88 K5 350 Rebuild

[shaneneely]

I've got a 1988 K5 that my dad had since I was a kid. He passed away and I'm in the process of rebuilding it. Everything's original and in fairly good shape. I pulled the 350 out and threw a 305 in it for now. I've never built an engine before, only 21 and starting out in the automotive industry. I'm looking for some ideas and maybe a parts list of a complete rebuild for that motor. I want to keep it as close to original as possible.

 

[blazerz]

how many miles were on the old 350....and what was wrong with it when you pulled it out....if not many miles go with new rings bearings ,gaskets and heads freshened up.....just hone the cylinders and reuse the pistons.....

 

[76zimmer]

a couple questions:

1) what is your use for the truck going to be....i.e. towing, camping, offroading, mud, sand, tire size, gears, trans....etc.
2) how extensive do you want to get with the rebuild, machine work, new pistons, crank, headwork etc. Much of that will be dictated by the teardown and measuring clearances of the old parts.
3) what experience do you have now, are you capable of doing a complete rebuild, have the tools, knowledge, space, etc.

Good luck, plenty of help and experiences here to get you through this!

 

[shaneneely]

Im not really sure how many miles were on it. 3-400k? It was his daily driver for years since the mid 90's. Im not actually sure what was wrong with it...he said it was pretty worn out. And we never got to look into it so it sat for about 3 years. And to answer those questions, I just want to keep the truck all original. Beef it up a little bit but nothing crazy. I will be taking it offroading and camping, to the beach. He always said these K5's were perfect for that stuff off the line. So not a crazy rebuild. Ive got enough experience to do it and theres nothing I cant learn along the way. I have more tools than I know what to do with.

 

[blazerz]

with those miles you will for sure be boring out the cylinders and buying pistons......if you do the assembly yourself it still won't be that much...plus you will learn alot and know exactly what you have....