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Salvaged fresh from the trees, now what?

Would a 74 350 really have TTY bolts? I'm not going to rule it out but I doubt it. Maybe what ever kit I buy will come with bolts. I'll keep mine just in case.

As for the heads, I'm hoping to get the SD heads but $800 for the pair is going to be a bit steap. I'll see if I can't find a more affordable option even if they are lower in performance.
 
Derp. Was forgetting the vintage. Sorry.

I'd still spring for new headbolts. Even a set of ARP's wouldn't be horribly expensive considering the peace of mind.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
Derp. Was forgetting the vintage. Sorry.

I'd still spring for new headbolts. Even a set of ARP's wouldn't be horribly expensive considering the peace of mind.
Click to expand...

I'll second that! I would also pick up a ARP accessory bolt kit, aka blue box o bolts. It has everything for the intake, front cover and accessories, and oil pan.:waytogo:
 
brockmub said:
Would a 74 350 really have TTY bolts? I'm not going to rule it out but I doubt it. Maybe what ever kit I buy will come with bolts. I'll keep mine just in case.

As for the heads, I'm hoping to get the SD heads but $800 for the pair is going to be a bit steap. I'll see if I can't find a more affordable option even if they are lower in performance.
Click to expand...

Heads are where you will make the most power. Period. Those Scoggin Dickey packages also come with all the other necessary stuff for the swap, including an intake manifold, so you have to add that into the price equation.

Martin
 
Here are a few more photos. This is the head casting number 333882 - Pretty much what I expected since it was a smog era truck and the motor looked completely stock otherwise.

IMG_2972.JPG


I was hoping this to be true but pulling the pan confirmed it.

IMG_2973.JPG


This is a 4 bolt block and most everything else looks to be in good shape. I'll try and find a numbered punch set to number the caps, rods, and mains. Any tips on this last bit of disassembly before I clean it and send it to the machine shop? Do the dipstick tube and the head pegs come out easily and get reused or are they things I should replace anyway?
 
The heads were cast on June 23rd 1974. 882's are very common castings. Leave the pegs in the deck. If the machine shop determines that it needs decked, they will remove and reinstall them for you. The dipstick tubes usually come out pretty easily.

Martin
 
Yikes... I didn't realize how bad that crank looked. The flash made that superficial oil stain look like the crank is scorched. Hopefully it will clean up.

Thanks for the information about the heads. Pretty common, I know. Probably heading to the scrap dealer along with the exhaust manifold, intake manifold, and the bags of random sized bolts that held the oil pan on. Turns out when the high school kids put the new pan gasket on, they didn't know where all the bolts went. There was even a 12mm lawn mower bolt on one corner!

Yeah... I don't think it was as good a deal as I had first thought.
 
The machine shop might want those heads. The bolts I would throw into an old coffee can or bucket, and set in the corner. You have no idea how handy old random hardware can be at times.

Martin
 
82355 said:
The machine shop might want those heads. The bolts I would throw into an old coffee can or bucket, and set in the corner. You have no idea how handy old random hardware can be at times.

Martin
Click to expand...
Yep. I have a drawer full of bolts/nuts/hardware/random **** in my grandfather's old tool box that has saved my ass countless times.
 
OK, I will check with the machine shop about the heads. I'll also end up keeping the random bolts from the disassembly because I can use them somewhere, I'm sure. For example one of the flexplate bolts fits perfectly into the crankshaft to turn it to remove the pistons. In the shop at the farm, there is a very large shelf with what looks like wooden cheese box drawers. It holds well over 50 years of nuts, bolts, washers, and rivets. You can't just run to the local dealer every time you shear off a bolt when you are out there.

Just had a little bit of time this weekend to continue disassembly. Numbered the rods and caps, then removed pistons 1 and 2. I'm worried that I had to apply a little too much force to get them past the carbon ridge on the cylinder walls. Should I have gotten a ridge reamer to try and remove that carbon or am I ok with tapping the pistons past it?
 
