choosing the right 350 chevy setup

[capitan828]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

I took one of the heads apart and I noticed the intake valves having a little more play than the exhaust valves when wiggled from side to side. Is that normal, does anyone have any specs for these? Are the valve guides removable On the heads? It doesn't look like they are.

Ok, so I figured out that I CANT replace the valve guides and valves myself.
I don't want to spend a fortune on this project with a machine shop so I'm just gonna check for wear and hopefully clean it up and slap them back together with new stem seals.

 

[capitan828]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

I measured some of the intake valve play and this is what happened. I placed the dial indicator on the very top of the valve stem while pushing up on valve to seat it on the head and I got about .003 worth of play. I also measured it while NOT pushing up on the valve and got .005 worth of play. Can anybody tell me if I'm in the clear or if I'm screwed. >_<

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

take the heads in, have them inspected. the machine shop will not screw you, they will honesty tell you what needs to get done. Every machine shop I have ever went to has been honest. they want repeat business, so they treat everyone right.

get an estimate. if its more than new GM heads, then buy the new heads.

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

If you did a accurate job of measuring the clearance, .005 play means you need the guides fixed or replaced. They can be knurled, lined, or replaced. Most shops will lean toward replacing. At least the ones i know of will. If you can find a shop that does the bronze spiral guide liners they work well and are inexpensive, as it is a quick procedure.

I would find out who in your area does machine work for dirt track racers. The dirt racer machine shops are the best combination of performance type quality and the lowest cost. Like i said before it wont take long to spend more to rehab a set than to buy new from the link i provided.
Good luck!

 

[Ryanlewis2010]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

take the heads in, have them inspected. the machine shop will not screw you, they will honesty tell you what needs to get done. Every machine shop I have ever went to has been honest. they want repeat business, so they treat everyone right.

get an estimate. if its more than new GM heads, then buy the new heads.

I Agree 100% with that in this day in age machine shops are becoming a lost art when people can go buy a brand new aftermarket or just a brand new car machine shops will do all they can to keep your business. my machine shop went over and above what i expected an i sure as he# plan on using him again when i do my 305/350 setup so ill be watching what you buy to copy you HAha please post a shopping list when done . Also tlk to your machine shop about ordering the parts you need my machine shop was able to order all the parts for my rebuild at the dealer price and only did a 10% surcharge instead of the usual 50. i think i got my complete gasket kit complete top to bottom marine kit for like 25 dollars.

just my .02

Ryan

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

Heads are not an area where you want to skimp. You are leaving both performance and more importantly reliability on the table if you choose to do the home band-aid fixes. Worn out guides can ruin your day (and your engine) if a valve stem happens to bind up in one, and crash the valve.

Last set of heads I had done were done at a local machine shop run by a mom and pop parts company. They were for my big block. I had them clean, crack test, check the springs, check the guides, plane the heads, install new stainless valves W/ a 3 angle valve job, and it cost me $454 dollars (that was an easy number to remember ) which isn't too bad.

 

[capitan828]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

Can anybody tell me what the difference is between some of the "marine" rebuild kits On ebay and the regular ones.. Besides maybe the gasket set being marine and brass freeze plugs. Is the oil pump different, is there and major difference between a truck cam and a marine one? Or are they just calling it a "marine" kit and Doubling the price?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

depends on the cam, however some low duration, low lift cams are both truck and marine. and yes, marine head gaskets are much more than regular.

I purchased my Fel-Pro head gaskets from summit racing when I purchased the rest of my stuff. the head gaskets were $40 each when a standard head gasket is $12 each.

for Oil pumps, I recommend melling high volume. make sure you also get the melling pickup and the melling intermediate shaft. I think I paid $37 for the pump, $8 for the pickup and $11 for the intermediate shaft.

 

[capitan828]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

depends on the cam, however some low duration, low lift cams are both truck and marine. and yes, marine head gaskets are much more than regular.

I purchased my Fel-Pro head gaskets from summit racing when I purchased the rest of my stuff. the head gaskets were $40 each when a standard head gasket is $12 each.

for Oil pumps, I recommend melling high volume. make sure you also get the melling pickup and the melling intermediate shaft. I think I paid $37 for the pump, $8 for the pickup and $11 for the intermediate shaft.

Even then, that only accounts for maybe 100 bucks at the most. These characters wants 900 bucks for a "marine" rebuild kit and others want 500 for a regular kit. I didn't think the marine industry was so rediculous!

 

[capitan828]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

Since I'm gonna have a full closed cooling system, can't I use regular head gaskets And invest that money in something else???

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

Since I'm gonna have a full closed cooling system, can't I use regular head gaskets And invest that money in something else???

yes. and with a closed cooling system, you can also us an aluminum intake, and aluminum heads if you want.

what did your machine shop say about the heads? BTW, your local machine shop will be a better deal on parts than Ebay.

 

[capitan828]

Re: choosing the right 350 chevy setup

they are rebuilding the heads for $440 with ss valves, bronze guides, and special valves seals that the guides need. they will be magna fluxing them and surfacing them as well. he also wanted to sell me the performance valve springs from engine tech but I'm not sure if they will fit vortec heads. can you guys tell me what would be the best oil pan for my vortec engine? i know they sell high capacity ones

yes. and with a closed cooling system, you can also us an aluminum intake, and aluminum heads if you want.

what did your machine shop say about the heads? BTW, your local machine shop will be a better deal on parts than Ebay.