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Need to replace my 350 Chevy engine.

B

ba60

New Member
I need to replace my engine in my 23T due to bottom end problems. It presently has a TH350 trans and a Chrysler 489 rear end with posi and 355 gears. I'd like to spend around $4000 or less. What would you guys recommend? I see Jegs and Summit both have 383s, and 355s in that price range. I like power but not looking for alot of top end power. Has anyone used a Blue Print engine or GM? I was also considering maybe the 330HP. 350 they have. I guess you don't need as much HP with the light
weight of the buckets.
I do kinda like the WOW factor of a 383 STROKER though.
Bill
 
Thru Jasper Motors, they have all types and sizes of performance motors, besides the bone stock long and short blocks.
Call them and tell them you seen their ad in Engine Builder Magazine. Might save you a few dollars and get exactly what you want. 383's have some torque....
A good, built, stock bore and stroke 400, with a mild cam, a alum. intake, and a good carb will get ya there too!
Its all in what you want! If you want a 383, get a 383. For $4000, you can get a Complete 383 that'll melt the elastic out of your socks, and put a smile back on your face!
 
My friends kid (can you still call a 31 year old man a kid?) bought a Patriot 383 from Summit (11-2010) for his 75 Chevelle. He ran it hard all last summer and loves it, he says other then changing the oil he hasn't had to do anything to it. I've driven the car and I believe he got all 452 hp that was on the dyno sheet that came with it.
 
Check with the local GM dealer and see if they can get you one of the GM crate engines. I just recently went thru the process of looking for an engine and since Gas\Diesel prices have gone up, shipping an engine to your house can run as high as $500 for lift gate service.
 
Does anyone on here use a ZZ4? Good, Bad? It looks like it might be what I'm looking for. I did a search on the web and it looks like alot of people have problems with Blue Print motors. I was looking at Jegs. I could save shipping by picking it up. I have a truck.
Bill
 
You could also try a web site called RACE JUNK
I saw alot of good looking stuff on there when I was looking for an engine
I have a guy in Bedford Ohio that is selling a stroker 383 I think for 2000.00
Ready to bolt in
Give me a call 216-272-4516
Frank
 
Mike said:
What's wrong with the bottom end on what you already have? Unless it's a stocker that doesn't have enough power for you, you could certainly go through it for a lot less than $4K.
Click to expand...
I'm with Mike, if the bottom end is in need, you can freshen it up all topnotch for a little over $500, good rebuild kit, gaskets, paint, oil and filters, antifreeze, etc.
Most places you can get a good solid motor put together for $2500, if you don't go crazy. For $4000, you could have a mild blower motor @ a conservative 450 horses sitting in there. A rebuild of your stock motor @ 1300, then the rest in a bolt on blower kit, theres a few that can be bought off ebay ready to bolt on carbs and all for about $3000. Saw one about 2 weeks ago, with a single 4 for 2800....
Nothin' gets the blood flowin' like a 6-71, and that belt whine, then you step on the gas.....
 
I have a problem with the no.1 cylinder. I'm only getting 70# in that one. All the others were 140-155. I'm getting alot of blowby from that cylinder. I started pulling the top end off today. My mechanic buddy said if it's just rings in that cylinder I may be able to just fix that one in the car by removing the oil pan. I will have to see what the cylinder looks like when I get the heads off tomorrow. I'm alittle nerveous about tearing it down as I'm new with the car engines. I did build bike(HD) race engines for years though. If I do have to pull it a blower motor would be sweet. I put a Garret turbo on my Harley V-rod and made 175RWHP. The bike was featured in Nov. 2010 American Iron Magazine.
Frank, any suggestions for engine builders in Cleveland area if I need to go that route?
Bill
 
Bill, don't count on fixing the one cylinder, in the car. You need to identify the problem for the cylinder leakage before you get too carried away. Can you get your hands on a leakdown tester, so you can hear where the air is going? If it's bad ring seal, you need to check taper in the cylinder, because throwing a fresh set of rings in a tapered cylinder is flushing good money down the drain. If one cylinder is leaky, the other seven are lining up to present you with the same problem. If I'm in the final round at the racetrack and I have a leaky cylinder, I'm going to try to fix that one hole to win the race. Otherwise, it's time for some careful testing and then pulling the motor apart to fix it right.
 
