being taller, but the people who have had that problem say they just use shorter pushrods.
Well I've got plenty of time to decide on the exhaust, I don't think this engine will be in the car for quite awhile.
The spider conversion into a non-roller block is a really bad idea. The factory casts in extra material to handle it, and there just isn't enough in an older block to do it properly. You could weld in some material for the hold-down bolts, but that should only be done by someone who knows how to weld cast iron. The dogbones are meant to sit on a machined surface, which again the older block doesn't have the material to do that. The lifter bores also have more length in roller blocks, and there's no good way to do that in a non-roller block.
Either do a retrofit conversion, or stay flat tappet. Flat tappet cam kits are pretty cheap - just run a high-ZDDP oil in it (like AMSOIL Z-Rod).
Everything on the engine looks pretty good...other than the inch of mud and
grime that's baked on to it. Pistons are fairly carbon stained, but I was able
to get allot of it off with some soft rags. I'll get the rest of it when I pull the
pistons
If I had a crank hub puller on me, I would have pulled that off today and start messing with the cam, but a broken bolt prevented me from getting it off.
Interestingly enough the bolt wasn't rusted to the head, it was rusted to the
exhaust. I could spin the bolt by rotating the exhaust, but I just couldn't get enough clearance to spin it in a 360. So out came the drill. Once I beat the
exhaust off of the head, I just grabbed the destroyed bolt and turned it free
by hand. No gaskets on either manifold
I find comfort in the fact that fresh oil and antifreeze came out of this engine
when I turned it upside down to take off the oil pan. It makes me feel like it
might work again. I might have to slow down on the build because I'm back
in school, but hopefully I still have some time to work on it.
Five7, Night Rider, I think you two have convinced me. While I'm sure I
could make a roller cam work, it probably would not be the most
economical decision. I didn't realize how cheap a flat tappet cam kit was. I
have a surprising choice and I don't even need to spend $200! It's probably
worth the extra $20-$50 so I don't have to try to pull a cam out of a
junkyard. Can you imagine the nightmare of finally getting the cam out only
to find it's destroyed? Anyway, thanks for talking me out of it.
My real goal here anyway, is to prove that with enough hard work, anyone
can make a fast car without thousands of dollars. All I have are simple hand
tools: A drill, a socket set and some vice grips. So periodically, I'll update
with my costs so that future builders can estimate for themselves. And after
all this is called "Junkyard Power Swap"
Engine $100
Engine Stand $60
Heavy Duty Drill Bits $20
------------------------
Total $180
Cool deal man, looks like you got a real good start on it.
Yeah you can get a new hyd flat tappet cam and lifter set for $90-110... Elgin, speed pro/sealed power, summit house brand, jegs house brand, etc. They are older grinds, but work. I use one of those in my S10.
Or a howards cam and lifter set for $130-165.
Yes roller cam is 'better', but not by that much. In a milder engine the power gain from a roller cam would only be like 15-20 HP over a comparable flat tappet.
You are 100% correct, you don't have to spend a ton of money to build a fast street car.
400 HP vortec headed engine is not that hard to pull off. , Even 415-425 HP
Good to hear. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. A "cam break-in" is in order, but that isn't a big deal.
The factory didn't use gaskets between the head and exhaust manifold. Rebuild kits usually include them because once taken apart, leaks often occur when put back together due to slight warping.
Well I found a cam that has only great reviews, and its $60 .
I'll just copy its stats here since the picture is clearly a roller cam. Hehe. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-1103
Intake Duration at 050 inch Lift:214
Exhaust Duration at 050 inch Lift:224
Duration at 050 inch Lift:214 int./224 exh.
Advertised Intake Duration:288
Advertised Exhaust Duration:298
Advertised Duration:288 int./298 exh.
Lobe Separation (degrees):112
Any ideas what springs I should run with this on Vortec heads? I haven't the faintest idea how to calculate that. It has slightly lower lift than an LT1 cam, but a significantly longer duration.
You need new lifters with a new flat tappet cam. Summit K1103 would be the cam and lifter set.
The K1103 is a great little mild cam, I have used it quite a few times.
