So making it official I am making this my one v8 progress thread, I will possibly post questions about the conversion elswhere, but my progress will go here.
Anyways, the story..
Knowing that I needed a new engine, I searched for some conversions, finding a few, then falling through, I ask about a v8 conversion, two guys here generously said that they will help and sell me some of their stuff. Together I will be able to make a nice conversion on a very limited budget. Here I will take the time to thanks Scott K and Steve H for what they have done and what they will do.

Anyways with that, I then went to pick and pull and found a 305 engine from some later car. We look all around and cant find an engine number.. Hey, its a v8, we need to pull something, Lets just do it (im very glad I said that..)
We then get the engine home and I plop off the valve covers and find that it has 350 heads(via the number), hmm.. Interesting... So I go and find the block number look it up. Sure enough, its a 350 block. Well thats not enough for me, I take it apart check the bore, theck the stroke, Yuppers 4in bore, something or other stroke, Yup its definately a 350! Whats not known is why it was in a 305 car.. So checking the pistons dad says there high compression, I wouldnt know any better.
So then talking about radiators, Mike Mueller kindly offers me his (very large) aluminum radiator for cheep. I take him up on his offer and drive to his house to see his garage packed with neet toys! Thanks mike for the walk through! We enjoyed it!
So we go home, and later in the week(yesterday) I start taking off the pistons, I get one off and clean it, trying to find an overbore number.. Cant fine one Check the bearings, they have .0005 on them. No clue what that means...
Anyways, while taking out the rest of the pistons dad stares at something for a second, laughs, and shows me that it is a 4 bolt main. So, now where very curious to why it was in a regular family car.. 84 or such.

Anyways, enough with the gabber, heres my list of pics..

newish alternator

block

Bearing wear, lifter dirt

Anyone decifer this? front of block.. inside

cam.. anyone have coments on it?

carb.. after the engine rolled over on it.. (Ya lets put the engine on the hooser tire!! That'll hold it!)

crank wear.. gona have to overbore or whatever they call it.. to the crank at least.

Cylander wear.. Not bad

Oh ya.. 1500th post.. I feel like a whore...

Stock exhaust, I think I'll use it for now. Give me a little more room to play with.

Newish fuel pump. I think I'll use it! Get rid of some electrical...

Head...

Gota lap the heads or get a valve job (tehehe)

heads and intake manifold

Dirty piston

Anyone want me to detail their car?

Clean piston

there so many of them!

Good luck Andrew. Looks like you just accounted for your spare time for a while.

Sexy aint it!

radiator with 944 twin fans.. I think the'll work fine

Its interesting.. I like the texture of where the rust was better than the pure chrome!!

Too bad it takes like 20 years to make that kind of texture...

And finally valves!

whew.. Sorry andy/brad, admin team... Oh heck its only 2megs..

Thanks drew

Andrew

It appears to be a GM code .

Nice find! Keep the pics coming!

The next series of pics I could post would be my flare progress.. but im not gona do that yet...

Andrew

Here is a site for all of your chevy numbers. http://www.mortec.com

Andrew you will probably have to use an elecrtic pump depending on how you mount the alternator and water pump. BTW very nice find on the engine. And if you do use a electric pump put it up front.

Ok, First off, the pistons are standard GM pistons, the cross hatching on the cylinders tells me it has been bored at least once, but not worn much since, the black on teh camshaft tells me that it doesnt have that many miles on it40 to 50k, the block is for sure a factory 4 bolt main block so it is a 350, the numbers you were referring to mean the engine was made in 4 of 83, what year car did you say it was in? If you give me the number stamped on the front pad on the block in front of the head and behind the alternator, I can tell you what the engine was originally installed in and with what options ie: HP rating, transmission, with or without A/C and so on. Also give me the casting number off the head and I can see what that is also. If they are 305 heads, you got lucky, they have the smaller chambers for higher compression, mine are 55cc, stock they run 58cc. Mine have been modified with larger valves which made the chambers smaller. Anything I can do to help you get it up ad going, let me know.

Scott

Oh BTW, I worked for Chevrolet back in the 70's as an automatic transmission line mechanic.

Here is the fuel pump I am going to install. It was graciously donated by a club member. You cant run the stock fuel pump with the water pump or alternator mounted the way Renegade does.

