So I tore apart my 350 rocket but man this thing is messy. Any recommendations on how to clean this thing up??? And once it finally clean what is my next step in rebuilding It?? I've never done this before but I'm usually pretty handy.... does anyone know a good machine shop in the ft Lauderdale area?? And what do you guys think about rebuilding It to stick vs a bunch of upgrades like a big cam N such??

 

I big tub, a solvent like Varsol or Naptha, and a stiff parts cleaning brush. I would just haul everything to a local machine shop and tell them what you want. BTW, that is not dirty...

 

I take them to the machine shop and let them do the cleaning when they do the machine work. I have rebuilt several engines to stock.

 

+3 The machine shop. Go ahead and have the crank drilled for a standard trans,
the best of both worlds, if you want to keep 'em and be able to swap back and forth.
I remember we used to do stuff like like that in the olds days when we were
younger and money was tight.

 

Ask the machine shops if they have a thermal cleaning oven. That is much more effective than liquid cleaning. It gets at everything, even in the most obscure oil passages. Send your heads too.

If you have thick rust in the cooling passages you might want to send it to a rust stripper after the machine shop. Removing excess rust will help the block and heads cool better.

Don't send aluminum to either of those processes.

Get a set of cleaning brushes (different diameters with long handles) so that you can clean out the ash in the block passages before you start to rebuild.

Use hot soapy water with the brushes and flush, flush, flush when you are done.

 

I must strongly disagree with this. The new "thermal cleaning ovens" are steam cleaners. They do not get into all the passageways. More importantly, they do NOT clean rust out of the cooling passages. These steam cleaners were developed for aluminum motors. An old-style caustic hot tank will dissolve aluminum. For a cast iron motor, find a shop that still has a real hot tank.

 

X2 on hot tank. Remove all plugs in block. If you do not have the tools get shop to measure and record bore and crankshaft, If you are assembling clean all passageways before assembly with brushes and air. If you have not ran this engine and do not know there are no problems with cracks in the block or heads have them check it. Follow the CSM for rebuilding and check clearances as you assemble.
No, it is not that dirty.
You say you have not done this before, but you did mark rods before removal?

 

I think being in Lauderdale you should throw a chain around it and drag it down the beach for a few miles. The sand will clean and hone the cylinders and get all that gunk off as well. Easy, peasy.

 

That's pretty funny lol. Or soak it it in about 5 feet of sea water. No I agree with the guys above in terms of sending the engine to a good shop that has the old school corrosive hot tank. In terms of building it stock or upgrading to after market that's a personal decision. What are your plans with this engine? To me a factory 350 could use a good cam upgrade unless it's a W31. Some pocket porting will improve power and efficiency of the engine. We have 94 no ethanol gas up here so I always run at least 10:1 compression with no issues. A good set of headers are necessary if you want to make some decent power. Anyway. That's my 2 bits worth. Al

 

I always use kerosene for cleaning greasy stuff. Cheap and easy to store, I always have a few gallons around.

 

I am assuming you mean "stock" and not "stick" (as in a manual transmission setup).
Whichever way you go, DO NOT use factory cast replacement pistons as they have huge 24cc dishes and on top of that are short on compression height, which will result in pathetically low compression ratio and greatly reduced power. Spend a bit more money and buy good pistons with the correct height and appropriate dish volume for your desired compression ratio.