so heres the deal, this guy rebuilt this 350 for himself and then bought a mustang. now he wants to sell the engine. he told me about another engine and i dont know that much about engines so i figured id ask you guys.

So there are two engines thats he's told me about one is a 350, and the other is a 305 bored out 20. i know what bored out is, and i assume that the 20 is how much its bored out, he wants $1000 for that engine and thats all i know about it.

he wants $900 for the 350, it has a lifted edelbrock manifold, and a holley 4 barrel carb. i know the specifics get more specific than that but i dont know them. Here are the pics of the 2nd engine.

i am looking for power but like i said i dont know that much so im hoping you guys could help me out. Depending on the advice i get here i'll decide whether or not i should go check out the 305, and if i do i'll post those pics for your approval or disapproval

thanks
chris

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/sirhc063/02.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/sirhc063/01.jpg

305s are garbage. Look into the 350

305's are junk...for about the same you can get a 350. For a little more, a 383.
Don't waste your time with the 305, find out the specs of the 350 (such as what cam/pistons are in it) and let us know.

FYI - "bored out" simply means the round hole where the pistons go (cylinder) is basically "drilled" out .020 of an inch. The term "30 over" on a sbc 350 makes it into 355 cubic inches.

About the 350 engine, ask him about this stuff AND if he doesn't know after he put the engine together, offer him $500 for it! OR walk away b/c you will be buying something of unknown quality!

Chamber and valve size of the heads?
............Last three numbers of the head casting number? (Like this, -186 or -601)..

Compression ratio?

Headgasket type, (shim or composite) and thickness, (.015" to above .040" thick)?

What kind of pistons are in it?
.............Bore, .030", .040", or .060" overbore?
.............Forged, cast or hyper's?
.............Flat-top;
.....................4-notch, 2-notch, or single 2-notch trough?
.............Domed or dished;
.....................Type of dome or dish?

Cam spec's;
.............Who's cam is it and what is it's part number?
.............Solid, hydraulic, or roller lifter?

Crank, cast or forged?

Block and head machining work spec's..

This will get you started and I figure he should also have shoebox full of receipts for parts too, to show you what's in it if he built it like said.

pdq67

ok i sent him all those questions, i dont know how many he will be able to answer tho. i guess we'll find out. thanks for that advice i'll post his answers as soon as i get them....

thanks
chris

A grand for a 305? In USD?

About the 350 engine, ask him about this stuff AND if he doesn't know after he put the engine together, offer him $500 for it! OR walk away b/c you will be buying something of unknown quality!

Chamber and valve size of the heads?
............Last three numbers of the head casting number? (Like this, -186 or -601)..

Compression ratio?

Headgasket type, (shim or composite) and thickness, (.015" to above .040" thick)?

What kind of pistons are in it?
.............Bore, .030", .040", or .060" overbore?
.............Forged, cast or hyper's?
.............Flat-top;
.....................4-notch, 2-notch, or single 2-notch trough?
.............Domed or dished;
.....................Type of dome or dish?

Cam spec's;
.............Who's cam is it and what is it's part number?
.............Solid, hydraulic, or roller lifter?

Crank, cast or forged?

Block and head machining work spec's..

This will get you started and I figure he should also have shoebox full of receipts for parts too, to show you what's in it if he built it like said.

pdq67


these were his answers.......

Chamber and valve size of the heads?
no idea

Compression ratio?
no idea

Headgasket type, (shim or composite) and thickness, (.015" to above .040" thick)?
i used mr. gasket

What kind of pistons are in it?
stock

Cam spec's;
.............Who's cam is it and what is it's part number?
i have no idea, its a small cam... 472 lift...

.............Solid, hydraulic, or roller lifter?
solid

Crank, cast or forged?
stock

Block and head machining work spec's..
i never took it to a machine shop, stock...

thats what he told me. I dont think that he knows all that stuff, or was trying to rebuild it by any certain standards, i think he just knows whats needs to be replaced or taken care of when rebuilding an engine and did that.

let me know what you think pdq
chris

I'd steer clear if I were you

Reading back on what i wrote, i started this topic off saying, "this guy rebuilt this 350 for himself".
What i meant is that the guy is the brother of a good friend of mine. So i dont think that he is trying to screw me over with this engine. Like I said he is my friends brother, and I had been to his house and seen the engine before he even had plans to buy the mustang. So i dont know if that makes a difference to you guys when you consider the situation, but i just thought i would mention it.

chris

HAHAH .472 small lift cam. Thats a good bit of cam right there. If the engine can be started I'd ask him to start it and listen for any irregularities. Plus I wouldn't pay $900 for it maybe $400 but thats if it's good though. Stay away from 305s

yeah,, if he never took it in for machining,,,,,,,it's basically a rebuildable core from here. you're gonna either drive it as is for a no more than a 500$ USED engine with a few new bearings and rings in it. basically a brand new painted engine with 100,000 miles on the inside parts that count,, like bores,,valve guides,, cam bearings,, crank journals,,,,,etc...... he probably never even pulled all the oil galley plugs from the block to clean them out properly.

