I知 looking to have my 70 350 engine rebuilt. Looking to go with a mild cam, I talked to a few shops in the area, and I知 getting quotes that seem a little high, to pull the engine and rebuild. Has anyone had a engine done recently and what are shops charging?

 

You want to drive the car to the shop & have them do everything? If so, expect to pay at least $10k.

I had the heads on the 455 in my 71 98 machined recently (fall of 2024) and it was $500. That was without new valve guides, seats, etc. For everything it would have been closer to $1500.

 

Friend had his 72 w30 455 built a few years ago and it was over $10 grand. Of course he used high quality parts and there were lots of Covid delays. He paid for dyno break in as well. I知 sure you can get it done for a little cheaper but it ain稚 gonna be cheap! Those days are gone.

 

$10K is a reasonable amount to budget. Maybe more -- hell, building my 400G cost $6K back in 2007.

 

Thanks for the reply痴, I do appreciate everyone痴 input. I致e had the car since 2007. Was a one owner with 54k on it. I have 56k now but leaking here and there. Still runs good tho. I thought about just re gasketing it but that痴 not cheap either. I壇 rather do it once and be done.

 

2,000 miles in 19 years? I'd save my money and just enjoy the car. Possibly have a new pan gasket and valve cover gaskets replaced and be done with it. Even if you spend $50,000 on a rebuild, the worst thing you can do is let it sit.

 

I cant speak to the taking it in and out of the car part but i would expect the actual engine rebuild to be in the $6k to $7k range ?

To be honest with you if it truly has only 56K on it I would pull it and reseal it and replace the timing chain set at the same time. Put it back in and enjoy it.

 

There are so many different things you can do to a low mileage engine yourself to make it last another 20 years without doing a complete rebuild.

 

What are your goals?

If the engine really only has 56k on it, runs well with no issues other than oil leaks, I壇 pull it and put a cam in it, reseal it and enjoy it for another 50 years.

Do a compression and leakdown test. Unless you池e wanting some major power increases, just fix what痴 wrong and go.

 

The body was apart for several of those years, I have been driving more frequently over the past 5 years. Definitely a lot to consider, I壇 just hate to do a regasket then have something break.

 

I am at 10K easy, with the new Edelbrock 350 heads. Things like headers, which adds mini starters and new exhaust. It can snow ball quickly.

 

Thats a true honest assessment and way to go. Bill you are a true gentleman..honest and forthright.

 

To further that, put a bore scope in the cylinders. The new gaskets and timing chain, especially with an upgraded cam is a no brainer. Also realize, if you have the factory .017" head gaskets, you will loose compression with basic aftermarket replacement head gaskets being .040" or thicker.

 

Simply have a tad milled off the head to clean up surface and get most of the compression back.

 

I'll weigh in on this with a higher range opinion of $10-15k depending on the quality of your build expectations.

inquire to @cutlassefi (Mark Remmel) on this board for his thoughts - he's an Olds motor builder here in Central FL - well known to and respected by many board members - he built a 400hp 350 roller cam motor for my '72 Cutlass and it rocks. I'm a NE Philly native 20 years removed so I don't know what decent shops may still be up your way, but Mark ships and he has the correct Oldsmobile deck boring plates to ensure proper cylinder geometry.

There is a shop in West Chester - D'Antonio Automotive that works on classic cars - they have that TV show Last Chance Garage - they might be an option to inquire of for your build if you want to keep it local

 

My 2c... and be aware I'm an old time grease monkey, back yard mechanic who's not afraid of anything, and I enjoy doing the work myself.

Grab a cherry picker off Craigs List, and an engine stand too, or get one from Harbor Freight. And get a compression tester. A low miles car like yours might not need a full rebuild, and you can run a compression test to see. Generally speaking- I don't know the compression ratio of a 1970 small block 350- if all the cylinders are about the same number, you're probably good in the rings and valves department, and if it doesn't rap or tick or knock, you probably don't need a rebuild. My 394 at 8.75:1 compression checked in the 125 psi area, more or less, but close enough on all cylinders I'm good with that.
I would pull the motor and take off everything except the heads. Get a gasket set, and put the motor on an engine stand. Inspect it, find your leaks, understand what you're up against. If you want, you can crack a couple of the bottom end bearing caps and the rod caps, and use plasti-gauge to check your clearance, but if it's not knocking you're probably good there too, so no need to mess with it. If you do, use a good assembly lube on anything you crack. Obviously- if you start pulling bearing caps- you should inspect the bearings for wear and you need to torque everything down correctly.
You can pull the rocker assembly and inspect the cam lobes and lifters for wear. Put everything back exactly where it came from- don't mix up the lifters and push rods. If you want a mild cam you can probably just get a cam and a set of lifters and push rods and slap 'em in. Again, inspect the cam bearings and use assembly lube on the cam if you do it, generously. Redo the gaskets, clean everything up, replace the timing chain as someone else suggested, maybe put in a high volume oil pump. Then reseal it, clean it and paint it. Maybe put in a chrome timing cover or a dress up kit if you're so inclined. Paint it gold and make it pretty.
That's what I would do anyway.

