Chuck’s engine build thread!

[ChuckN]

So rather than keep spamming the “what have you done to your square body lately” thread, I figured I’d continue the conversation here. So, here it goes.

For those that may have not read, I bought my truck a few years ago. Allegedly, had a “ 327/350 hp.” The guy I bought the truck from had purchased it from an engine builder, and it was rebuilt and only broken in on the stand. He then lost interest in it, needed an engine to put in my truck, and then sold it with it. He had never looked inside the engine.

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Aside from some oily spark plug issues, that I had assumed was valve seals, the engine actually ran pretty good for the last few years. Aside from some carburetor tuning issues that refuse to get sorted out, probably because the cam is too big for the engine. I have no idea what the cam is, but I’ve owned a L79 cam in another 327, and this ain’t that.

I had assumed that it was a 350 because that’s what the block was stamped as (1975 0010) and was stamped .030 on top of the piston when I looked at it with a bore scope (then a 355). While I was in there, I could see there was some crosshatching. A good sign to me at the time.

But the engine never really lived up to what it was supposed to be, it wasn’t very torquey and wouldn’t even light up the rear tires even though it sounded nasty. Fast-forward to these days, and I bought a set of really nice aluminum cylinder heads to put on it since I wanted to eventually take it to the strip and improve the performance.

A couple days ago, I pulled the heads and found that the cylinders didn’t look very good, probably an amateur job at best. A couple bores have some very irregular wear patterns, and one shop suggested it looked like it had a head gasket leak previously and a bore done poorly. I added up a theoretical compression ratio, and it came out to 8.8:1 with the camel hump heads and flat top pistons with four valve reliefs. So, shorter stroke and low compression? Well, that checks out now.

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At this juncture, I have been considering an LS swap vs making the existing engine what I want it to be. Today, I have an appointment with a shop to look at a used LS, and after that, a machine shop to cover what it could look like to redo what I have. But I wouldn’t be able to afford to rebuild a LS and to buy the parts to complete to swap for a long time with the budget I have.

At this point many members (and I thank you all wholeheartedly) have chimed in with idea and support and a little “why the hell would you do that?” to keep me centered and I appreciate all of that.

So let’s do this.

At this point, I have no interest in keeping the 327 as is, so let’s get that out of the way right now. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of engine, but I’m only doing this once so I’m doing it the way I want. Which, unless the LS seller comes way down and offers some accoutrements to come with it to make it more doable (a fantastical scenario), it’s unlikely to happen.

Enter the 383. There’s no reason to just put it back to a 350- both financially and for performance. The cost would be relatively equal. I couldn’t believe how cheap a reputable rotating assembly is, and thanks to all for pointing that out with links, etc.

So here we are, and thanks for reading. I’ll post as things progress which will be intermittent as expected.

Cheers,
Chad

 

[WFarm]

My vote would be for the 383. I dropped one in my 57 Chevy and it was an awesome engine. However the factory rear end did not like it.

 

[ChuckN]

My vote would be for the 383. I dropped one in my 57 Chevy and it was an awesome engine. However the factory rear end did not like it.

I could see that happening! They do have some grunt to them!

 

[Jrgunn5150]

The only way to swap an LS is buy a complete runner, and put the whole thing in as is.

A lame 5.3 with headers and a cam will make what a healthy 383 makes straight out of the junkyard.

You seem like more of a "might as well while I'm at it" kind of guy though, so I don't think you'll be able to get anything done for under a couple grand as long as you keep doing things like going to machine shops.

 

[Hunter79764]

Just throwing it out there, anyone looking at LS swap and on a budget needs to realize that if you have to open up the engine for any reason (other than a cam swap because you want to), skip it and get a different engine. The great thing about the LS platform is that they are perfectly viable engines up past 200k if they have even been remotely taken care of, and they are plentiful enough that finding another junkyard pullout is easy for anything under 450 hp. And if you want more than 500, turbo whatever you have, it doesn't really matter what it is so save cash and run a 4.8 or 5.3. LS's are relatively expensive to rebuild, so... Don't. Just run it, keep the factory magic in place. Overall, you should spend less on the engine, but more on the setup.

That said, keeping an SBC is obviously less complicated, you will spend more on the engine but less on the setup. Although, it is certainly getting tougher to find good shops and good parts to work together on SBC builds. On other forums, I've seen plenty of guys put an engine together that "should" work, only to find that the relatively universal SBC parts they have don't fit their specific flavor, so you still need to pay attention. Think roller lifters, Vortec heads, distributor gears, accessories not having the right mounting holes on aftermarket heads, carb linkage and especially TV cable brackets if applicable, valvesprings and keepers not jiving, etc. But yes, (re)building a 327 vs a 350 vs a 383 at this point in time... Go with the 383, there's almost no reason not to.

Either option isn't wrong, personally, I am moving toward everything being Gen 3 LS that I possibly can. 2000's era engineering I feel like is the peak balance of simplicity, durability, and potential.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I think you're doing the right thing, checking all your options before pulling the trigger. I think a 383 will certainly be everything you're looking for and more, looking forward to watching the progress!

