My Prozac

Hello all. Thanks for being here.

I am a novice when it comes to all of this. But every year when other people are shaking off thier seasonal depression, and uncovering the shining glass and gleaming chrome, I am busy contemplating how life sucks. Whith the sound of the migrating glasspacks strutting about proudly... I am sleeping indoors with the shades drawn.

This year I decided to take matters into my own hands.
This year I am building a small block Chevrolet engine in hopes of putting it into something cool next year.

So far so good.
I have a small block chevy from a 76 pickup up north at my dads. As soon as I can figure out how to get it onto the engine stand in my garage the sooner I can get it down to the bare block and down the street to Austin Jordan to have it bored.

See, I can follow directions.
I can rebuild an engine, but I have never built a performance engine. I dont understand what the bore and stroke do. I know that there are things I can do to increase the horsepower, such as the oversized pistons, but what other parts do I have to beef up in order for the engine to function well? Any idiot (me for example, Im a good example of an idiot :) )can change gaskets and put something back together... but this is my first time trying to port heads and replace crank and camshafts... this is my first time looking at nitrous and headers... I could use a little guidance from those more experienced than I.

I plan on keeping a journal with photographs to show the progress. Its going to be a long time before its done simply based on expense. The engine was free, but all those performance parts will add up.

Thanks in advance for your assist!

I look foreword to learning from you.

C

thanks brotha!

Realitycheck
Welcome abourd. Have you ever gone to Street Rod North in Kalamazoo??? The meet is in September if you have never gone you will want to. If you have gone you know there are many street rod around here. They say 3+K every year and growing. I know I haven't missed in 15 years Great swap meet too.
Charlie

realitycheck, all of us started where you are today, not knowing much of anything about motors or cars in general. I think I'd be safe in saying that most of us learned the basics from reading, then asking questions about what we didn't understand.

I'll try to help get you started:
The small block Chevy (SB), (SBC), is called that to differentiate it from its larger brother, the big block Chevy (BB), (BBC). The small block is smaller in the physical size of the motor as well as the internal displacement. Small blocks which look similar on the outside through the years have been the 262, 265, 267, 283, 302, 307, 327, 350 and 400. These numbers indicate the internal displacement or "cubic inches of displacement". To find the size of the motor, you would need the bore size (diameter of any one cylinder) and the stroke length (distance that any one piston travels in its bore from top to bottom). In the case of the 350, the stock bore is 4.000" and the stock stroke is 3.480". If you multiply the constant .7854 times 4.000 times 4.000 again, times 3.480 times 8 (the number of cylinders in the motor), you get 349.84 cubic inches, which rounded off, becomes 350.

Here is a chart of engines showing the bore and stroke so you can get accustomed to how different engines use different combinations....
http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tablersn.htm

Let's say for instance that the motor you're getting is a stock bore and stroke motor, but it has quite a few miles on it and the rings are worn out and the cylinders are tapered and egg-shaped (very normal to find on a tear-down). You may want to bore the cylinders to the next oversize and use new oversize pistons and rings. The most popular first overbore for a 350 is 0.030" (thirty thousandths of an inch), so your motor would measure 4.030" bore and 3.480" stroke. (355.11 rounded off to 355 cubic inches)

I believe that it is a 350 chevy. Years ago I took the valve covers off with the idea that I would "fix it up"

I was sixteen.

It has sat there since. I am now 34. It came from a 1976 Chevy pickup (2wd) I remember pulling it out with a chain hoist attached to a small pine tree next to my old man's barn.
It had a bad head gasket. Thats all I remember. So everything is stock as far as I know. It should be a fun project.

Money is tight.
I have found a shop to give it the bore. THe object is for a few extra HP, so I guess I would consider the .040, or .060, but I hear I cant run pump gas through that stuff. So for $200 I can get the .030 job done. Then I need to go for the pistons. That mmuch I am okay with. I will not be able to afford cylinder heads, so I plan on porting them myself with a kid that I mentor.

I will be askinng all kinds of questions on the crank, cams, valves, and manifolds, timing, blah blah...

I am really gladd I came upon this site. Thanks all!