Chevy 350 Knowledge

[Triker]

I just bought a Cobra v8 Trike.
They are also known as Ecstasy & Renegade trikes.

It has a Checy 350 in it, a 350 auto transmission and an S-10
rear end.

I have never owned any Chevy products before,so I know very little about them.

I would like to learn about them, so I can better maintain my ride.

Questions:

1--How can I tell what year my engine & transmission is?
2-Where do I hook up an oil pressure gauge?
3--Where do I hook up an oil temperature gauge?
4--Where do I hook up a water temperature gauge?
5--Where do I hook uo an amp meter?
6--Where do I hook up a volt meter?

I have an Equus speedometer and the cable is broken.
Where can I get a good speedometer cable for this set up?
(the cable goes into the transmission tail piece)

The engine and transmission have about 150,000 miles on them,
but they were well maintained.
I live in Tampa,Florida.
What weight oil should I be running in this heat?

What are the best spark plugs for this engine?

What about the rear end?

Are there any tips or tricks that I can do to keep the engine and transmission running their best?

Thanks to all for their help!

"Drive defensively----Lots of idiots out there!"

[MelloYello]

First of all WELCOME, TRIKER and secondly, I can't wait to watch this thread and see the abundance of knowledge that you ARE fixing to get on the SBC. This place is chocked full of 350 Gurus.

meller

[techinspector1]

Triker, if you have the model and serial number, as well as the manufacturer, you may be able to contact them and get a complete build sheet rather than taking the time to chase down everything individually.

For those of you who need to know the origins of this type of beast....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU3Pj58dJuY

If you still want to investigate it yourself, let's begin by identifying what you have.
BLOCK CASTING NUMBER:
At the rear of the block on the driver's side, just before the rear end of the block, where the bellhousing bolts on.....
http://www.coloradocorvetteclub.org/...s/image001.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/d...%20Motor/Y.jpg
http://www.classicheartbeat.com/foru...1&d=1064020961
BLOCK SUFFIX NUMBER:
On the passenger's side block deck, at the very front, in front of the end of the cylinder head, just behind the passenger side water pump inlet, stamped into the block....If the block has ever been decked in a machine shop, this suffix i.d. may have been machined off....
http://c564296.r96.cf2.rackcdn.com/A...a02-0212ae.jpg
http://www.nastyz28.com/~madmike/80z28/350ctg.JPG
CYLINDER HEAD CASTING NUMBER AND CASTING DATE:
http://chevellestuff.net/qd/images/heads/3890462_03.jpg
http://www.mre-books.com/chevy/engin...ad_casting.gif
Sometimes you can identify the casting number without pulling a valve cover by the symbols on the front of the heads....(not all symbols are shown here)
http://www.onedirt.com/photos/data/5...Marks_copy.jpg
DIFFERENTIAL IDENTIFICATION:
http://www.g-body.org/tnt/diffs/axle-codes.gif
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/he...by_pan_jpg.jpg
http://repairguide.autozone.com/znet...3f802056e2.jpg
http://repairguide.autozone.com/znet...52800b105c.gif
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ydmVov_kla..._Chart_von.jpg
http://www.pontiacpower.org/images/axlecode.gif

Make certain of the transmission type....
http://i645.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps6f45f08f.gif
http://www.maliburacing.com/tranny_i...guidelines.jpg

You asked about maintenance. The number one most important thing to protect is the cam and lifters if the motor is a flat tappet cam design. Please read through this tutorial....
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ips_and_tricks

Sometimes it is necessary to use a wire brush on these casting numbers, to remove grunge or casting flash in order to properly read them. I like the wire brushes that are the size and shape of a toothbrush. You can get them with steel bristles for use on cast iron and hard metals or brass bristles for use on aluminum and softer metals.
http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/pr...rce=igodigital

I'll stop here and let some of the other fellows wade in.....

.

[Triker]

I am not sure why all this has to be done...
All I want is to find out what year the engine and transmission is.
They were taken out of a vehicle and put in the trike.

Isn't there ant easy way to identify what I have?

[techinspector1]

I am not sure why all this has to be done...
All I want is to find out what year the engine and transmission is.
They were taken out of a vehicle and put in the trike.
Isn't there ant easy way to identify what I have?

Are you from this planet?

.

[cffisher]

Oil pressure line goes into the block on the rear next to the distributor. Temp gauge should go into intake or side of block. Personally I wouldn't use a AMP gauge. If you must have one it would go inline with the altenator lead. Your volt gauge can go to the pos. post on battery.

[Rrumbler]

Patience, Grasshopper.