 

[ChuckN]

Just throwing it out there, anyone looking at LS swap and on a budget needs to realize that if you have to open up the engine for any reason (other than a cam swap because you want to), skip it and get a different engine. The great thing about the LS platform is that they are perfectly viable engines up past 200k if they have even been remotely taken care of, and they are plentiful enough that finding another junkyard pullout is easy for anything under 450 hp. And if you want more than 500, turbo whatever you have, it doesn't really matter what it is so save cash and run a 4.8 or 5.3. LS's are relatively expensive to rebuild, so... Don't. Just run it, keep the factory magic in place. Overall, you should spend less on the engine, but more on the setup.

That said, keeping an SBC is obviously less complicated, you will spend more on the engine but less on the setup. Although, it is certainly getting tougher to find good shops and good parts to work together on SBC builds. On other forums, I've seen plenty of guys put an engine together that "should" work, only to find that the relatively universal SBC parts they have don't fit their specific flavor, so you still need to pay attention. Think roller lifters, Vortec heads, distributor gears, accessories not having the right mounting holes on aftermarket heads, carb linkage and especially TV cable brackets if applicable, valvesprings and keepers not jiving, etc. But yes, (re)building a 327 vs a 350 vs a 383 at this point in time... Go with the 383, there's almost no reason not to.

Either option isn't wrong, personally, I am moving toward everything being Gen 3 LS that I possibly can. 2000's era engineering I feel like is the peak balance of simplicity, durability, and potential.

I hear ya. The nickel and dimes of a swap combined with the assumption that a LS would be ok used with high mileage is the biggest hurdle to me, even with the improved architecture. Maybe this experience has me gunshy, but I don’t wanna trust anybody anymore with what they say they’re selling “running when pulled “. Yeah, none of that means anything to me now.

I already own the Brodix IK200 heads and have had them checked over by a machine shop. The only thing left to do is send the block to have it redone correctly, and put in a cam and lifters/valvetrain and a bottom end. It will then bolt on and run as the truck sits without any swap items and the time it takes to put them in.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Game plan initialized, now time to execute.

 

[Hunter79764]

I hear ya. The nickel and dimes of a swap combined with the assumption that a LS would be ok used with high mileage is the biggest hurdle to me, even with the improved architecture. Maybe this experience has me gunshy, but I don’t wanna trust anybody anymore with what they say they’re selling “running when pulled “. Yeah, none of that means anything to me now.

Yeah, buying used is always a challenge. I got hosed on an engine that was "complete, low miles", and it was dark and late when I got there after a long drive. So I grabbed it without looking it over close enough, turned out to be a great collection of parts, all loosely bolted back together

Buying a running/wrecked truck is about the best way to go on an LS because you get a bunch of those little parts included. But anyway, looks like a good plan to do a 383

 

[TotalyHucked]

Yeah, the only reason I ponied up for my 5.3/4L65 combo without seeing it run is cuz it came from a guy I know well and he had a video of it running in the Envoy before he pulled it. Plus it was in his personal stash, not just the normal pile of LS's he offers to the public (he owns/runs a junkyard)

 

[ChuckN]

Called around and found one of my buddies that has an engine stand and cherry picker and is dropping it off on Monday. I stopped at the hardware store and bought some 3/8 grade 8 bolts for the engine stand, and an engine pulling plate for the intake manifold. So I guess I’ll have to put the head back on, and then reinstall the intake manifold. No big deal. I just put the bolts back in the head, and leave it partially snugged. The old head gasket is still there, not scraped off yet.

That means tomorrow, I’ll need to pull the bell housing bolts, the starter, and disconnect the fuel lines. As well as the header. Then the last thing would be the motor mounts.

 

[ChuckN]

Spent time with the machine shop, and all systems are go. One of the guys there is familiar with performance builds, so he’s the one that will be doing the block work. I told them what I wanted, and they’re all in.

After that, I caught the guy at the hot rod shop with the LS motor. We had a great conversation, I wanted to follow through and make sure that he couldn’t talk me into it. And he couldn’t. We shook hands, they’re great people and we talked about Family. I bought them a box of donuts and we hung out afterwards.

The machine shop wants the block completely disassembled, except for the main bearings, and the crank so he can check everything out. After that, the work will be done, and we will save money for the bottom end. Probably will kick me into high gear to sell off my 20 inch wheels so I can fund the project.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Called around and found one of my buddies that has an engine stand and cherry picker and is dropping it off on Monday. I stopped at the hardware store and bought some 3/8 grade 8 bolts for the engine stand, and an engine pulling plate for the intake manifold. So I guess I’ll have to put the head back on, and then reinstall the intake manifold. No big deal. I just put the bolts back in the head, and leave it partially snugged. The old head gasket is still there, not scraped off yet.

That means tomorrow, I’ll need to pull the bell housing bolts, the starter, and disconnect the fuel lines. As well as the header. Then the last thing would be the motor mounts.

You could use a chain and bolts into the block for removal. You don't need to reinstall the heads and intake

 

[Radiohead]

You could use a chain and bolts into the block for removal. You don't need to reinstall the heads and intake

Yeah, gotta do something with those old head bolts

 

[ChuckN]

You could use a chain and bolts into the block for removal. You don't need to reinstall the heads and intake

Man, I was gonna ask about that.

Just use the old head bolts to full engagement? And how many would you use per side? Just two total and put them diagonally? Thread them through the chain and use washers?

I’m gonna have to do this in some fashion to get the bare block in and out of the vehicle anyway.