In reply to Fladiver64 :
No it would be "complete" from the heads down. I figure the heads are the same style as any other SBC so I can use the single plane intake I have with a Holley Carb I have and not need to use the TBI or anything. If the heads are different I do have a couple sets of cylinder heads I can swap on and use.
I haven't seen it so it could very well be in rough enough shape for me not to want it.
5/4-5/6/18
This past Friday I met up with Stampie and pulled the 350 out of his truck for me. I had rod knock but for $50 it was good enough for me.
We got the engine home in the back of out Honda Odyssey where it fit perfectly (picture below):
Once home I got it put on an engine stand to start pulling it apart where I found the heads full of sludge and in the valley small bits of metal. I also found that it had been burning a lot oil, which i assume is because the piston rings are done.
After I pulled the oil pan I found small metal "hairs" in the oil pick-up filter which makes me assume the bearing are completely shredded.
The crank seems to be good but I still have 3 pistons to push out and I think they are the bad ones because so far none of the other 4 pistons have been that bad. I also found that the piston pins and pistons themselves are seized so I think I'll have to get some std bore pistons and pins to swap in.
Huge thanks to Stampie for helping me out with the engine and for helping me pull the engine out of his truck.
When you get your list together of needs let me know. I have lots of sbc rebuild parts, bearings, timing sets, oil pumps, rings, cam bearing tool, cam and lifters, gaskets that i will make you a hook up deal on for your challenge effort. I may have new pistons, not sure. I’m basically on to LS stuff exclusively so the only thing i could really keep to use is a few sets of rings.
In reply to gabecar3 :
Man that sucks .I was hoping it would be better inside. It was fun working with you. That's the fastest I've ever gotten an engine out .
In reply to Patrick :
So far from what I've found I will be buying a "re-ring" kit that comes with all the gaskets, bearings (cam, rod, and main bearings), and pistons rings off Rock Auto for $55 unless I can get a better deal on them.
Parts I still need:
Pistons (debating new hypereutectic pistons or stock cast)
Carburetor (found an Ultra XP for like $250 on Ebay but if anyone has a Holley laying around PM me please)
The stock exhaust manifolds (this is where I think I will have to find a fellow GRM'er to get a good deal on them)
Patrick if you want to shoot me a PM on any performance parts you have for an SBC or any thing else I could use I'd apreciate it, maybe we can work something out.
In reply to Stampie :
It's all good I figured it wasn't going to be in the best condition so most of this is expected. except for the pistons I was not expecting them to be bad...
It was a lot of fun. Yeah I think it'll be hard to beat 3hrs to pull an SBC.
Pm’ed you
gabecar3 said:
The crank seems to be good but I still have 3 pistons to push out and I think they are the bad ones because so far none of the other 4 pistons have been that bad.
A 7 cylinder SBC! VERY cool! 
In reply to SVreX :
A turbo 7cyl SBC to be exact
Part two of today's updates:
I finished pulling the Pistons out of the SBC and cylinders 1-6 are mint then comes cyl 7 and as a result cyl8.... Cyl7 spun a bearing (picture below) and as a result spun the bearing on cyl8 eating through the crank and rod.
*CAUTION Automotive guts below*
In case the blurry pictures deceive you the bearings were pushed out of the side of the rod where it sandwiched between the 7-8 rods and gave the bearings a 2mm lip...
What this means:
Unless i can find a balanced rotating assembly for under $300 that i can swap into my block i have a trashed short block that will get parted, sold, junked, used as a lawn ornament, etc.
Now... Idk too well if i can ghetto machine the crank on that journal and use Oversized bearings on it reliably so let me know if it is possible to try to save this assembly.
So I am back on the search for an SBC... PM me if you have a small block or LS sitting around gathering dust you could sell for cheap. Will drive a couple hours to grab so if its in Florida let me know about it. Also if you have a rotating assembly that you could sell/ ship to me i will be interested.
Thanks for all the support and help with the project so far.
Also this is in no way Stampie's fault. Neither of us thought the engine was as bad as it is. It's just shame the crank is bad.
Man, that hurts.
I wish we could have worked things out for the Elky.
In reply to SVreX :
Yeah but it is what it is.
The Elky would have been the best option for me but the distance is something that wouldn't work.
If you want I'll buy that SBC back. Just the accessories would be worth it.
I'm in the middle of a small block chevy rebuild right now and I can tell you that REBUILDING one is not a great option when you have the constraints of the challenge budget. Yes, it's probably the cheapest V8 out there to rebuild...but machine work alone can quickly eat up 1/2 of a challenge budget (granted...you wouldn't do that much machine work and expect to stay on a challenge budget...I'm just saying it gets expensive).
A donor vehicle is the best option. If you can't do that due to space constraints, neighbors, parents, etc, then I'd recommend looking for someone who is parting a car and has a running engine you can pull with all the stuff you need.