I use howards 1.24" to 1.26" od valve springs from competition products on vortec heads and do the "ghetto grind" on stock retainers and add +.050" locks if needed for higher lifts like .480-.515"
The 1103 cam only has .444"/.466" lift so you shouldn't have any clearance probs with the stock retainers on vortec heads, with stock guides and all.
$30 98111 howards springs would be great for the summit 1103 cam
Thanks for the info guys. I got a lot done this past week on the project, but I haven't had a chance to do a full write up on it. But, hopefully I'll have some nice painted engine pictures to put up this weekend...as long as its above freezing.
It's been a wild two weeks for work on the engine.
First I thought I would introduce the Firebird to her new heart...she wasn't happy with it.
So we've all heard the rumor about using oven cleaner as an engine degreaser. And as I've said previously I'm all about the cheap and effective solution, So I got two cans and sprayed the hell out of it.
Man that stuff stinks, but It is incredible. I sprayed it and let it soak for 15 minutes and the grime just came right off. I then experimented and let it sit in the oven cleaner for a night to see if I could get all of the muck off.
It actually was less effective the longer it soaked. It may have something to do with how it moistens the goo.
But anyway here was the end result on the dirtiest side.
After getting plenty of chemical burns from the oven cleaner. I decided it was time to pull the cam out. It was surprisingly easy, but make sure to take off the fuel pump first or you're gonna have a bad time.
After removing all of the weight I could, it was time to start making this engine pu'rdy. So it went back in the truck. It's always fun trying to wrestle a block into a truck without a hoist...but I saved a lot of money
And off to the self car wash it went! Just had to make sure and spend half of my time drying it off so it didn't decide to change colors on its own. After it was dry I sprayed it down heavily with white grease. I only ended up with a couple of spots of flash rust on the block, and I quickly took that off with some sandpaper.
The next morning I wheeled the paperweight back outside for the painting.
After wiping all of my white grease off and bolting some panels on the surfaces I didn't want to paint, I gave it a healthy coating of engine paint primer.
I think the gray looks quite nice, but I decided to see how I liked my original color choice before changing my mind. So out came the 500 degree paint.
Looks good to me! I'm not a fan of the one color engines people have started making by spraying everything once its together. It takes away the beauty I think. So my accessories will be silver or aluminum and i'll throw some black in there too.
After the paint dried. It was time to pull the pistons, which is also really easy. I needed some more power to get some of them broken free so I got out my handy-dandy $5 "breaker bar".
That made things easier since the block was so clean I was able to push the pistons out by hand once I got the journals to let go. And now...
TIME TO RERING!
I'm working on figuring out exhaust, suspension, and rear end issues. I want this thing to be driveable and enjoyable, not just a cheap swap. I think I've settled on a 700r4 transmission, that way I can wire a lot of what I have up to it. I have a 700 in the bird now, but as we all know: the 60 degree V6 tranny is not going to bolt to the 350.
Anyway my cost so far:
Engine $100
Engine Stand $60
Heavy Duty Drill Bits $20
Oven Cleaner and Engine Spray Paint $20
------------------------
Total $200
I also have the heads and cam up on Craigslist to hopefully earn some money back. I plan to start buying and junkyard diving for parts in the next week.
I love seeing these very low budget builds. It takes me back to a much happier and simple time when I was a teen just throwing something together that ran and made more power than stock. I kinda miss those days. Thank you for posting those pictures.
Good job man, you are making good progress on it. I must say though I think this is the 1st time I have seen one fully cleaned and painted before tearing it down.
We always used oven cleaner on the outside of full engine to get most of the real bad gunk off.. Then fully took it apart, removed all parts, then cleaned block and heads better, took the block, oil pan, heads, timing cover, etc to the car wash. Then once we got it back home bottle brush cleaned all holes, painted and lubed cylinder walls.
Quick question and tip maybe..
Did you mark the rods and main caps? If not re-sizing rod big ends, and aline honing mains then the rods and mains must go back in where they came out of.
I use a steel stamp set to mark rod beam and rod cap so they don't get mixed up, and to mark the main caps.
Thanks Night rider, and I did forget to mention that my connecting rods are all stamped 1-8 and my pistons have a letter corresponding to a letter on the block for their cylinder. I might mark my rod caps. But I stuck them back on the piston as soon as I got them out with the same nuts and everything.
