VinhZXT Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 From which older car can I find the HO 350 that I can rebuild? Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pauli Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 i would think you should be able to pull a 350 out of any rwd chevy made in the past 40 years. same for pontiac, and maybe olds too. and gmc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank280z Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 I guess it couldn't hurt to look into the older trucks as well. Finding a 3/4 ton pu will most likely ensure that its a 350 with 4 bolt mains. I think 400s have three freeze plugs on the side. Dont pass that one by either. You could build a monster out of either of them. Anyway,welcome to the forum. Good luck on your projectZXT. 79-83? z31?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhaag Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 Vinh: When I saw your message, I wondered if you might be the same Vinh who owns the yellow ZX with the nice bodywork. I had saved some photos you'd posted somewhere else. Sure enough, when I went to your web site, you turned out to be the one. Welcome! I like what you've done with the rear of the car--no bumper and with the aero rear quarter panels. I also like the vents you put in the sides of the front fenders. As far as your question, I chose to put in a later model (89) 350 with the pollution control equipment. Why? One reason (not the main one) is that I work at a university where there is a nationally known air quality scientist. He had his monitors set up to check the cars entering the parking lot one day. My stock 79 engine, while it was well tuned, qualified as a "gross polluter" in his measurement system. Ouch!! The real reason I chose my engine, however, is because I wanted fuel injection and there happened to be an 89 at the local junk yard. The price would be a lot lower now (!) than it was 5 years ago. Radically reducing my pollution levels was a nice side benefit. However, I drive my car so little that even with the original engine, the volume of pollutants I was putting into the air was small. I live in Denver which has a serious air quality problem in the winter. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted December 29, 2000 Author Share Posted December 29, 2000 Thank you all for the info. Does this mean all the V8 chevys have 350 engines? There is a local junkyard that has many old cars, camaro, T/A, olds, buick... you name it... 70 thru mid 80's. Can someone point me to a specific model with the 400 SB? Is there any number stamp on the block so I can identify it? How do I know the block is any good? what to look for etc....? should I pull the trans from the same car? if not which trans from which car can I get which will fit into a 280ZX without any major modification of my trans tunnel? building an engine is totally new for me so I have lots of questions. Thanks again for all the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 VinhZXT, the best thing you can do, so you don't end up with a 305 (looks identical to the 350) or other block with less cubes, is to get a book like "How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy" by David Vizard that is published by HP Books. He shows the history of the small block Chevy and how to identify them. Likewise his other books are great too! Try "How to Build Max Performance Chevy Small Blocks on a Budget." That is also by David Vizard and is published by Cartech. That is an awesome book! A third I'll recommend is "How to Build Chevrolet Small-Block V8 Race Engines" by Bill Tarrant and Chris Hawkinson and published by Motorbooks International. The first and last of the forementioned books have good information on the V8 engines and are a cheap investment as well. Get the JTR book as well since that is the "Bible" that many, if not most of use for V8 swaps. Their TBI/TPI manual may help you as well if that is the kind of swap you are thinking about, but is unavailable until February as I understand it. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 Hey jhaag, if your engine was in tune, then it should NEVER be a gross polluter. I work in the automotive industry and have cars smog checked all the time here in California (home of the most cars and the strictest emission laws!). What is his basis for saying your car is a gross polluter? California has a standard and every car, including older cars have a window in which their emissions can fall. Even my '74 260Z with downdraft Webers passes both the visual and emissions test! I would challenge this guy any day of the week!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhaag Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 Apparently the standards for how much pollution is allowable are tightened frequently (yearly?) and when his instruments measured my emissions in 1995, they qualified as 'gross polluter." Of course, my emissions were in complete compliance with the 1979 standards but in relation to the small amounts of pollution that were allowed on 1995 cars, my car (with the stock 79 engine) got labeled as a polluter. With my 89 engine, I FAR exceed what is necessary for a 79 vintage car. The professor is nationally known but there are some who call him Dr. Quack too, so there certainly is a difference of opinion on what is good or not good. I mostly found the whole episode to be amusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pauli Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 one thing occured to me: if you go for an olds with a 350, just make sure it's not diesel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 29, 2000 Share Posted December 29, 2000 Emissions are only tightened up for new cars in CA. The smog laws are (supposed to be)based on common sense: older cars can never be reasonably be expected to meet ever increasingly tightening standards. It defies the laws of physics and logic. If your car meets the levels for 1979--that's it, period. Otherwise it would be like the DOT saying, "hey, you don't have anti-lock brakes, which are the norm for new cars; we will have to ground your car until you comply." That's pure BS because they approved the car when it was new. Retroactive laws are BS. I would have the car smogged locally, make sure it passes, then throw the paper in his face the next time Prof. Quack says you drive a gross polluter. Sorry, Man, I'm just venting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peternell Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Go to "www.mortec.com" for all of your Chevy casting number info. Date codes are located on the passanger side transmission mounting flange of the block. 