If you CAN do a donor/parts vehicle, it's a no-brainer. Folks with a wrecked car/truck at their house get VERY motivated to sell VERY quickly. If you tell them what you're going to do with it, they may even feel more willing to negotiate down on the price a bit. The last one I dragged home was a Vortec-powered GM pickup truck that was wrecked, but I heard the engine run. $450 purchase price. I sold seats, doors, transmission (I didn't want an "E" transmission) and other stuff off of it for the sum of $390 so far and I am keeping a good engine, nice set of tires/wheels, lots of other stuff, and will build a truck bed trailer out of it (or I could quickly/easily bank up a little more project cash selling tires/wheels, bed, rearend).
If you don't get what you want from a donor vehicle, it's going to "nickle and dime" you to death. The figure of speech was evidently created when nickles and dimes weren't just for parking meters and couch cushions. It's actually going to "$50 and $100" you out of a challenge budget.
The other thing I recommend is "wanted" ads. Post that you're looking for specific parts and what you want to pay for them. I collected 3 Small Block Chevy core engines for $50 each by doing that (just one example). The stuff you want is sitting in corners in garages near you. If someone happens across your ad saying you'll put it to use, they'll contact you. They ALWAYS do...eventually.
Neat project, by the way. I've wanted an S10 since your body style was still a new vehicle and somehow I haven't owned one yet. Weird.
In reply to Stampie :
It's alright i think i can machine the crank and send it. Thanks for the offer though
Okay so today i went to the Sumter County Swap Meet and scored what i think are pretty good deals:
I got a Holley Single plane intake for $15
A set of Ford 8.8 3.08 gears for $20
And a set of stock exhaust manifolds for $20
So $55 later i have a few parts I've been looking for.
I'm asking around and i think i can get a complete rotating assembly for $275ish which will leave me with about $325 for an engine which I'm good with but I'll let y'all know what happens.
If anyone has some Holley double pumpers with mechanical secondaries that they want gone i can help you out.
That minivan rear well works great for hauling around Challenge parts.
Edit:
Another thing to consider is pulling a junkyard engine. Warning Challenge math ahead. So right now you have a $50 Engine with all accessories. You can pull a junkyard engine on half off day for ~$125 for the bare engine. Sell the 4 bolt main block for $50 to zero it out and you get the accessories free to budget.
In reply to Stampie :
Yeah the mini van is the ultimate parts getter and you can't convince me otherwise. Lol
I did think about grabbing a junkyard engine but since i just need the short block I'm going to look into a short block.i saw one for $100 the other day...
In reply to gabecar3 :
Most Challenge competitors don't have a lot of luck putting together a Challenge car 1 piece at a time. It gets much too expensive that way.
It is common for Challengers to have parts cars, often which cost more than the actual Challenge car.
Challenge math just works better that way.
Hey guys,
So currently since I´m back to looking for engines (machine shop wants $300 to machine crank shaft) I went to bleed the brakes since I got the new lines in and everything tight. The fronts are all bleed and presumably working (the pedal got stiff after the fronts were bleed) but in the back when I go open the bleeder there is no air/brake fluid coming out as if something is stopping the fluid from reaching the wheel cylinder (I do know how to bleed brakes so it's probably not user error). I pulled the lines at the wheel and there seems to be fluid there but it won't flow through the wheel cylinder. Could this be caused by a bad wheel cylinder or something in the wheel cylinder (i.e. rust) or is something else?
Also what are some tricks to get a brake drum off once it is rusted on? The driver-side brake drum will not come off. I've tried a torch and nothing I've also tried PB Blaster and nothing. Any ideas will be appreciated.
I assume I should change the drums since one is rusted on to make sure I have a good surface for braking, right?
What are the favorite/best brands of brake pads/shoes for the autocross? I currently have asbestos brake pads (at least that's what the box said) up front and I don't want to run them for obvious reasons and the shoes on the back passenger side are toast.
Thanks for the help,
Gabe
In reply to gabecar3 :
Rusty drums usually require some heat and a BFH. Wail on that thing with everything you've got. It'll let go eventually.
before engaging BFH, put lug nuts on the wheel studs. you can thank me later. ;-)
In reply to barefootskater :
Okay so heat it with a torch and smash it with a BFH? Sounds good enough.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
alright this sounds wise
SVreX said:In reply to gabecar3 :
Most Challenge competitors don't have a lot of luck putting together a Challenge car 1 piece at a time. It gets much too expensive that way.
It is common for Challengers to have parts cars, often which cost more than the actual Challenge car.
Challenge math just works better that way.
Quoted for truth. For example my $2018 car:
Car purchase price: $180
Parts car purchase price: $1,100
You'll need to log in to post.
