hard to find? - Page 3 - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

LTb1ow · 02-16-2009, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racerx520

yeah, thats kinda really it lol...and yes i understand what everyone has said about the heads and everything...let me explain it again, hopefully clarify any issues anyone isnt understanding:

my car is a daily driver, i dont have any other cars that i can use, i dont have a job that i can claim vacation time to just work on the car for a week...i need to either have another car, or have a motor thats all set and ready to go as soon as the motor is done being worked on, it can go in the car, do the work over a weekend. i cannot afford to take the heads off the motor, replace them with new heads and go from there and spend atleast 3 weeks worth of work on the motor, i am planning on doing the engine work over an extended period of time to try to hold onto as much money as i can.

the car is a 1987, i would like to keep MOST of it as 1987 appearing, thats why i didnt put a 4th gen dash in, or center console, or newer style rims, yes i did a spoiler from a 4th gen and seats, but thats it...i dont plan on doing the same with a motor otherwise i'd just save up my money for the next year and get a new vette motor lol

Setting yourself up for a fail man.

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 03:29 PM

how do you figure? its less of a fail than not having a car for more than a month...so what if it takes more than a weekend, atleast i'll still have a car while building the new motor

Tru2Chevy · 02-16-2009, 04:44 PM

It'll be far easier to pull the 305 and install the 350 without the TPI intake installed anyway. Removing and reinstalling the intake should only take a matter of hours.

- Justin

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 05:13 PM

yeah, ive seen cars being installed from the cherrypickers, they always have the intake off so that a plate can be screwed on there, but i may try to sell the 305 when im done with it which is kinda why i wanted to have that all together too...but im still on the fence about that, cuz i dont think many people would want to buy a 305 tpi

Tru2Chevy · 02-16-2009, 05:23 PM

You'll prolly find a buyer for a 305 TPI, but the money difference w/o an intake on it is probably not enough to offset the extra money you're going to have to spend to find an actual L98 350 TPI motor, when any 350 with 86+ heads will work for you.

- Justin

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 05:44 PM

i will keep that in mind...but i do have to find a motor that has a 4bolt main....i understand most truck motors have only a 2bolt...i will keep in mind the other motor if i cannot find a tpi for a decent amount of time for a reasonable price though. i want to get the motor and start the project by winter so i still have time to shop and primarily to learn about this stuff before making a purchase

LTb1ow · 02-16-2009, 05:55 PM

LT4s have 4bolt mains

Tru2Chevy · 02-16-2009, 07:03 PM

Camaro / Firebird L98s are only 2 bolt mains, vette L98s are 4 bolt. With your goal of a mildly warmed over street cruiser I wouldn't even bother trying to look for a block with 4 bolt mains - it just isn't needed.

- Justin

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 07:28 PM

you sure? my father distintly remembers tearing down motors on these cars when they were new and having 4 bolt mains. either way, im still holding steady on the type of motor that im going to plan on working on. i know that i can use parts from a 68 vette and patch it together with a crank off a 98 dodge and then use some super glue to hold together the honda parts...but i just want a complete motor, i want to work on it, i want to put it in my car, and i want to drive my car...i dont want to get parts that people are getting rid of that i dont know if they even ever worked and spend twice as long working on the motor to try to piece together everything just to find that someone lied about something being in working order

HeadlessNorseman · 02-16-2009, 09:11 PM

You dont even need to worry about 4 bolt mains. It doesnt matter. If it has them cool, if not dont worry about it. If you want to find a complete motor, your looking for an l98 motor. Thats a 350 TPI. Your going to have to track down parts, fix stuff, and replace stuff. Trying to avoid that is impossible, Its going to happen. Based on your level of knowledge and experience, you definatley should look for a 2nd car before doing this. Im speaking from experience. Ive tried to DD project cars before and it just totally sucks.

