I'm planning on rebuilding the 350 in my '71 Skylark over the winter and would like to know some good sites to get a rebuild kit from? I've looked and all of the kits I've seen are $600+, I'm hoping to find one for under $500. Also, is there anything else I need to get other than a rebuild kit? I've already replaced the fuel tank so that shouldn't be a problem.
Your first move should be to have a machine shop dis-assemble the engine and give you a quote on the machine work required. At that point you would be able to order a kit when you know what size bearings, rings, etc are required. This will also help you decide if you need new pistons or not. I use the kits from Northern Auto Parts, and just add a TA cam, TA cam bearings, and a TA adjustable oil pressure regulator. I have a hunch that you may not have the $ for a full rebuild, you may want to consider a diagnosis of what is really wrong with the engine before you more forward... The least expensive Buick 350 rebuild I have done was $2400 including parts, labor and machine work.
$2400? :eek2: I could get a fully rebuilt 455 for less than that! I guess I'll just get the cam/lifters timing set and the rocker assemblies replaced.
The rebuild kit you are referring to is just the parts and gaskets. The machine work, if done correctly, is more than the parts. Do you need a rebuild?
I would be surprised if you could get a quality rebuild for under $2400, just the machine work is usually about $1500.
I did my rebuild for about $1200. While still over your $600 budget, I believe you can do a good job at this price point. I did get my engine rebuild kit from Northern auto parts. and replaced the water, and fuel pumps and a rebiuld of the oil pump. I also had the heads rebuilt fur nolead gas, "hardened valve seats" $400 All that said "I" did most of the work. Remove and replaced the engine. Cleaning of the block, Painting all the parts. The teardown and reassemble of the engine. If you know someone that has done a rebiuld before and they are willing to help you IT CAN BE DONE Good luck
Sounds like it worked out great for you. I am guessing you just put in new bearings and rings and no actual measurements or machine work were done to the block or crank.
Wasn't the 1971 Buick 350 engine already set up for unleaded gas with hardened valve seats etc. from the factory?
Yes, the 71-80 Buick 350 heads are induction hardened however no actual hardened seat was installed as far as I know. When it comes time to rebuild it is hit and miss whether or not the machine work will go through all of the "hardened" material. There is no way to tell before hand if you need hardened seats installed or not, this is best left to the machine shop.
Standard rings and bearing is corect. The engine only had 50k miles and I did not add any performance parts:ball: WE did use the compression wax to guage the clearences. Everything came out good. At the time I did my rebuild I had not found this website and was unsure how to go about adding HP to it. If I new then what I know now
It definitely needs a new cam and lifters, I get a really bad popping through the carb on acceleration, has 1 or 2 flat exhaust lobes... I'm not sure if thats the only problem though, it accelerates extremely slow. How much will a flat exhaust lobe effect performance? I also get a knocking noise on cold startup for the first 5 seconds, then the knock goes away.
A few flat cam lobes will KILL performance, basically running on 6 cylinders. It is not un common for engines to tap for a few seconds on start up. My 2008 SUV taps for 3-5 seconds every start up. Why not start with a cam, lifters, and timing set, then see how it runs?
Alright, I'll probably order from TA Performance than. Which cam would you recommend using? I'd like to get the TA-212 or the TA-284. Also, what's the difference between the Delphi and the Johnson lifters? EDIT: My car wasn't making the knocking noise at start up until about 3 or 4 months ago.
Use the 212 cam if you plan to leave the stock torque converter in place, the 284 is good if you want better performance but only if you are willing to swap out the torque converter with a higher stall version. I am not sure what brand the lifters are that I have used from TA but they work fine.. Just make sure you get the 70-80 lifters not the 68-69. As suggested above, there are many reasons that the engine may lick on start up, start with a new good quality oil filter.
I'd use the Delphi/GM lifters that TA sells, they have the hardened insert that rides on the cam lobe like the original lifters did.
Just ordered the TA212, Delphi lifters and a timing set. Anything else I might need to get? I'll be having a shop do the work for me. Also what would you guys recommend using to break in the cam? I know I'll need a new valley pan and rocker cover gaskets, but other than that will I need anything else? o No:
Might as well order a full gasket kit as you never know when you will need to replace another gasket. It is a good time to replace the water pump as well. I use this: http://www.streetperformance.com/part/comp-cams/assembly-lube/152036-159.html