Is it normal for this era of engine to be stamped like that? I didn't find anything in my research that tells me this is a stock thing. So this engine may have been rebuilt already, but every other sign tells me that it hasn't been. Weird.
No, marked rods and pistons are not stock. Marked mains was common stock on some (IIRC flint, MI. casted blocks), but never on the rods and piston. So yours has been apart at some time and at least freshened up with new bearings and rings.
Look at the backside of your rod/main bearings and see whats marked on them. Stock would have GM stamped on them with a number.
After market will have a part #, maybe brand name and bearing size, like STD, .001, .010, .020 etc.
Well, I've been too busy the last month to get anything physically done on this build.
Mostly that is because I ordered a Re-ring kit from summit and spent about three days measuring and learning how to set ring gap...and then I realized I had ordered non file rings.
After that mistake I didn't have enough time to actually put them on, even though it would have taken much less time than I budgeted.
The other thing keeping me from the engine swap is ironically, the firebird. I've found a few rust spots I wanted to kill before the swap, and after that I decided to repaint some peeling clear coat. Just as I had planned to actually finish the engine, the drivers side window motor decides to break.
Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, I'll get some work done this weekend, but I'm unsure if I'm that lucky.
It seems to be good quality for a decent price. And I got free shipping!
The only things I wont be using from it will be the oil pan gaskets as I have a nice mosoro gasket from an old rebuild.
An updated cost for anyone who cares:
Engine $100
Engine Stand $60
Heavy Duty Drill Bits $20
Oven Cleaner and Engine Spray Paint $20
Re-Ring and Rebuild kit $90
------------------------
Total $290
I haven't been able to sell any old parts to the engine, so they'll probably just get scrapped.
Spring Break was a great week for rebuilding. I've made a few changes to my plan, and now I feel I'm getting close to the end.
For starters, I got all 8 pistons re-ringed and back in the engine...which took way longer than I thought it would. Again, the low budget gave me a few interesting ideas for completing the job. Instead of spending anywhere from $20-$100 on ring compressors, I used a tool I already had sitting around - A 4 inch hose clamp!
Just needed to tighten that down a bit and give the top of the piston a few short whacks with a hammer. I only had problems when the bottom ring popped out.
After about two weekends of work on just the pistons, I finally got them all back in.
I ended up trading heads with a friend who had just swapped motors in his truck. Got a nice set of '88 TBI heads, which I will port myself next weekend. The color had to change.
My camshaft and timing gear set came in this week also, but due to time constraints I couldn't get them in. However I ended up looking like I had made a lot of progress.
Basically its all just sitting there, but it looks cool! One of the pros to using the TBI heads is I get to save a decent amount by reusing the intake and carb (also rebuilding that). I'm hoping that the TBI's down low torque will help with the power once ported and polished.
I've got many more pictures in my album that I wont post here, just to make the reading easier. But, if your looking for more, check it out.
Engine $100
Engine Stand $60
Heavy Duty Drill Bits $20
Oven Cleaner and Engine Spray Paint $20
Re-Ring and Rebuild kit $90
Camshaft kit $80 (summit $20 giftcard!)
Carb rebuild kit $20
TBI Heads $20
------------------------
Total $410
All that's left for the engine side of things is the ignition system...and that's easily going to be the most expensive part. After this I'm gonna start looking for a good 700r4.
What are you wanting for ign? Skip white has a new large cap HEI for around $60 IIRC. I have never used it but I know a few that have and they had great luck with it.
I was planning on using summit kit SUM-CSUM275
But, I'm not really sure why I decided I needed the ignition box..or anything in that kit. Thanks for the idea! Right now it looks like the Skip White HEI's are on sale for $40!
Does any one here use the summit headers SUM-G9005? I'm wondering how the fit is. From what I've researched, they'll work, but might require some tough love.
Also, I remember hearing that there are different oil pan sizes for trucks and cars with 350s. Will I run into problems with a typical 5 quart setup? From what I've read this is a problem with the LS1 swap not the 350, but I just want someone to confirm it.
Last edited by HikoriYami; 03-23-2015 at 09:43 PM.