 

Sounds like to me this is damn good advice.

 

On the cam, I went with the 204/214 Edelbrock Performer cam. I reused the factory rocker arms and push rods. I used Felpro head gaskets but my #6 heads were rebuilt and were cut. It started tickling half way through break in. I bought new rocker arms, they had signs of wear but still had some ticking. I cut the bridges, should have bought slightly longer pushrods to make up for the smaller base circle of aftermarket cams. I just pulled that cam, no lost lobes. Plenty of vacuum, smooth idle and decent power. It likes a stall upgrade too. The cam upgrade on your high compression 350 is a no brainer. If you do, don't leave the stock torque converter, do a 2000+ stall, it makes a big difference. I used a 214/214 .472/.472 Erson custom cam from Cutlassefi. It was very similar to 1970 350 manual transmission camshaft but on a tighter LSA. It wasn't very impressive with the stock 1600 stall and 2.78 gears. It had 16" of vacuum and idled smooth. I put in a 2004R trans with and a 2200 to 2500 stall converter and a short 25" tall tire. Easy 1/4 block 1 wheel peels vs a barely any wheel spin. I did loose a couple of lobes on this cam about a year later, used the ZDDP additive on break in and the old 1100 ppm ZDDP 10W30 Quaker State Defy oil.

 

Over 10k easily on a recent rebuild, and that wasnt even asking the builder to pull or re install the engine lol

 

If it runs good I would not rebuild it. If you can't do the work, these days you are asking for trouble and never be as good as it is now. If I were in your shoes and could not do my own work, I would go to a couple local car shows and ask around and see if anyone would look at it and be willing to fix the leaks. At least fix the main leaks. If it has sit that long, it likely only needs oil pan, transmission pan, valve cover, and "maybe" timing cover. If they do the timing cover for sure put a timing set in it to remove the old nylon timing gear.

But for price, if they pull it, rebuild it, and reinstall. Then tune and all the brake in process. I don't see it happening for anything less than $15K

 

X 2 Replace the gaskets that are leaking and probably the timing set. Your engine is barely "broke in". You have 50,000 to 70,000 miles before you need to consider overhaul. I have driven several Olds engines to over 200,000 miles and never had been apart.

DON'T loosen any rod bearing or main bearing caps. The less you "molest" a good running engine, the better off you are. If the rod and main bearings aren't screeching or knocking, the clearance is just fine.

 

I'll agree with not removing the heads - keep the compression the way it is with the .017" thick head gaskets.
Back in the 80s I put a 204ｺ cam in my 70 350 engine as a replacement for the puny factory cam. Also as said, swap the factory converter to something around 2000 RPM. I put in an 1800 RPM converter along with the 204ｺ cam and was very pleased with the performance boost.

 

Do a compression test, if it is good which it should be at that mileage fix the leaks, refresh the timing set, clean the oil pump intake thoroughly and replace the valve seals. Unless a high end performance preci$$$ion rebuild is done, the best you can hope for is what you already have with the fair chance of ending up with less than you have.

 

Originally Posted by jensenracing77
If it runs good I would not rebuild it. If you can't do the work, these days you are asking for trouble and never be as good as it is now. If I were in your shoes and could not do my own work, I would go to a couple local car shows and ask around and see if anyone would look at it and be willing to fix the leaks. At least fix the main leaks. If it has sit that long, it likely only needs oil pan, transmission pan, valve cover, and "maybe" timing cover. If they do the timing cover for sure put a timing set in it to remove the old nylon timing gear.

But for price, if they pull it, rebuild it, and reinstall. Then tune and all the brake in process. I don't see it happening for anything less than $15K
X 2 Replace the gaskets that are leaking and probably the timing set. Your engine is barely "broke in". You have 50,000 to 70,000 miles before you need to consider overhaul. I have driven several Olds engines to over 200,000 miles and never had been apart.

DON'T loosen any rod bearing or main bearing caps. The less you "molest" a good running engine, the better off you are. If the rod and main bearings aren't screeching or knocking, the clearance is just fine.

X3 on this, save your money until the time comes where its absolutely necessary to do a full rebuild. Of course your car, your call, but a tear down can & usually lead to other (costly) issues.

 

It's possible too, that after spending $10K on a rebuild, it might not run as well as it does now. That has certainly happened before.

Address the leaks on a case by case basis and just drive it, is what I would do.