$1500 dollar budget to rebuild a olds 350

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Old Sep 4, 2007 | 10:58 PM
  #1  
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$1500 dollar budget to rebuild a olds 350

its a 70 block i want to at least do pistons, crank, connecting rods, cam, and new valve train

anyone have recommendations or am i out of my mind to do all that on a 1500dollar budjet?
Old Sep 5, 2007 | 04:39 AM
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I don't think that is enough unless you know a really cheap machine shop.
Old Sep 5, 2007 | 11:48 AM
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the machine work shouldnt cost more then 200 or so dollars i believe also im going to install all the bearings and bolt on stuff my self with the help of the mechanic i apprentice for
Old Sep 6, 2007 | 03:08 PM
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just found out that my school might do the machine work on my block

i go to a community college and im in the automotive program, and i was talking to my teacher and his son was in the machine tool class and actually turned a 4.0 liter jeep engine into a 4.7 liter

so theres my question can an olds 350 be turned into a 383 with an olds 400 crank and from what year?
Old Sep 6, 2007 | 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by shaks 442 clone
........ can an olds 350 be turned into a 383 with an olds 400 crank and from what year?
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tor-350ci.html
Old Sep 6, 2007 | 04:13 PM
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I don't think $1500 is enough to do an engine rebuild. When rebuilding your engine you should have EVERYTHING machined or you will regret it later. That includes punching out the cylinders, truing the deck, having the cam and main journals line bored, turning down the crank, having the connecting rods machined for oversized bearings, machining the valves and guides in the head, and having the heads trued. Does your school have all of the equipment to do that? When I went through school at CMSU they only had the machines to do the head and connecting rod machining. Then when I took it to the local machinist he could only punch out the cylinders and zero the deck and heads. He couldn't line bore the main or the cam journals. Not to mention turning down the crank. There is alot of machining that needs to be done on an engine when it is rebuilt. Of course, you don't HAVE to do all of this machining but I swore to myself that when I do another engine I would make sure I did it all.
Old Sep 7, 2007 | 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by shaks 442 clone
the machine work shouldnt cost more then 200 or so

I don't think that is enough. I am not trying to rain on your parade, just being reasonable. It cost me more than $200 for the machine work on the 455 I most recently rebuilt. Addressing the idea of having it done at the school; it might not be a good idea to do that, having the tools and equipment is one thing, having the skills to use them is also one thing, but having the experience to use them well is another. If you overestimate the amount of money you will need then you will have extra. If you underestimate the amount of money you need you will have a stalled project until you get more money to finish it. In my experience, momentum is very important ot keeping a project going and being stalled for money can really dampen the spirit and sometimes the project never gets finished.
Old Sep 8, 2007 | 06:15 PM
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I'll give you the vote of confidence Shak. When I was in Community College, I also did all the machine work that could be accomplished there. This included my own head (porting) work. Granted, your budget would only get you a standard bore bottom end. Most of my coin went into the cam and heads. I'm doing 11's in the quarter with no issues. Put the time in and you'll reap the benefits! Best of luck.
Old Sep 8, 2007 | 09:47 PM
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Originally Posted by $tryker
I'll give you the vote of confidence Shak. When I was in Community College, I also did all the machine work that could be accomplished there. This included my own head (porting) work. Granted, your budget would only get you a standard bore bottom end. Most of my coin went into the cam and heads. I'm doing 11's in the quarter with no issues. Put the time in and you'll reap the benefits! Best of luck.

what year ? what type of car? what motor? tranny? gutted or full interior? and anything else important i may be missing

oh yeah nitrous?
Old Sep 8, 2007 | 09:49 PM
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also i wouldnt under estimate my school

they teach cnc machineing courses there and from what i have heard and read you cant get anything more perfect then on a cnc machine
Old Sep 10, 2007 | 02:21 PM
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Currently using a "68" 455 lower half with a Iskenderian cam, modified C heads, and a dual plane intake. Trans is a beefed th400, with 2800 stall, and 3:23 gears. Short 26 inch tires work great for this gear (not to mention highway driving). All in a 67 Cutlass Supreme with a full interior and no spray!

An early factory big block can achieve 13's in the quarter without much sweat. That's why I like the BBO. Do the machine yourself, I had a blast.
Old Sep 10, 2007 | 10:19 PM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by $tryker
Currently using a "68" 455 lower half with a Iskenderian cam, modified C heads, and a dual plane intake. Trans is a beefed th400, with 2800 stall, and 3:23 gears. Short 26 inch tires work great for this gear (not to mention highway driving). All in a 67 Cutlass Supreme with a full interior and no spray!

An early factory big block can achieve 13's in the quarter without much sweat. That's why I like the BBO. Do the machine yourself, I had a blast.
what kind of heads do you have?

also are number 5 heads any better then number 6 heads and in what application?
Old Sep 10, 2007 | 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Olds64
I don't think $1500 is enough to do an engine rebuild. When rebuilding your engine you should have EVERYTHING machined or you will regret it later. That includes punching out the cylinders, truing the deck, having the cam and main journals line bored, turning down the crank, having the connecting rods machined for oversized bearings, machining the valves and guides in the head, and having the heads trued. Does your school have all of the equipment to do that? When I went through school at CMSU they only had the machines to do the head and connecting rod machining. Then when I took it to the local machinist he could only punch out the cylinders and zero the deck and heads. He couldn't line bore the main or the cam journals. Not to mention turning down the crank. There is alot of machining that needs to be done on an engine when it is rebuilt. Of course, you don't HAVE to do all of this machining but I swore to myself that when I do another engine I would make sure I did it all.

btw my school can do everything but turn down the crank

and the teacher of the class has owned his own machine shop in oakland for 30 years now so he knows people who can do that

i was talking to him today and he was amazing he had all these bores and strokes and bearing sizes memorized in his head

i was like wow the whole time haha
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