No prob with any stock gen 1 oil pan as I know of. Heck I'm using a summit 7 qt kicked out sump pan on mine with no mods or fit problems at all.
Yeah no need in an ignition box or any of that 'junk'.. They are useless on mild engines. Don't get me wrong, they are great and work great if you need it.. You don't need it until you get into very big cams that don't idle worth a darn, runs pig rich at idle, or on boosted engines or nitrous engines that tend to blow the flame out.
A good HEI is fine to 6K rpm and around 450 HP or so N/A.
I can't say about the summit headers. Only ones I have used have been hooker shorty and hedman long tubes.
The Summit headers you linked are made by Flowtech, an entry-level brand owned by Holley. As usual, you get what you pay for. You'll have to fabricate a connection to the rest of the exhaust, as they don't connect to the factory Y-pipe (I don't know any aftermarket headers that do).
Hooker and Hedman are generally considered to be higher quality. But, of course, they will cost more, and will still require fabrication to connect to the rest of the exhaust.
Well, Flowtech does have a Y-pipe available for those headers in a 3rd gen. It has a 2-1/2" outlet, generally considered small for a V8, especially a 350. But, it'll be better than stock manifolds and Y-pipe. A bit over $300 for headers and Y-pipe.
And Hooker makes a really nice set of headers/Y-pipe, the 2055HKR. The Y-pipe outlet is 3", much better. Quality costs, though, over $500.
I picked up a 700r4 from a 85 TA for $75.
Got the cam, oil pump, oil pan, timing cover, balancer, and main pulley all installed last weekend.
After cleaning and painting the intake, I decided to go with a stage II summit intake instead of the stock one. It looks like it wont flow that well, and as I'm already using TBI heads, I'm gonna need some flow.
This weekend I'm taking the 'Bird home to begin her operation. I'm close enough to having the engine done that the only thing holding me back right now is paychecks. So I might as well get started by preparing the car for transplant.
Last edited by HikoriYami; 04-22-2015 at 12:32 PM.
Coming together nicely!! I love budget builds, I actually jerked the 305 out of my car today and have a 350 I scored for $150 I plan to freshen up and drop in. Subscribed!
I spent all weekend working on the heads and preparing the firebird.
I went with the springs Nightrider suggested and they fit perfectly.
It's easy to feel the difference in spring pressure and size, the stock ones were pretty worn out.
I used the socket and large hammer method to remove the old springs after my
spring compressor failed to break the retainers free. Only really needed the
compressor for putting the new ones in.
I did work a bit on the insides of the intake valves. This was my first try at anything close to porting,
so I decided just to smooth the edges of the swirl.
New valve springs, cleaned retainers, new valve stems and they're now bolted to the engine.
After nearly five months of weekend work, I'm back into what I consider normal mechanic work.
This is the first project that I've torn down this far, so we will see how effective it is.
A few weeks ago I got the chance to go to a local junkyard that had an IROC (I think) sitting on stands.
My first thought was to take the front sway bar
I would have grabbed the rear too, but it was supported on part of back axle and I didn't want to get under that.
This one is definitely bigger than the one on my bird, and its not hollow like mine.
I'll paint it up nice and purdy and bolt it in while the engine is out.
Well, I've been super busy the last few months. I've graduated college (2 year, gotta go to state this fall), I got engaged, and I set the engine on the new mounts last weekend.
I'll get a wright up going at some point but this weekend im gonna bolt the carb on and try to fire it.
Last edited by HikoriYami; 08-11-2015 at 02:16 PM.
I got that carb bolted on and she fired right up! I squealed like a little girl when it kicked over.
After eight months of work, this new engine starts and runs when I turn the key!
I still have not driven it, because I've found a few little things that I need to fix. My transmission lines didn't line up at all,
so a bought some braided ones and bolted them on. The starter has been weird and I finally tracked it down to the starter enable wire with a cut in it.
I'll get to wiring the alternator and the power steering up.
It looks like I might have some hood clearance with the summit intake and carb...but I haven't tested with the air cleaner yet.
Now that I've got time to update. I'll go through my process of pulling the old engine and tranny.
First I took the hood off for better access.
