I recently purchased a Buick 350 engine to rebuild while my '76 Regal is in the body shop. First off, after tearing down the engine I found the pistons have 060 stamped on all of them. Each cylinder bore has rust around it's top. See included pictures. The block is post 71 and has common heads and looks like it was a reman block at some point. Next, I also have a complete '71 engine that I plan to use the heads from on the above engine. Anyway, I plan to figure out the best of the two, at this point, to build a good little 350. Any thoughts on the pics?
Get some brake cleaner spray and clean it better. Measure bore would be first. As you may be able to just hone. Looks like there is no ring ridge. It will cost alittle extra but you can go bigger after sonic testing block to confirm its good for overbore. But you would need custom pistons. What are your expectations/goals with this build?
My plan is to build a nice daily driver that will get up and go when I press the gas. I have a Crower cam, Poston 4 bbl instake, headers and dual exhaust. The cam is was not installed in original engine, yet.
Bumping up compression would be ideal for a stronger running engine. The only pistons available in .060 over that I know are the 1734 silvolite piston. Flat top. Nets about 9.9 at .060 over. 360 inches. Or custom forged. I would suggest a Quadrajet Power built carb. A 2500 small block rated torque converter. Which cam do you have?
My personal opinion would be to use the 71 engine if possible. That rebuilt may have been rebuilt several times since it's already .060 over. Seeing that rebuilt tag on the engine, more than likely it was done by a larger rebuilding company like Jasper. You never know what you'll find inside one of those. If you want to be sure which one to use, disassemble both and let your machine shop make the decision.
That cam would be fine in the stock engine. Doesn’t really even need a 4 barrel. You will gain more from headers.
A Quadrajet Power rebuilt carb would be the best choice for a bolt on carb. Edelbrock carbs require alot of jetting and other adjustments to get fuel curve even close. Milling of block .20-.30 should get compression around 8.2-8.3. Which should make low end torque pretty good with the .060 pistons.
The '71 is torn down, the heads are in the shop and the block is going this week. I added pics to show the condition of the block which shows the #2 piston is in poor shape and the crank is not too bad. The heads will get 3 angle valve jobs and the seats checked, possibly hardened seats on the exhaust side. The block will get checked, honed or overbore and deck possibly milled to boost compression. Will be buying new piston that will depend on bore size.
