Here's a lil bit of history of the chevy engine, and some very useful info on how to buy and rebuild a 350. What does everyone in the U.S need? An automobile. To have an automobile, the driver must know the way in which their car was built. If the driver doesn't know about their vehicle, then they are setting themselves up for danger, possibly death. That's why people are lucky to have engine literate people to teach them what they need to know about their car. Louis Chevrolet started it all. Him not being born could have setback the evolution of automobiles drastically. Louis Chevrolet was born on December 25, 1878, he was born in La Chaux de Fonds, Neuchatel, Switzerland. Louis was an automobile designer, and racer. His name is borne by the Chevrolet Division of GMC (General Motors Corporation.) He emigrated to the United States from France in 1900. Then in 1911 he and William Crapo Durant built the very first Chevy car. Chevrolet had very little interest in it; so he sold his interest to Durant in 1915. Then later the next year he brought the CMC into the G.M. organization. In 1920, other cars by Chevrolet won the Indy 500 mile race. Guess what? In 1995 the Chevy small block turned 40 years old!! For now OVER 40 years, Chevy has designed handfuls of infamous engines. In 1957, Chevy's first big-bore 283 was built, it was the very first Chevy engine to have the one-horsepower-per-cubic-inch status. It was also one of the first engines, aside from the Chevrolet Corvette to have a mechanical fuel injection system. The 283 started the new breed of performance engines. Next is the 1964, 374 horsepower, 327 "horsepower king." Now to skip ahead a few years, we get to the infamous '68.'69,'70 350 engines; one of the most popular small block makes of all time. Though the 1957 283 engine set off the "new breeds," it all really began in 1955, the year that the very first small-block was designed. It was all a very simple design: compact, powerful, and lightweight. The 1955 Chevy small-block v-8 made other engines look like weed eaters. There were other engines with the eight cylinder design, but they couldn't amount to Chevy's potential no matter how hard they tried. Want proof? Okay then; the Chevrolet small-block v-8 engine has won more races and championships than any other automobile engine. Now it is the '90's, and what is on everyone's' mind? Power. Some people aren't interested in today's new computerized engines, they want raw 100% pure engine power. There are many places to go to get a used engine. Anyone can find one from a newspaper, want ads, friends, swap meets, practically anywhere. There are two groups of used engines; one is the "stab-in" engine that the seller would like the buyer to believe it can be spray-can rebuilt, stabbed in the car, and then driven. The other kind is somewhat disassembled and will require work. These are the best way to buy, and even more fun! What a buyer should do before purchasing a used engine: A wise buyer should check the oil. Without oil, the fool might as well drive the car off of a cliff. Oil is one of the most important fluids in the engine. The oil lubricates, seals, cleans, and cools the engine. It is a must to check the spark plugs for oil. Oil on the spark plugs indicate big problems. Then the buyer absolutely has to check the radiator fluid. If the fluid is milky, then that means that the engine is having problems with keeping the oil and water separated; which means that's there is a blown head gasket, cracked block or cracked head. If the radiator fluid is totally crystal clear, that's usually a sign that the owner put brand new fluid in it, and is hiding a problem. If the water is rusty that means that the aluminum parts of the engine are corroded. Another thing to check is the cylinders for galling. Also check the heads for cracks between the valve seats. Those are very important things to inspect while shopping for a used engine. Now that buying a used engine has been discussed, now it's time to discuss how to rebuild an engine. Building a street 350 is easy as one, two, three. After the buyer has chosen the engine that they are going to devote themselves to; the engine is best rebuilt if it is stripped to the block for an inspection. The block must be cleaned with a healthy dose of soap and water; using a variety of brushes. Then check to see if the cam bore is centered on the front cam bore boss. Also make sure that the lifter bores are centered on each individual lifter boss. If they are centered; then there will probably be very little core shift and the pistons will move great. It is of great import to see if the block has been sleeved. Sleeving is usually used to save the block after a cylinder cracks or has been damaged; which could occur from freezing or internal breakdown. Sleeves aren't a bad thing to have, but if they are improperly installed; they can cause trouble if they are installed too tightly or loosely. The next best thing to do is check the outside of the block for cracks, especially below the deck of the surfaces. The most common areas for cracks are in the oil valley water-jacket area, and lifter bores. Broken edges on the blocks' exteriors are common, mainly around the starter mounting deck. The next step is to have the block pressure tested, and magnafluxed. If the block passes the test then it's time to get serious. Now it is true that not everyone out there has specialized machines and tools that are required to rebuild and engine, so they must hire a machine shop to handle the dirty work. It is imperative that the cylinder bores are perfectly straight and round. The engine wont make power if the cylinders aren't sealed correctly. After the cylinders have been honed, the lifter bores should be given a quick scuff. The block usually gets wave like surfaces, so decking is needed. Decking is a procedure where the machinist removes only enough material from the block to make the deck of the surfaces flat and parallel with the centerline. After all of the machining is completed, have the block tanked again to clean all of the oil passages and bolt holes. After the block is dry immediately spray on a lubricant, like WD-40 to protect it from rusting. The block should be detailed with a few light coats of engine enamel. Next, install the freeze plugs in the block. Before the engine is mounted on an engine stand, it is best if the water-jacket plugs are installed first. A shop should handle installing the cam bearings and lifting the pistons to the rods. But just in case it is a absolute must that it is to be done at home; make sure the bearings are positioned exactly in line with the oil holes. If the cup type plug was removed, then a new one must be installed; because without one engine oil will not pass through the oil filter; which will later destroy the engine from dirt, rock, soot, and other contaminants that weasel their way into the oil. The crankshaft is the hardest working part of the engine. The crankshaft is what moves the pistons. Be extra careful in the installation. Make sure that it is extremely clean! After they are clean, avoid touching them if possible. Then install the bearing shells and caps. Install the main bearing caps. Make sure everything is then generously lubed. The bolt should be torqued in, make them tight; the crank should rotate freely though. The cam lobes should be lubed well before installing the cam into the block; the cam should turn freely. Then install the rings around the pistons. The piston rods are now ready to be installed into the well lacquered walls; along with a light coat of transmission fluid. Then install the oil ring around the piston. Now it's time for the fun part! Be sure that's there are plenty of clean rags and assembly lubricants handy. While installing the pistons, rotate the crankshaft to make sure there are no hang-ups. When putting the pistons into the cylinders, make sure that the wrist pin is lubed. Carefully tap the piston into the cylinder with a hammer handle. Guess what again!? It's time for the final assembly! One of the easiest parts of the process is installing the head. The head should protrude at least 1/4 inch above the deck surface. Then lubricate the cam contact surface of one lifter with break-in-lubricant intake gaskets, apply a thin film of silicone around the water passage holes. Now, the intake manifold can be lowered onto the engine then it can be bolted down. It is now a good time to put the distributor on. It may take a few tries, but it will work into place. The finale of this project is a piece of cake, and is by far the most enjoyable to do. The water pump is installed, followed by the fuel pump, the kickin' carburetor and the valve covers. The headers are installed right below the valve covers into the heads. The installation area is easy to find, it's crystal clear to the eye. Anyone can put on headers, it goes the same for the valve covers; anybody can install those. Everything that's was discussed here will aid anyone in rebuilding a 350 small block, it's not as hard as everyone takes it to be. So go, go on, go build an engine; anyone can do it; if they have the patience, and want to learn new things, it's guaranteed that they will come out of it knowing alot more than they knew before they tried it! -- Kasandra Klein '99 -- I hope this information comes in handy to those of you that took the time to read this whole page. :)