Thanks Mike, I plan on checking the taper for it first. I'm hoping it's just a broken ring but I'm usually not that lucky. That is why I am looking at engine options. I'm only about an hour from Summit and I may take a trip down there today. I'm just really not sure about crate motors after reading the horror stories on line. It seems like no matter which company you decide on 10 people say don't do it. I'm really leaning towards just getting a fairly stock engine that is fairly trouble free and good for cruising, like the GM 290hp. crate motor. But when you look into it seems like alot of people are down on it. If I find a shop to do a build on my motor how will I know I'm not going to have the same issues. I guess I'm just getting very pessimistic in my old age. It seems to be getting harder and harder to find honest reliable companies in this country. Why is it so hard to find problem free products even if you pay top dollar for them. Usually if you do find one they are months or years behind. Sorry for the rant but I'm really getting frustrated.
Bill
 
I went over to the Summit site and was checking out the 383 engines. They advertise them as being externally balanced, BUT they don't come with the balancer or the flex plate that they were actually balanced with. When you switch balancers and flex plates the engine is no longer balanced as good as it could have been.

Having worked in a race shop, and having balanced hundreds of engines first hand. When we balanced an engine assy it was with in 1/4 of a gram! How much is a 1/4 of a gram? A dollar bill weighs right at 1 whole gram, so it is what 1/4 of what that dollar bill weighs.

Just something to think about when these companys offer up a balanced assy.
 
Mike and Ron have made great points, you don't know, your valves might be the problem. You might have to go over on that 1 bore, might be a cracked ring, who knows. You get a 383 assemble, its best to get one with the flywheel, there balanced to it. Alot of these 'KITS' are balanced to a stock 'X' flywheel....????.... What flywheel? Theres alot of stock ones, diff. weights.....
You can do a true Z motor for less than $4000.
Crank- $350
Steel rods, good bolts w/floating pins-$400
Forged Pistons w/rings- $500
Cam/lifters/springs kit- $350
Dualplane hirise airgap that'll run to 6000rpm-$350
A real performance carb, not a piece of late model trash about 650cfm-$400
You can save some money by getting a Eagle rotating assembly or a Scat kit. They now make alot of stuff for the American V-8s. Not to mention World Products.
OR, a slightly warmed up stocker for about $1300-1500 with a rv cam.
A person could die tomorrow and not know or feel the difference between a stock 220 horse stock bowtie, and a true Z motor that'll hit the tattletale before you get your foot off the pedal.
I believe everyone should experience that 130 to 200 horse difference that Chevy used to build into their motors.
 
Well, I tore it down today and found the trouble, a broken piston. An 1 1/2" piece broke between the compression rings. No damage at all to the cylinder. I miked the cylinder and it was the same as the other cylinders, minimal taper. I'm going to pull the motor and get the zz4 355hp. I can get one from Jegs for $4039 and I can pick it up and same shipping. About $300 cheaper than Summit. I would also have to replace the heads on mine too as the previous owner put chevy 415 heads on it, so I think the crate is the way to go. Thanks for all the help and advise. Ron, thanks for the great gas tank and great service.
Bill
 
You'll have all new parts and at least a 1 year warranty now. Here was a good kit, a Eagle Heavy Metal internally balanced 383.... between $700-800......there are other kits that come with the cam, lifters, gaskets and all....even the heads if you want.
 
One thing to consider with gas prices soaring out of sight, do you really need or want to feed a stroker motor in a T bucket?? Just my .02, don't get me wrong I love 383s but for me those days have gone. Pretty much the reason I overlooked a cheap 350 for the 283 block I built. You can argue it costs the same to build either but you have to feed the extra cubes.
 
If you drive 3000 miles a year, the difference between 15 & 20 MPG @ $4 -gal. = $200. Pretty minimal savings IMHO .

dave
 
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