350 Rebuild

[urbandev]

I'm pulling the engine from my pickup and getting it washed and bored .030 over (355CID) and replacing the crankshaft, pistons, connecting rods, cam, and anything else that needs to be replaced...

Where am I now? The engine is still in the truck, running like shit... so my first questions are:

1: What special tools will I need?
2: Where can i find information on painting the block and other components?
3: How should i store all of this while im not working on it?
4: Anything i should know before begining this whole adventure?

Any help is greatly appriciated...

[merkerguitars]

Nothing really special you need besides a good tool set with a variety of sockets....but you will need a torque wrench.

I stored all my parts on a shelf in my gargage....everything was plastic wrapped in saran wrap and I didnt' open anything until I needed it. Now my engine is on a engine stand with a couple of garbage bags covering it.

First thing I would do though is buy yourself a good book on rebuilding it. They make some really nice how to rebuild a small block chevy books. (go with one of those instead of a factory manual)

For painting the block it's pretty simple. Any good machine shop will not let you bore the block over until they boil it clean so they can magnaflux it. Once it's boiled the block it ready to paint. Go to your local wal-mart and they should have some paint in the automotive section called engine enamel (it's good up to 500F) that paint is some tuff stuff.... But you just can't start spraying your block with paint.....get a roll of some good quality 3m masking tape and start masking off every area that you don't want to get paint. Then just start spraying....one can is enough to do a whole small block chevy...if you want to see how good this paint works look at the thread about my mustang http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=26985 I think you will like the results

[urbandev]

luckily i work in an auto parts store(driver) with a machine shop and i can get the boring and boiling for $130 and the paint for $175 a can

I have a torque wrench, but i though there were special tools for removing lifters and cam, and things like that...

[laconic1]

Occasionally if the lifters have varnish on them you might need a lifter puller which is basically like a little slide hammer. To pull the harmonic dampener you will need a puller which can be rented or costs maybe $30.00 from Harbor Freight. To reinstall the cam bearings you will need a cam bearing driver, which is a little more expensive to purchase, but it can be rented also. Some people say you should use a ridge reamer when taking pistons out, but since you are replacing the pistons and having the block bored I wouldn't recommend it. One time in high school I was too aggressive with a ridge reamer and took the block past maximum overbore and had to scrap the block.
When you go back together you need an installer for the dampener. It costs about $10.00 from Harbor Freight.
The only thing I can say about storing it is to cover it up with a garbage bag while you are not working on it, and after it has been bored to keep oil on the cylinder walls to keep them from rusting, since they will rust quickly if they aren't oiled.

[merkerguitars]

Well the paint I use is about $5 for a spray can and I've have had really nice results.... For putting in the cam bearings I would let the machine shop do that job, most machine shops charge about $10 to put the cam bearings in and since it can be a pain in the ass it's worth the small amount of money.

[masterofblah]

The best advise I can give you is to buy a bunch of ziplock bags. Label and bag EVERY SINGLE piece during disassembly. It will make the job of reassembly all that much easier.

Special tools - you might need a ring compressor so you can get the pistons inserted back in the block. It makes it really easy to pop the piston in the bore without damaging rings.

[Gloves]

I hope you are mechanically inclined>and will have help. You will need a garage with space for your parts old and new. Engine hoist>full set of sockets and wrenches. Screw drivers. (new) Oil pump! and carb should get you started >oh engine mounts for sure.

[BigTruck1956]

congradualtions, on owning the best, easiest to repair engine that has the most aftermarket parts for it in the entire world. about your questions..
a valve spring compressor will probably come in handy ( the springs should be replaced anyway), lots and lots of plastiguage, various pullers, scrapers, and gasket remover is always nice. My recommendation is that you dont skimp on the engine paint. Get a good quality engine enamel. I have seen many people spray their blocks with cheap stuff and it peeled off literally 3 months later. Also, make sure you use assembly lube. When you get it all put back together, you might want to "pre oil" then engine. You can make a preoiler out of an old distributor or you can get them from plases like Summit Racing or JEG's. This is basically a device that goes in where you distributor goes and attaches to an electric drill. This allows you to spin the oil pump and get oil all over the bearing surfaces before the initial engine startup.

[grumpyolddude]

HHHmmmm...... best engine paint jobs I've seen start with a good coat of etching primer on a prefectly clean and dry surface, followed by 2-3 coats of Chevy Orange engine enamel. I've seen a few nice jobs done with a basecoat/clearcoat urethane... a virtually indestructible paint job, but that can get pretty expensive.
The etching primer reduces the potential of the paint peeling after a few hundred thermo-cycles.

Who's going to do your machine work on the block/heads/crank? Make sure they're top-notch! There's a lot of hacks out there.

[98MustGT]

First - Are you sure it needs a rebuild? A compression test or leak down test may be in order. Maybe you just need a valve job.

Second - You may be able to do it very cheap, I have taken 350 apart and just changed rings, bearings, oil pump, guides, gaskets, lapped the valves. As long as it is within specs maybe only a couple hundred bucks?

[urbandev]

it knocks pretty good, and it has never been overhauled since 73...and it sat in a field from 93 to 2003 being moved maybe three times a year, and the engine in my suburban was ran for about an hour with no oil, that one knocks too...so im redoing this one and putting it in my suburban.