we call that type engine a "vat special"!!! paint does wonders to appeal in appearance to folks. but the inside machining clearances are what counts for longevity.

new rings and bearings don't really mean squat if the bores and crank journals and valve guides weren't check'd out,, and machined if worn. probably a bit loose still even now. not worth more than the 200$ he has in parts and 250-300$ in core value. but if you can get it with the carb and intake complete to oil pan,, maybe 600$ if he even threw in those pretty msd plug wires!!! in short time you'll be opening it back up to do it right if you want compression and cam in it with better headflow. that's what it's going to take to get power from it. good luck with your choice.

i'd stay away from 305's.

The guys are saying why I told you to ask him what's in it!

Hell, I know what's in every engine I ever "shade-tree'd"!! Much less did right!!

pdq67

I just finished a 350 4 bolt-flat top forged pistions, new rings and cam berings, hv oil pump, machine work, new RHS vortec heads, comp cam roller tipped rockers, Comp XE268H Cam. Stelth intake, I have about 1300 in this motor. Oh yea the core for this motor was only 150 bucks. I think you can do alot better on a motor you know is soundly built.

The 305 makes a good boat anchor
good luckhttp://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u302/rsg63/Picture040r1.jpg

here one more Pic of the motor I just finished


http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u302/rsg63/Picture042r1.jpg

I have to agree with pdq and others.I build 4 or 5 engines a year and can remember almost every part and most part numbers in every one I've done.Too bad your so far away from me. I have an engine in a pickup that would be a perfect street engine.Built it 10 years ago and it has 28,000 miles on it.The truck body got rough and I took it off the road.10 years ago and I can tell you every part in it off the top of my head.

rsg63, nice looking motor...305 junk....u can find alot better for alot less..

rsg63 that is a nice looking engine...

I dont know what i'm gonna do.
i mentioned a lower price to this guy and he seems like he doesnt wanna go lower at all. I might have to just forget about that engine.

I guess i'll start looking around again, i have a 305 in my camaro presently and it is a piece of junk, and its leakin oil bad....like two quarts a week bad. To bad none of you guys live round here. Either way this turns situation turns out, i wanna learn about engines. I'll probably tear that old 305 apart after i get a new engine, just to see whats inside.

thanks,
I appreciate all you guys help.
chris

p.s. if you live in texas and know someone in the San Antonio, San Marcos, Austin area who you know does good engine work, LET ME KNOW. :)

We aren't saying the guy is trying to screw you, it's just that we KNOW what's in the engines we put together so he should too, in our humble opinion..

Otherwise, I'd stay away from it unless you trust him enough to buy it anyway.

All this said, it's now your call to buy it or not..

And good luck whatever you decide to do..

pdq67

PS., and I've dingle-berry honed and spray-painted engines that I ran for years and years!! Sure, they rattled and leaked oil, but they still just kept on going!! NOT race motors at all, but rather daily, go to work motors!!

We aren't saying the guy is trying to screw you, it's just that we KNOW what's in the engines we put together so he should too, in our humble opinion..

Otherwise, I'd stay away from it unless you trust him enough to buy it anyway.

All this said, it's now your call to buy it or not..

And good luck whatever you decide to do..

pdq67

PS., and I've dingle-berry honed and spray-painted engines that I ran for years and years!! Sure, they rattled and leaked oil, but they still just kept on going!! NOT race motors at all, but rather daily, go to work motors!!


sirhc063,,
exactly what pdq said. 1000$ is alot to downplunk for a USED engine that may/will have to come back apart to put pistons and heads on it if you want more power later,, plus the machine work if needed. just alot for what's in it,,,,, or not.

maybe find a core that the seller will allow you to have crack checked and measured to know that it's good. or that you've heard run and know it's not knocking at the crank,, etc......

if you want performance from it,, maybe a core is a better starting point as pdq is saying. then you'll know EVERY part in it,, because YOU put it there.
most of us here,, we understand that it's a running engine,, but there are really no performance parts in it. only on the outside,, that we can see. a big cam in a stock compression engine will not perform as well as when it's matched to the compression ratio properly. although,, it can have some wear and run like a bat out of hell ,, or really great,, if everything is matched up properly. that's basically what pdq is saying. but you really don't know,, so it's a crapshoot at best. and a lot of $$ for a crapshoot. good luck with your choice. hope we've help'd some.

I agree with everything already said.

Look at it another way. It looked like the engine is in a camaro, if it runs good doesn't smoke got good oil preasure its better than what you've got. The carb manifold and other stuff is worth something. He is going another direction. So offer him 1200 or 1500 for the whole car. Then partout what you don't use.