Friday, November 25, 2011

My Budget Chevy 350 Build

I have been planning my budget 350 build for a while and I just finally got the ball rolling when I received my parts back from the machine shop. I decided I would list my budget build and show some prices for everything so far.

  • Block - 010, 020 High Nickel Content, 2 bolt main, cleaned, standard bore and ready to build
  • Crank - standard, that was recently ground to .010"-.010" under
  • Pistons - New flat tops
  • Rods - stock rods
  • Heads - 14102191 Swirl Port TBI heads (don't judge, these cost $25.00 in great shape)
  • Intake Manifold - Early 70's non-egr cast iron 4 bbl.
  • Carburetor - Edelbrock 600cfm vacuum secondary
  • Distributor - Factory HEI
  • Camshaft - New stock truck cam
My intent was to rebuild an a 350 engine, not just throw some crap together and hope it runs. My main goal was low price and mild performance and I am sure I will get that with my current build. I have spent a total of $500 so far for all of the above items. My major costs are behind me. I will still need things like gaskets and valve stem seals but so far I believe this is a great price so far.

350 Chevy Parts back from the Machine Shop

I spent the summer doing family things and teaching myself to build computers. This didn't leave me much time to work on my Blazer but in the early fall I was able to drop off my engine internals at the local automotive machine shop. Here is a list of what I had done:
  • Clean cylinder heads
  • Clean intake manifold
  • Clean valve covers
  • Grind stock crank to .010" - .010" under.
  • Install new flap top 350 pistons on the connecting rods
Everything looked great especially the heads. They looked beautiful and they even tough up my valve seats for me. Take a look at my before and after picture of my cylinders heads and they look good.

350 Head Before Cleaning

350 Head after Cleaning




Sunday, November 20, 2011

Camaro Wheels on my Blazer S10

I just got some nice 16" aluminum Camaro wheels for my Blazer S10. I really like the look of the wide low profile tire on the S10's. I will need to do a small drop to get the height where I like it but so far these look great. The tires are worth a damn but replacements can be had for about $80 each brand new. I believe these are the mid to late 1990's Camaro wheels.

1984 S10 Blazer with 1994 Camaro Wheels

S10 Blazer with 1994 Camaro Wheels