My engine

[RailRiderHD]

Ok guys, as posted in the intro section i just recently bought a 1982 Chevy K20.. it's a 350, manual tranny, well i bought it no problems, ran great at the guys house, ran great on test drive, ran great for 40 miles into my trip. (mind you he tells me it is a fresh rebuild)...then the dreaded knock began. Well I got it trailered home and finally tore into it this week, we got the motor pulled and tore down to the block, first we found a cylinder with a broken compression ring, next cylinder had a broken piston and the last cylinder had a bad rod bearing, got it all torn down and I believe the block is ok, atleast will need honed maybe bored but as far as i can tell the motor has never been rebuilt. From researching the numbers on the block i came up with the fact it is an 87-95 TBI 350, 2 bolt main out of an HD pickup. I am planning on sending it to the machine shop this week and then rebuilding it on my own. This is my first rebuild and honestly the first time i've torn down a motor, i am a former body man so that is where most of my knowledge lies. I guess my question is should i stick with the motor i have or try and go to a different motor. this is assuming my block is good.

 

[nxtlevl]

If the block is good, I'd rebuild what you have....IMO. If the block needs too much work, just get a nice crate motor shipped to your door........

 

[Irishman999]

I would keep it and rebuild it. You will have the peace of mind of knowing everything is right inside.

I've helped build a couple motors with my dad and built one on my own, I would go pick up a book from Barnes and Noble or a book store like that. They have a ton of books that will explain how to rebuild your small block, its really good to read up on that stuff.

If it was a rebuild they probably broke the ring trying to install slide the piston. You have to be very carefull sliding the piston down the sleeve or the ring might hang up and snap.

The bad rod bearing could have been bad clearance in the bearings. They could have just thrown it all together without checking it with the crush guage.

 

[HotRodPC]

Yep, I'd agree. Price out your kits and machine work. Crate Motor might be the way to go. Sorry to hear that dishonest hell though. But hey, you got a good truck. I've been wanting a 3/4 ton fo buh fo and a gear shifter truck. And 82 won't have alot of the crap the later 80's have either. Good Truck just a bad motor. Maybe even look around for a good used recently rebuilt motor, but then again, can you trust the guy? Sorry to hear that man. I hate dishonest liars. IF the guy truely had no idea, then OK I can tolerate it, but I'd sure be calling him a *******, so either way his credibility is crap. HE is either a liar and a thief IMO or a *******. And of the 2, I'd rather be a *******. But welcome to GMSB, we'll all help anyway we can.

 

[Old77]

Price how much it'll cost to rebuild it how you want it man! I put a GM crate motor in mine and it was less than $4k shipped to my door with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty and was mostly 'plug and play' with just some tuning to the carb needed and slight timing changes with the dist cap. It was really easy, came with the chrome assec, and puts out tons of power! Well worth the money and when I priced out a rebuild the cost was almost the same if not slightly cheaper to go with the crate motor

 

[89Suburban]

Throw up some pics of that baby. Welcome to the site, these guys know thier stuff!

 

[crazy4offroad]

If you dont already have the specialty tools it takes to rebuild, you might be better off letting the machine shop do the short block for you. Snap gauges, caliper micrometers, torque wrenches, ring compressor, etc can add up quick. Their turn around (if it's a good shop) helps things along too. I dont want to discourage anyone from learning how to rebuild an engine, it's alot of fun to have something you put together come to life. But unless you got a friend/family member who has alot of the tools it might work out better to only have to worry about cam selection and the top end.

 

[Irishman999]

Thats a good point offroad. At the same time, owning a torque wrench is an awesome idea. Its always good to have one of those around. Im different in the sense I like buying tools and holding onto them for later because there is no better feeling than already having that tool you need. I see specialty tools on craigslist ever so often for good prices.

 

[HotRodPC]

I built my first motor all on my own with no help, but I did study a couple books by HPbooks and asked questions of a few guys I know knew what was up. But I do agree, its much better to walk along on your first one with help. Things like how to use plastiguage make a huge differance. Also, noone will tell you to get your rods worked over. It'll cost another $100 or so, but worth it, if for nothing else, just insurance. Also be sure to get your rotating assemblly balanced. On the rods, you will have then hot tanked, magnafluxed, shot peened, checked for twist, and the big end resized. You'd be suprised how many motors get built with a slight twist in 1 rod that is not caught by someone and disaster happens, or very short lived motor. Also, 1 rod being out of round at the big end can cause low mileage grief too. If you're gonna do it, do it right. Balance it and have the rod resized. Alot of shade tree builders don't do it, and they pay later.

 

[Old77]

^^good advice. It would definitely be a good experience and may make it worth it just for that! I've thought about getting an old 350 and rebuilding it just to get the experience and decide what to do with it once it's built

 

[Irishman999]

You have the block already, here is a link to rotating assemblies starting at 600 bucks. There is a ton of different packages for different applications.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ESP-B13402E030/?rtype=10

 

[HotRodPC]

Whewww, thats a little steep for a rotating assembly. Not saying its not worth it, but I think he is looking for an OEM rebuild, and if so, then he can obliterate that price with what he has. Usually $80-$90 to have a crank turned, about $100 to have your rods resized, about $150 to have it all balanced, and set of pistons about $60, so for $400 he's got what he needs. Do the heads with a triple angle valve job, buy the rings, bearings, timing set, gaskets and oil pump as a kit, have the block machined, and he's rocking ready to roll !!!

 

[Irishman999]

I thought it was a pretty good deal, im obviously wrong. I just like how everything is in one ready to go kit. If the heads looked alright I would just put new valve seals in the heads and put them back on. No where near 4k for a new crate engine.

 

[89Suburban]

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[HotRodPC]

I thought it was a pretty good deal, im obviously wrong. I just like how everything is in one ready to go kit. If the heads looked alright I would just put new valve seals in the heads and put them back on. No where near 4k for a new crate engine.

You're right, O77 say he paid $4K. That is alot, but it also depends on what they did. He may have gotten a brand spankin new motor and not a rebuild. He also got a good warranty too, where many only give 1 year. Jasper is another company who makes crate motors and they are expensive, but Jasper gives a great warranty too, and they don't miss a lick of anything on their builds. Some people do not like the GM Goodwrech motors either cuz they are Heche En Mexico (Made in Mexico), but I tend to like those motors. Powder metal rods, Nodular iron crank isstead of plain cast, 4 bolt mains etc. For the price, they are good. Some people beleive the block casting is inferior and very little to no nickel content. Well duh, just about all motors made today are low in nicklel content. If you know what you are doing, you should be able to do a stock OEM reman motor in a 350 for under $1000.