305's weren't made until 1977. Newer SBC have the size cast into the transmission mounting flance on the driver side. (look for 5.7 and avoid 5.0) In junk yards look for the large 8" balancer, which is usually, but not a sure sign of a 350 or 400 (most basic 350's have a smaller balancer but the 305's don't have the 8"er) 400's can be identified by an 8" balancer with some material missing to allow for external balance and by 3 freeze plugs on 70-72 engines (which are 4-bolt main) or 73-78 engines with 2 freeze plugs and a casting boss but no plug for the 3rd, or 79-80 engines with only 2 freeze plugs and a #509 cast on the side of the block. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Umm okay I'll bite... What exactly are you looking for out of your ZX? HPwise that is. Set a budget and HP goal and work from there towards what you want. You do NOT have to pull the motor from a junkyard and if your budget allows you can buy a new engine with a warranty and skip the whole learning curve of building a motor! As for not modding the trans tunnel - good luck! I think most of us have had to make some mods but they are NOT hard to do and don't involve major cutting or welding. Usually you just have to bang a bit with a big hammer - not noticable from inside the car. Do you prefer an auto trans or a stick shift? Is there a stick in your car now? I guess in shoret my advice is to plan out what you want and then attack it in a systematic fashion. Buying the motor and dragging it home might not be step one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 You don't want a SBC 400 for a 70-78 Z. the 400 Chev is externally balanced. The larger diameter (than a 283/305/327/350) flywheel places the starter motor too far out and it will interfere with the TC rod mount. The larger diameter harmonic balancer will interfere with the steering rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MistaFosta Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Also, watch out for older pontiacs, and oldsmobiles!!!! Pre 74 or so pontiacs and Olds have larger blocks than the Chevys. Thats back when they were all from the same casting. Those Blocks are wider than the chevy blocks, and Will NOT fit in a Z (Without some serious modding...) Also, the factory 400 SBC was not the greatest of blocks, its way overbored. Not enough cylinder wall thickness. I think there are some special mods to fix the problem, but personally, I prefer a 350, or 383 stroker. Good Luck, whatever you find Im sure it will suit you perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumo Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Welcome Vinh nice to see you here are you working on another ZX? Most 70's Camaros came with a Chevy 350 if it did come with a 305 the dip stick for the oil should be on the passenger side i think. The later 80's Camaro and Firebirds came out with mostly 305 and a few IROC Z28's came out with the 350 TPI engines. I think the mid 80's Firebirds that came with a 350 were Formulas and Trans Ams some plain firebirds came with a six only. Most early 70's Trans Ams came with either a Pontiac 400 or and Oldsmobile 403, the difference being the Olds had the oil filler near the top radiator hose. I'm not 100% sure on these but check to make sure. Someone here gave a link once on how to decipher the casting numbers hopefully it's still in the old post or he'll post it again. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted December 30, 2000 Author Share Posted December 30, 2000 Thank you all for the info. I just met a guy with a 79 camaro with a 350 in it and it is for sale 2000 OBO. He claims it produce 400HP and he is running low 12s. I don't believe a word he said but instead of building a motor what do you think if I buy something like this and take the drivetrain and drop it in my 79ZX? How long should I expect an engine like this to last? I am trying to build a low 12s ZX car and if I wanted to I can put some NOS to get into the 11s.. My original intention was to build the L6 turbo like Scottie had which I had most of everything to do the project but I want to look into other alternatives. I love the turbo L6 and love to surprise street racing people in Philly with my old L6 ZX... BTW last night another Cobra mustang was killed by my 13s 280ZXT and I heard my friend said he was spraying too... hehehe.. Thanks for all the help again...and have a happy new year everyone...take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 VinhZXT, Buying the entire car is actually not a bad way of doing it. I'd find out what transmission is behind that camaro, if its not a 5sp or a 700r4 automatic then depending on your use of the car, you may have to figure in another transmission or look for another donor car to buy. Reason is, you probably will want overdrive if you do any highway driving at all. The advantage of buying the whole car is getting alot of the bits you normally have to buy if you go with say a crate motor. There is really no way tell how long it could last. Was it rebuilt? By whom? And another thing I cringe when I see in a ad (its almost a signal for me to run far away) that the car is 'FAST' in the ad. That tells me its probably not had easy miles on it. I'd rather find a freeway driven car with a few more miles driven by some older couple than one that has been raced to death. Just a opinion mind you. Good luck in your quest! Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Vinh, If this is really a 12-sec Camaro, then that would be a good way to go if he can prove it. If the trans is original, you might get stuck with a 4-spd manual or 3-spd auto. However, if it has a 5-spd or auto with o/d, then borrow one of your buddy's G-tech and force the owner to let him prove his claim. If he refuses, then get the head and block casting numbers to verify exactly what he has, then do a compresion test. If it is a good engine, then the potential is there. You can then buy a junkyard drivetrain, put it in the car and get something back out of it plus sell your L28T stuff. If your goal is only low-12s and I guesstimate the weight to be 2900lbs with you in it, you only need 345RWHP. If you have all the L28T pieces, you are already there. You are already running low-13s with a bone-stock L28T. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z Scottie's GNZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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