Need help deciding - rebuild vs. local for-sale

Hey all,
The 350 in my '68 Camaro just went, and I'm looking at options. I mainly cruise this car around town, but do like to put my foot in it every now and then. I have a 4-speed Muncie and still only have the 8.2 rear-end, but hope to change it soon. A reputable builder in the area can likely make a solid 355 out of my current motor that would push mid 300s in HP and close to 400 in TQ for around $2500-$3000 (which is the top of my budget right now). I just found a motor for sale locally with the following specs for just over $1000, but it sounds like it may not be very streetable. The seller states that it was used for about 3500 street miles and has a few passes <13 seconds in his drag car.

Motor specs:
1978 Chevy Truck 4 Bolt Block Casting K1117DRB
Line bored, tanked, bored .030, honed, cam bering installed
Forged Eagle Crank STD/STD
Eagle Pink Rods 5.7
Keith Black Hyp. Pistons .127 dome 10.2/1 Compression at 76cc
Hardened push rods
Comp Cams 280H cam and lifters
Melling HV50 Oil Pump and shaft
Big End Alumnium 7qt oil pan with tray and baffles
Stock 1.94 Heads ported and polished, stainless valves and z28 springs
Strip Dominator Intake
Accel HEI Dist.
Weiand Team G Alumnium water pump powder coated
Stock Balancer
Custom Aluminum pulleys (not shown)
Edelbrock valve Covers

I'll welcome any comments on the setup, as I'm a bike/chopper guy just getting into the "Rod" world! Also, if you recommend that I look at this motor further, what are the best things to look for when I go see it besides the obvious?

Thanks everyone...

On the engine you can buy,it sounds like a good deal, but I suspect has more cam and compression ratio than you would like for cruising around. Hank

Which would most likely mean that this build has sacrificed some low-end torque for the higher rpm HP - correct? Especially with my current 3.08 rear, I'm wondering how this motor/cam would react. Then again, I haven't raced anyone light-to-light in quite a while...:rolleyes:

10.2 CR with stock iron heads sounds like too much for pump gas. Plus you should regear. Stroker cranks for your 350 are pretty cheap nowadays. Build it your way.

Thanks Cutlass. From some of your previous conversation threads, I would have almost bet money that you would say that about the stroker! The local machine shop is going a little over my 3K limit to build a 383, but I'm still considering it...

If 65 years of experience has taught me nothing else, it's taught me to be wary of things that sound too good to be true. The $1,000 engine, especially with such low miles, sounds like a really good deal. It has lots of goodies. Why is he dumping it? If you look through this forum, you'll find lots of threads that contain "I bought what was supposed to be" in them. Most of the visibles mentioned can be picked up fairly cheap on eBay. The credibility of the internals are an unknown, as are things like the competence of the builder, proper break in procedure, etc. If you buy it and have to spend the $$$ to pull it out and make it work, have you really gained anything?

Personally, I think you're dollars ahead spending the $3,000 to know what's in it and have it done right. Just my .02¢.

Oldman2

I may be old, but yada, yada, yada........

Reminds me of the time I traded a disassembled 427 Chevy for a ready-to-run smallblock Chevy loaded with parts. I tried to turn the motor over, and it wouldn't budge. When I tore it down, I found spun bearings. Turns out it came out of a pull tractor. I returned it.

I wouldn't believe anything, unless I knew and trusted the guy.

Oldman and Hotrod - You've done a good job of solidifying the opinion I had last night. I'll stick with the local builder. He used to build motors for Indy cars as well, so he probably knows something about quality and horsepower...;)

I spent the last three years building a wide-tire rigid chopper, and the group over at www.clubchopper.com was a great help. We all stuck together and helped each other with the ongoing projects, and my sled wouldn't have been as good without them. I have to say that with my newfound Camaro hobby, it looks like the group on www.clubhotrod.com will be no different.

Thanks everyone!

Hobo

I absolutely agree with oldman2. I'm an honest person and you probably are too, but there are those individuals out there who will take advantage. If I knew who the builder was and could trust him to tell me the truth about the motor, I might be tempted to buy it if he assured me that the squish was correct @ 0.035" to 0.040". If that was a go, I'd bolt a 3,000 stall converter to it and run the snot out of it on pump gas.

No one really mentioned any warantee either. I would bet that there would be one from you local builder.

Another option, if you looking to save a little money, is a brand new GMPP crate engine. The 290HP/350 can be had for less than $1800. It'll bolt right in easily. You'll also have your old engine if you want to take some time and really build it up when the funds are available. I just did the very same thing recently with my '69 Camaro.