Only 1 Cylinder Sleeve on .030 over 350 4-bolt?

[conquest]

Quick question for you engine guys out there...

My dad's looking at '68-'72 Chevelles and he's come accross a 1972 Chevelle that's got a 1972 4-bolt 350 bored .030 over. The question he has is that the car only has one cylinder that's had a sleeve put in it...Cylinder #5. Why would this be?

Is that normal procedure when boring out a motor?

It just doesn't seem right. According to the owners, the motor's been in the machine shop 3 times in the past 3 years. Recently, the heads were taken to the shop because the valve guides were wore out. The guy told my dad the reason the valve guides got wore out was because the motor got hot.

Have any of you guys heard of only inserting one sleeve into a bored out 350 Cast Iron Block motor?

Should he stay away from this motor?

What do you guys think? Really curious about this cylinder sleeve business...

Thanks,

Mike

 

[southernspeed]

Sometimes the core shifts when they cast the blocks, so when you rebore you can cut into the water jacket. If this is the case I'd stay clear of it as the other cylinders will almost certainly be very thin too. If the other walls are thick then someone has screwed up that cylinder, either when boring it or during running in and had to resleeve so they could bore that pot to +030" again.
If it's 'cause they screwed up then that's not so bad as long as the liner was installed correctly. But seeing as they're not the rarest of engines I'd give it a miss and find another. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[big83chevy4x4]

that is normal when some one has some money into a block and its cheaper to to that. most of the time is a messed up cyclinder, wether it be bored to big, scored severly, ive even heard of a sand pocket being found while boring it. (ford 2.3)

there is nothing wrong with it as long as it was installed correctly.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

#1 Welcome to CK5
#2 Please fill out your profile so others know where you're located
#3 I wouldn't run a Chevy with a sleeve because there's too many more motors out there to mess with that one
#4 If you're local and you need a block I've got one I'd let go cheap.

 

[dyeager535]

If the block was sleeved, on a vehicle like that, it MIGHT be because it is the original block. In most vehicles, for collectors, original engine is a big plus.

With 350's being so cheap and plentiful, sleeving a block isn't typically done "just because".

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

I'd imagine collectors would want a 1972 Chevelle with a 454. Keeping your car a small block in the sense of originality doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[dyeager535]

You aren't the previous owner, so what makes sense to you means nothing.

 

[POWERMAD]

[ QUOTE ]
If the block was sleeved, on a vehicle like that, it MIGHT be because it is the original block. In most vehicles, for collectors, original engine is a big plus.


[/ QUOTE ]
That right there is why.
There are collectors that are so anal that they have it down to the over spray on the intake.
Granted those are on 69 models and such with less than 10K on the clock.
But at .060 over and sleeved that is the last time that plant will be rebuilt.
And another thing to think about. if the plant has been rebuilt at least twice at an average of 150K miles a pop that rig has what 250- 300K miles on it.
A Classic to be sure but not special enough to drop the coin to sleeve a small block. /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif

 

[conquest]

Hey thanks for the replies fellas...

Talked with my dad last night and he decided to pass on the car.

He even got to drive it after it was all put back together...He said he could tell the motor has seen it's better days...Someones run the dog piss out of it and he said he wasn't too impressed with it...He said it was a pretty car but that's about it.

He thinks in order to get the kind of power he's looking for he's gonna have to find one with a big block 396, 454 or maybe a 383 Stroker.

Plus he was a little leary about it being taken to the machine shop 3 times in 3 yrs.

Thanks for all your guys' replies...Definitely made dad and I both a little smarter about boring out engines and sleeving /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Take care,

-Michael