How much were the heads from scoggin dicky? Did they come with upgraded springs and everything? That's something to think about because that's an extra 30 or so there for springs. And it sounds like they are stock so you would need the guides machined for the extra lift. Just remember I got mine for under 500 with upgraded springs machined guides and a valve job. Would have been even cheaper if I didn't have to buy the retainers and locks cause the dumbass I bought them from assembled them with older sbc parts.

Wouldn't hurt to call and find out more about them or see if they are even still there. That's been my luck lately. Call and it's
Already gone.

Good luck
Kyle

brockmub said:
Just found some Vortecs on CL this morning.

http://sd.craigslist.org/pts/2336062255.html

Should I follow up on those?
Click to expand...
 
For $500, it really isn't much better of a deal than the Scoggin Dickeys. You HAVE to buy a new intake to go with those heads.

Martin
 
Well guess what happened... life. The Jeep needed a $500 fuel pump/regulator job and the Honda needed a $350 exhaust replacement. If that doesn't take the wind out of your sails, I don't know what will. Oh yeah, my laptop died, geez I sound like a country song. There will be little funds left in the Automotive part of the budget for OLRUSTY.

So the block was neglected for a week or so because it was difficult to get the crankshaft out and the lifters. Every shop book said the cam would pull right out the front and the lifters would drop out of the block when it was turned over. There must have been a lot of buildup on the cam because it took a lot to get it past each bearing. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I used my breaker bar with an extension to tap out the lifters. Shouldn't be a problem since the lifters will be replaced and I didn't strike the block anywhere.

Question is, how clean do I need to make this block before it goes to the machine shop.

IMG_3025.JPG


IMG_3024.JPG


Also what's the machine shop check list?

*Flux the block and hot tank
*Check pistons, flexplate, and crank
*Have them install the frost plugs and bearings
 
dont forget to have them pull the oil galley plugs and clean out the sludge. Also remove casting flash in the oil ports and drains.
 
The Block is Back!

Oh man... it's been a while but my vacation is over and I'm wrapping up some summer classes. So now I have time to work on the motor and post some updates. The guys at the shop have been great, giving me the time and parts I needed. I will post what it cost me to have my 350 block machined so hopefully others can get a rough estimate what it will cost for them. Keep in mind, this is rural South Dakota, so some things might be more or less expensive than where you live.

IMG_3228.JPG


Boil Block - $50
Bore Block - $15.50 per cyl - $124
Install Cam Bearings - $28
Install Soft Plugs - $1.50 per - $12
Assemble and Dis Press Fittings - $6.50 per - $52
Resize and Check Rods - $9.90 per - $79.20
Grind Block - $85
Balance Block - $175
Mill and Clean Deck - $79
Line Bore - $121
3% EPA Charge - $24.16
Engine Kit with Comp Cam - $476.04

Total $1305.40

I'm sure there are things that I didn't need to do or could have done differently but I explained my situation to the shop and they took care of it. I had planned on getting the engine kit and cam myself and probably could have saved some money there. I also had wanted to do it to try and spread the costs out over time but again the shop just took care of it.

IMG_3230.JPG


The Comp cam specs are
ADV Dur: 256 int and 268 exh
Dur @ .050: 212 int and 218 exh
Valve Lift: .447 int and .454 exh

Next step is to paint up the block, what do you think of black instead of chevy orange?

IMG_3229.JPG


Also check out my "new" 1937 Buick hard luggage a neighbor gave me. You can see a big grey/green box sitting next to the block. Maybe that should be how I practice painting.
 
I vote for chevy orange and not just because im a chevy guy. Think about how easy it would be to find leaks if you had a bright orange block. Now think about how hard it would be if you had a black block. Unless you want the black for Aesthetic reasons the orange is much more functional color to use. Also not sure how much this matters but darker colors absorb heat,Brighter colors reflect heat IIRC. I doubt it would really make any noticeable difference but i just wanted to throw it out there.
 
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