I cant run the stock alternator the way its mounted from the factory, alrighty thats peachy with me.. Why cant I run the stock fuel pump? Its so perfect... (whine)


Scott..
The engine was in a 84 caprice... no clue why.
Engine number.. ok C5F368754 VO219TJH

Heads
333882.....74-80...350/400......76cc chambers

Engine block
3970010....302.....69....4...Z-28 Camaro
3970010....327.....69....2...Trucks and industrial
3970010....350...69-80...2 or 4

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...70&st=40&hl=350

Need anything else? I'd like to know what the numbers are for it..


Andrew

Andyrew,

Tell us how you are mounting the water pump and the alternator, then we can tell you why or why not you can run a stock fuel pump.

I dont know how im mounting it. However Scott and Steve have the parts for me to mount it is how im going to mount it.

Also known as 'Patina'

I will find out today what those numbers mean and post them for you. The mounts I am sending you mount it off to the side both the alternator and the water pump, it will block where the fuel pump mounts. Trust me, I tried everything to make it not and there is just no way.

Good luck with your project.

If you have to go with a different crank might step up to a 400 crank and build a 383. Or step down to a 327 crank. I might be able to hook you up with a set of TRW Forged 11.0:1 327 pistons for pennies. Replace the cam with something with a little more hit. Call up Summit and snag a cam with some balls and really scare the neighbors.

With a little time and a little extra money you can really make a sweet motor. Might try and find a set of aluminum heads on ebay or at a local machine shop for cheap too.

Scott, I assume you are aware that the fuel pump you have will be loud as hell? We ran a few of those on race cars and they are noisy. You may have to fab some sort of isolator to cut the noise. When my Holley blue was mounted in the trunk I could hear the pump over then engine at idle.

Progress pics from yesterday.
Got the engine completely appart, took out the lifters (that was a serious job... they where in dere good)

Anyways, enough with the talk, heres the action.

crank

Out of curiosity, is this timing chain stock?

Lifter w/o cleaning, Look at the wear, Can I still use these?

Mental note for myself, The rip on the left is the back of the engine. the right is the front of the engine.

Got scotts parts today

Funny, the UPS guy comes out and has a clamp in his hand, asks if it goes with our stuff, Dad notices that its a clamp, says maybe, but tells him he can keep it.

Scott, I got everything you listed in the box.
I will list them, and if anything is missing, let me know and I'll call ups. The box was pretty ratty when I got it, but the parts where fine. Im sure the guys moving the box figured it was like 10 lbs, but then lifted it and it was Woops 50...
Lol, Everything looks good though, I'll get some pics.

Thanks Scott!

Andrew

(now Steve... OUT of curiosity, how far are you? I still have to rebuild my engine, so I have a while..)

Ok, here a pic of the parts I got from scott. I will get another (amost complete) batch of parts from Steve.

Scott, let me know if there is any major parts missing here, a couple of clamps I dont care about.

Also Scott, did you find out any details about that engine?

Thanks

Andrew

No the rip is on the front of the engine and the other end is ???
CCLINICOULDHAVEHAD A V8

Glad they arrived and it looks like its all there, I asked them at the counter if I should put more tape on it and they said no, it will be fine, the box was nice when it left here, its the box for my subwoofer. Anyway, it looks like all the stuff is there, The engine numbers you gave me match the car you mentioned, it is a 350/4 barrel, with A/C and an automatic transmission out of a full size sedan. So that was a numbers matching car. As for your timing chain, yes, that is a stock double roller and no, I would not reuse the lifters. I would replace them with the cam you buy. If you want a good cam and lifter set without spending a lot on a HP grind and name, pick up a melling Z28 cam and lifters, you could probably get them for about $80.00 and get nice performance out of it. Otherwise, go for the Rod Simpson cam or ask Renegade what they use and run one of those. The idea is to get one that puts the torque in the upper RPM range. The clamps I sent are the ones I used to run the hoses down under the car. If you bend the lip on the one side out, you can go across the hose and screw it right into the floor. I have more of these if you need them. I just grabbed a handful and threw them in there so you could see.

Whatever you do, unless you want to spend lots on a 930 or G50 trans, do not use a 400 crank and build a 383, that would put out way too much torque and you would rip your trans apart the first run. I built a few of those engines and the cheap one I built put out over 450 pounds of torque. The roller one I built made 535 pound of torque with 475 HP. I may build one for mine later after I aquire a transmission that will handle it. That is what the 350 in my garage is for. But that is later on. Aluminum heads would be a plus as they are a lot lighter, but you are trying to do this on a budget, I would stick with a set of 305 heads with the smaller chambers and get larger valves installed or just use the heads you have and get used to the V8 performance first.