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 10:02 PM

well i mean im partially hoping that my fathers knowledge will fill the huge gaps that im missing when it comes to working on cars lol....he knows a lot about this stuff, used to put motors in his trucks from pieces of other motors that he'd work on...he pieced together parts from a k-5 blazer to put into his 91 pickup once. he was the one who told me that these motors are supposed to have 4 bolt mains as they were found in performance cars, 2 bolt mains were generally for trucks and normal cars...im gonna try to research the topic though, see what this haynes manual says atleast lol

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 10:09 PM

nope nothing in chilton about how many bolts for the crankshaft....oh well lol

camaros_4life34 · 02-16-2009, 10:22 PM

idk your dad could be right but based on my knowledge that ive noticed over the yrs every engine i ever rebuilt that came out of a truck was a 4 bolt main and the 2 bolts were in the cars

WildBillyT · 02-16-2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camaros_4life34

idk your dad could be right but based on my knowledge that ive noticed over the yrs every engine i ever rebuilt that came out of a truck was a 4 bolt main and the 2 bolts were in the cars

I don't know about the 3rd gen stuff (year range) but the 60s and 70s truck motors I've had (4 of them) were all 4 bolt mains.

camaros_4life34 · 02-16-2009, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildBillyT

I don't know about the 3rd gen stuff (year range) but the 60s and 70s truck motors I've had (4 of them) were all 4 bolt mains.

the only 2 bolt main engine i ever took out of a truck was 2 wheel drive it was an 89 chevy 1500 so maybe its 4x4s that came with the 4 bolts idk i just know from my experience on them it ight be something they started doin in the 3rd generations

racerx520 · 02-16-2009, 10:33 PM

i dunno either...i think by truck he meant just your basic run of the mill 1500 pickup with nothing special at all...he made it a point to say that more along the line of high performance motors have the 4 bolt main....too bad i just missed it, someone near me was selling a vette motor all polished up (tpi fully assembled) for 400...just missed it by a couple days lol

HeadlessNorseman · 02-17-2009, 04:16 PM

4 bolts went into big heavy duty stuff. bigger trucks, usually 4wd, 2500 and 3500s, and corvettes. I dont think(not 100%) the f body ever got a 4 bolt 350 from the factory, because there was no need.

LTb1ow · 02-17-2009, 04:40 PM

LT4 has em....

HeadlessNorseman · 02-19-2009, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shownomercy

LT4 has em....

We are talking about SBCs and third gens

racerx520 · 02-19-2009, 10:28 PM

i think in these 3 pages the original question was never answered lol............................................... ...

is it hard to find a 350 tpi in central jersey area? or am i just looking in the wrong junk yards?

HeadlessNorseman · 02-21-2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racerx520

i think in these 3 pages the original question was never answered lol............................................... ...

is it hard to find a 350 tpi in central jersey area? or am i just looking in the wrong junk yards?

Jesus...YES they are hard to find. thats why they are more expensive. And you dont need one. You already have the "TPI" part you just need the "350" part to go along with it. Have you done anything in this thread besides argue everyones answer?

racerx520 · 02-22-2009, 12:06 AM

actually if youve read the thread, you'd realize that i said that i agree that i could get the heads off another car, BUT!!!! this car is my daily driver, i cannot afford a truck, honda, toyota, or even a ****ing GEO...i have to build something, thentake time off work to put it in. that is why im looking for a complete engine, preferably a 350 so thati dont have to spend 500 on a 305, then hunt down 350 heads for another 150-200 just to take the old 305 heads and throw them out...i dont see how this is so hard for people to concieve

you dont take your house with all of your furniture inside and say 'screw it, i want a new house!' demolish the thing and then wait for a year or two for a new one to be built while you live in the abandoned lot!

and again, i'll state what i said above so people dont have to argue back at me....

350 tpi= less work then going out to get a 305, then 350 heads, then the distributor off a 72 datsun, then get the crankshaft from a 02 toyota, then get some silly puddy and make myself a damn exhaust system!

and yeah, im sure you guys know what youre doing, im sure that you guys have plenty of experience/time to work on a project motor, i dont, and i dont have any experience short of doing valve seals in my car, my father has a lot of experience but he's not always around to help.

thanks for those of you who tried to answer my questions rather than just stating the way YOU would build an engine on YOUR time

Knipps · 02-22-2009, 12:27 PM

OR you could just not start the project til you have all the parts

WildBillyT · 02-22-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knipps

OR you could just not start the project til you have all the parts

I agree.

RacerX- If you are under this tight a time/$ limit you might not want to kick this off. If you run into a problem then you will really be hosed.