First, welcome. There is a lot of experience and knowledge here if you can take the time to sort it out. It always helps to be concise in you inquiries, you’ve pretty well done that, and exercise a good bit of patience and cooperation when dealing with us old guys; we've been around a while, and have earned our grouches and crankiness. That said, ----------------------------

There are several generations of the Chevrolet “Small Block”, and which one you have makes a lot of difference as to what will fit and work correctly; so, that is probably the best first step to figuring out how we can help you in your quest. You said that you know very little about Chevys, so this is a great opportunity to gain some knowledge from some guys who have a vast depth and breadth of experience, and that ever so elusive knowledge. So, let’s take this one bit at a time.
_____________________________________________________________________

I just bought a Cobra v8 Trike. They are also known as Ecstasy & Renegade trikes.

It has a Chevy 350 in it, a 350 auto transmission and an S-10 .rear end.

I have never owned any Chevy products before, so I know very little about them.
I would like to learn about them, so I can better maintain my ride.

Questions:
1--How can I tell what year my engine & transmission is?

Techinspector gave you the stuff you need to determine this.

2-Where do I hook up an oil pressure gauge?

Mr. Clayton sort of laid this out for you: On first gen small blocks, there is a 1/8
inch pipe plug on the rear deck of the block right next to left side(driver’s side)
of the distributor; an oil pressure sender will screw into that port, then you just
wire the gauge correctly, and you've got it.

3--Where do I hook up an oil temperature gauge?

You need to drill a hole in the oil pan and install the correct adapter and sending
unit.

4--Where do I hook up a water temperature gauge?

There is usually a threaded boss on the intake manifold adjacent to the
thermostat housing; use the correct adapter and thread the sending unit into it.
Wire it to your gauge.

5--Where do I hook up an amp meter?

Ammeters in automotive use are obsolete for the most part; they require heavy
duty wiring, and if they are not installed right, they are a fire looking for a place
to happen – that is why vehicle manufacturers stopped using them. I, as an old
shadetree mechanic, and a life long electrician would advise you against the use
of one. If you have need of reading the amp draw on some circuit, a portable
multi-meter is what you should use.

6--Where do I hook up a volt meter?

A voltmeter should be connected between any positive point, and ground; most
are connected at the ignition switch terminal that is hot when the switch is in
the on position, or to a source that is controlled by that switch, so that he meter
only reads when the ignition switch is on.


I have an Equus speedometer and the cable is broken; where can I get a good speedometer cable for this set up? (the cable goes into the transmission tail piece).

Mr. Severson gives good advice in his answer on your other post.

The engine and transmission have about 150,000 miles on them, but they were well maintained. I live in Tampa, Florida. What weight oil should I be running in this heat?

Opinions vary, but I would use 20w – 40 or something along that line.

What are the best spark plugs for this engine?

That depends on the engine; there were many different engineering factors to
consider, and what was specified for one design might not work in another – this
is another reason for figuring out just what engine you do have. As to brand,
everyone has their own ideas as to what is best, and most often there will be as
many opinions as there are people to have them. On a stock engine, I would
start with the manufacturer’s recommended plug, and then figure out if I could
improve on that depending on the build level of my engine.

What about the rear end?

It is probably a 10 bolt, and for the trike, it may have been narrowed, so would
have custom axles. The 10 bolt is a “C-clip” rear end; that is to say, it uses
c-clips inside of the side gears to hold the axles into the third member. It may
be an open unit, or a limited slip, or someone might have put a locker in it. How
you will use your trike should dictate what type you should use; I would think a
locker would be detrimental to the handling of a trike, but that is based on my
experience of lockers in cars; lockers can have some peculiar operating
characteristics.

Are there any tips or tricks that I can do to keep the engine and transmission running their best?

Take good care of them, perform proper maintenance, and treat them nice.

Thanks to all for their help!

No problem here. Just remember, there are probably several hundred
cumulative years of experience among the members of this forum. We have
professional engine builders, body men, mechanics, and hot rodders of every
stripe. Many of us are in our seventh or eighth decade, and can often come
across as intolerant, grumpy, grouchy, or just plain irascible. We’re like a
bunch of old bears: if you treat us nice, we wont bite.

Good luck with your trike; being in the wind in almost any form is good.

[racemaster]

What he said, and I would add; What kind of plugs are in the motor now? If you pull one out you can see how well it is working by the color/condition of the plug. If they look good, stick with them. Your asking a lot of questions that would take a lot of explaining. May I suggest you pick up a book on small block chevy motors and read it. Trying to explain all these things to a new person I think goes beyond what this forum is for.