Pulled the radiator and the serpentine belt along with the alternator. And then I found all kinds of junk packed in below the rad... I cleaned that out.
After that I started pulling all the wiring harnesses off...WAY more than I ever thought were on that engine. The battery cables came off at this point and the battery was taken out.
Then we started on the nightmare that was the exhaust. Five out of the six bolts on the manifold-Y pipe flange came out without even a breaker bar. But that last one bent the entire bolt when I tried to pull it. I ended up employing my little brother to sit there with a hacksaw for an hour.
After that we pulled the AC along with the fuel lines and disconnected the drive shaft.
I used some climbing hooks to grab onto the engine lifting brackets. Once we removed the weight of the engine just slightly, I rolled under in the creeper and had my brothers grab one side of the engine mount while I held the other and we spun them free.
Next thing I know, the engine that driven me over forty thousand miles is slowly rising out of the bay.
It was very difficult to get it out that last few inches, we ended up dropping one side of the car and raising the other.
After that it became a cleaning game. Similar to the engine, I covered the K-member in oven cleaner and walked away. I came back two hours later with a hose and it was pretty much clean.
Then we lifted the 350 up off the stand and started bolting the flywheel and starter along with other difficult accessories.
After that it was time to bolt the transmission onto the engine.
I did swap the tailshaft of my tranny in the bird to the new one so I could keep my speedometer.
I don't have any pictures of it actually going in because the jack on my hoist decided to break... I could not lift it up any higher, but I could drop it.
Thanks for all the support guys, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter now!
My headers came in, I decided to go with summit headers and dual 2.5 inch exhaust that will dump in front of the rear axle.
It wasn't too bad going in on the drivers side, all the spark plugs had to come out and I had to pull the valve cover. But, on the passenger side it just would not go by the transmission. I ended up chopping off the part of the trans that mounts the dust cover...It was odd but it was the easiest way to make it fit.
Now that I don't have the ridiculous upside down truck manifolds on my engine (I might not have mentioned that) I started routing the plug wires permanently..with zip ties.
After getting the engine all hooked up properly, I wanted to tune the engine and make sure everything was perfect. I made adjustments to the quadrajet and distributor as well as all my vacuum lines and wires. All good.
After the engine bay was ready I started it up and tried to throw it into gear....Nothing moved. The gear lever released and went into reverse, but my rear wheels remained surprisingly stationary.
I took a break before I broke something.
That night the answer came to me in a dream...I put the freaking transmission shift bracket upside down.
I crawled under the car at some ridiculous hour and sure enough, the shift cable is sitting at an awkward 45 degree angle. After a few minutes of wrenching I had the bracket flipped the right way around.
I dropped the car on the ground and this time when I put the lever in reverse, the garage receded from my view and I found myself headed for the highway.
After switching into drive I drove around the block once, as is tradition in my family once you have finished a major project. And on the last corner back to my house, I mashed the loud pedal, and this hunk of metal I built with my own hands did not disappoint as it pulled hard to 40mph before slowed down again.
Only thing I need to sort out now is why it didn't shift. Thanks Thirdgen, I'll be back soon!
Engine $100
Engine Stand $60
Heavy Duty Drill Bits $20
Oven Cleaner and Engine Spray Paint $20
Re-Ring and Rebuild kit $90
Camshaft kit $80 (summit $20 giftcard!)
Carb rebuild kit $20
TBI Heads $20
Fuel Pump 45
Intake 130
Distributor 90
misc Bolts 20
Air Cleaner 30
Headers 147
2 mufflers 40
Exhaust Pipes/bends 100
------------------------
Total $1012*
*Include extra for random things I may have forgotten, but that's the major purchases
Last edited by HikoriYami; 09-17-2015 at 06:12 PM.
Well, After three weeks of playing with the trans...I'm out of ideas.
My next guess is to drop the valve body and make sure all valves are moving freely.
The governor is fine and I even swapped it with a known good one out of another tranny.
Is there anything I should be looking for with the trans? The TV is set correctly, the trans has fluid. I don't know.
I created a topic n the drive train section but I don't think that board get frequented as much as this one so ill post over here to.
I may just take her over to the local tranny shop and have them fix it...whatever "it" is.
01-07-2015, 02:01 PM
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