As for the fuel pump, I had heard they were a bit loud, I was thinking of using the stock 914 fuel pump mounts is I can find another one and using them, they are about 1.25 inches of solid rubber that I can bolt to the body and then mount the pump to that. Hopefully that will quiet it down a little.

I know the 383 is a great torque monster. You are righht he would probably splatter the tranny at the drop of a clutch.

AS far as the fuel pump they may help alot but it will still suprise you when you hear it. It literally resonates through the body.

My stock pump is pretty loud, and the carb one I had was even louder...

Up in the front trunk it should be better... I have the stock rubber mounts, but there like 1/2 an in.. Hopefully they'll work fine. Anyways...

Do I need a special fuel pump? Or will anything work?

Im watching ebay and there alot on there..

Like this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...7910747475&rd=1

Would that one work?

I just droped off the engine and everything off at an engine shop. They'll be hot tanking everything, boring the block, and getting me a new crank, and a master engine kit. Total for this is $620. I'll put it together. Where did I get the money? Well my 4 cylander is going to be gone (probably) monday, and I'll have just enough money to pay for this, and a box of root beer.

Im going to call Comp cams today and see what they recommend me as far as a cam goes.

Andrew

Hey Andrew, you can use the fuel pump you used with your carbs before, it should put out about 3 or 4 PSI which is all you need for your car. As for the master rebuild kit, they should let you pick which cam you want, see if they do, then just pick one that puts the torque in the upper RPM range.

Scott, I aint usin that fuel pump.... Ok, maybe to get it running, but I dont want to use that thing. From what I've heard it does not work very well. It would be terrible for a v8, but im sure its fine for a 4.. Heck it even says its for a vw on it...

Scott, yes they are letting me pick my cam, but they dont really make a cam that would tailor to my needs... Good fuel economy, low idle, high reving, mid range torque, continues to make power at top end. ect..

The cam that Compcams recomended me was like a race cam. pulls to 7k, max tq at 4.2k, All sounded good, but it looks like a race cam..

Gross Valve Lift 0.519 0.523
Duration At 0.006 Tappet Lift 294 306

Anyways, Scott what are the specs of the cam that you have?

Andrew

Andyrew.

Well, first of all you are moving right along. Alas, the energy of youth. I really like what you are doing and how you are approaching the project. Keep the effort going. Get either the car done with all the configuration, or start building the engine and concentrate on that. You car will come together pretty much as we unfold the equipment to you.

The water pump is a reverse engine mounted with all the hoses and attachments to shorten the front part of the engine so it can fit into the 914 cavity. You may decide to use the electric water pump later but this could require modification to the engine harness around the switch area (addint relays and separating the load capacities away from the ignition switch.) This will probably have to be done to handle the fan load since they will be electric and probably have manual/ auto controls.

Time Frame: I have pulled the front suspension and delivered the promised goods to Brad; the 911 front suspension is being placed under the car as we speak. Next on the project is to pull the radiator and plumbing system so it can be delivered to you; the engine will follow including separating the parts into what goes to to you. I will be on the car this weekend for a day and half, then on to the engine. I am looking to get the entire radiator and plumbing out this weekend, and have made some progress on the engine removal. I will give you a reading later on the engine removal and delivery details.

We are currently finishing up the remod of the house and traveling between here and Flagstaff. The one thing I will promise is that you should get them in a timely manner.

Document your car build with pictures, running journal entries, and this thread. It will bring joy to you in later years. I really mean when you are eighteen or nineteen. Ah, enjoy the process and build it the best you can. You will make mistakes, but from what I have seen from the comments on this thread you have a lot of positive assistance

So much for now.

Steve Hurt

Scott, Steve and all,
I really appreciate all the help, advice, and great deals on the parts for Andrew.

We're both learning a bunch along the way. It's been many years since I rebuilt my last small block Chevy. So I'm learning a few things over again.

http://www.compcams.com/Technical/CurrentC...TML/128-169.asp

The Comp Cams person Andrew talked to recommended the 7th cam on the 2nd page (pg 130). Extreem Energy. It's easy to spot because the RPM range is 2800-7000. It's much too radical in my opinion.

The machine shop person recommended one closer to the 3rd one down on the same page 1300 to 5800rpm. I'm leaning toward this one unless it still has too much torque down low.

The rest of the engine will be very mild. 350ci 9 to 1 pistons, stock heads, alum dual plane manifold with stock q-jet carb (for now).
So is this cam too much for this mild engine?