Regarding cutting the ridge or not, if one would search “396 overhaul” here on the HAMB, user name Squirrel, you’ll see Jim’s bores on the engine. It sure appears to me that the ridge was not cut out. It was in the first page or two of the thread. I know why it should be, etc. but it sure doesn’t seem to be a necessary thing that is a “engine killer” in short order. Edit: maybe @squirrel can let us know what the ridge was v the bore size below the ridge.
The block I used for my dump truck engine had some ridge but one cyl had a double ridge, if that makes any sense. It musta been run with the second compression ring collapsed for a long time. It was particularly difficult to remove that far down but if it wasn't removed the 2nd ring on that piston woulda been "Jumping" the bottom of the ridge. This block wasn't much good, but the truck aint pretty either! So far so good
If you’re close by, I need a dump truck for a weekend, have a few cold ones, make a few loads, we good!
A poor man's way of measuring is with a ring and a feeler gauge. Align the ring evenly and measure the gap. At the top, at the bottom, and in the groove of the ridge. You'll also have to measure for out of round. Or not. I won't say I'm surprised, but I will say that I'm disappointed. You did what most however would do, you rushed in. lol. Easy to take shit apart isn't it. Buy the book. It's not too late to do the right thing. The best piece of advice someone could have given me was buy a book. Not another car magazine, a book. And David Vizard's how to rebuild your SMALL-BLOCK CHEVY as mentioned, won't steer you wrong and classifies as a book. My lips are moving do you hear what I'm saying. Nod if you do. It's a foundation for learning. It's adaptable knowledge. And the best part, you can take your book to the garage and not worry about breaking it.
Did you run the engine after you put it the diesel? Sixty years ago we would run the engine a few minutes till the engine started to warm up to clear the oil passages. After we changed the filter and drained the diesel we were good to go. This cleaned a lot of crap out of our engines. It worked on flatheads and SBCs.
The cam is junk? Who can tell me why? That’s right Little Johnny, it has rust on some of the lobes. Can that engine be rebuilt, yes. But at what cost? But what I would do is just keep the block and start over with new everything else if I was going to keep the vehicle. You’ll gain experience and knowledge that way.
I'll bet it would be quite a search to find anyone who had ( let alone new how to use ) a piston knurler !!
I knurled pistons in the 60s and later I bought a ford 428 that was .060 over but on markings on the pistons. No 0.60+ pistons available So I found an old Hastings piston knurlier that came with the manual. It said only knurl the non thrust side which makes sense. Looking at old knurled pistons the knurl was gone on the thrust side . I had been doing it wrong all those years. If you are doing slipper skirt pistons take it slow it's easy to break a skirt. As for the Knurlier I still have it and use it +
The Lost Art of Knurling Pistons Takes Skill - And Guts - Engine Builder Magazine The lost art seems to be doing something to solve a problem. The modern way is to throw freshly minted money at it.
The only real cost difference in building a big journal 327 and a 350 is the cost difference in the pistons themselves, there is no other cost difference as all other parts except pistons and crank are the same. Meaning that he pays a bit more for the pistons but doesn't have to buy a 350 crank to please the frigging self styled experts.
Cute way to pick in the FNG but in reality he is just asking engine questions and not car quiestions or posting photos of the car. A small block Chebby is a small block Chebby except for some internal changes over the years. As long as the valve covers are held down by four screws on the sides it will pass the ten foot test.
If it has a steel crank, that would make a nice foundation for a build. I wonder if it has a road draft tube, or pcv system? Some blocks of that year had the casting provision for road draft, but weren't machined for the tube. In the big picture I guess it depends what he wants to do with the engine, daily driver, performance, power adders?
The thin parting line on the OP’s crank says it is cast. Large journal forged steel 327 cranks are one of the most scarce SBC cranks.
By the way, hopefully you numbered the main caps. Front to rear, 1-4, someone may have already stamped them, if not, I can tell you how to match them where they belong. And get Vizard's book, very instructive.
Thanks for posting the crank pic, I must have missed that. I thought the main caps had numbers cast in them 1-4?
After looking at main caps on 327 and 350 I have here they are stamped, either the machine shop did it or it was done at GM. Rod caps are just as important for that labeling. Is that crank pic blurry or are the journals in that bad of shape?
Thanks to Kerrynzl who chimed in on this posting, I reached out to him via e- mail with a similar issue on a 265 & he confirmed my suspicions
Sorry, it was a typo. I will edit the post. Not picking on anyone at all. I knew exactly what he was asking. Wow, ten foot test you say, hum. Looks like the OP is in good hands with so many experts/$hit talkers. Ha! Now maybe back on topic? Carry on.
No other way to say it, it's going to require a fat wallet or a solid Visa card to make this engine run again. Looks like a guy will need to mill the head to get that gasket off? Am I the only one who measures the intake and exhaust profiles across the cam? I didn't think the cam looked that bad actually. Small wonders maybe it was recently changed out?
Hi Ron, thanks for the endorsement , I'm happy to help out. I'm a real believer in not doing the "dismantle of death" Then you over capitalize on something only to sell it for pennies in the dollar later when you "lose sight of the ball" I recommended trying to find a late model 350 "roller cam" short block [from an IROC Camaro etc] and swapping on heads ,manifolds ,waterpump etc etc to make it more HAMB friendly. I would rather spend time driving [and maybe developing the engine] rather than having the engine serving a life sentence in "Machine Shop Hell" I've had amazing good luck with both Ford and Chevy roller cam engines
The cam looks pitted like the crank journals do as well. @Beng87 has the block been bored, if so how much? Clean off the top of ge pistons and see if an .030, etc is stamped in them. I like @Kerrynzl ’s approach to a 350, there’s some additional cost though, not earth shattering to go with a roller block, mainly flywheel/flex plate and water pump. You can slot the inner 4 intake holes on your intake and use it, or go aftermarket. But a quick way to get back on the road for much less than salvaging what you have, my-now my kids- ‘89 block was fine at a 180k until the head gasket let loose.
That crank above looks forged. Pic angle? Other journals? Yes, I too see a mess here but may be worth estimating fixes vs replacements. Casting numbers, "pre 64-5-6", lessons, blah blah blah. A block casting number carried through for many years. Casting #0U812 may have been used for 3 to 7 years before the new variant came out. This seems to fall across many other OEMs too. Not worth the attention, and frankly pretty easy to feret out. I was really hoping to see the light come on in the fridge he built to make a sandwich (just lettin y'all know I'm following along ) and see WFT the oiling issue is, but it looks like (is that the motor?) it's a mullered up mess and there's an oil galley holding metal or sludge hostage.
All true, Can you spell pedantic? The engine has no spatial awareness , or concept of era-correctness. I should just stay quiet and go now, my Engine is from 1965
Had to look this one up, 1969 235hp, 327 - 2bbl./ PG. Cast at Flint plant, #186 , 70cc hds, late 327/ early350 hds. That crank looks terrible, I think this would make a nice 30/30 motor, done right, but Noel is correct, no farm yard rebuild is going to save this gem, looks like a $7000k rebuild, dropped off at the shop, done right with no junk parts. This guy should buy another motor, or let pro's do this one.
A pic of the crank casting number would help determine if cast or not. The number looks like it starts with 39xxxxx, some forged cranks have only 4 digits but some started with 39xxxxx.
The Jalopy Journal
