The Best 350 Chevy Block to Build

My take on what Block you should be looking for to use in your project

[robertclymer]

I wish I had a dollar for every powdered metal Conrod I have made at Federal Mogul and Borg Warner. These rods are almost bullet proof. Nascar even ran trials on them in the early 90's. We made tons and tons of the Gen 1-2-3 rods and all the Corvette Z06 Rods, Plus many many more for Chrysler, and Oldsmobile, BMW, and rods for Fiat I think it was for the 1600 motor. We did ran a large test batch for Ford and the failure rate was so miniscule that it messed up their statistical processing data sheets. Howard's Cam bought tons of the 350 rods for aftermarket sales. Don't be afraid to use them. The weights were within 1.5 grams end to end. Everyone that came off the Briquette press was weighed and if off, the robot pulled it off the scale and it did get Heat treated at 1800 for two hours. Graphite coated and sent to the 750 ton forge presses. Density and micro structures, rockwell etc done on every batch in the Metlab. FYI Thanks for sharing this info with us. Cheers from Motown/Dearborn.

[GarageofHope]

I put an 880 block in my '73 Corvette and built it after watching dozens of your videos. I can't thank you enough for putting out this

[itseithergonnaworkoritaint]

If you remove the reluctor wheel you will need a non-reluctor wheel harmonic damper or your pulleys won't line up. The Vortec damper is shorter the thickness of the reluctor wheel where it is pressed on the crank so keep that in mind if one wants to reuse the Vortec damper.

[alvarsdzenis]

Love the "No B.S." approach sir. many so called "Experts" out there that give opinion rather than facts. Thank you sir, drive safe. cheers🇨🇦

[johnkaspar]

This last year I checked of engine rebuild from my bucket list. By dumb luck I had a 94 k1500. It was roller ready so I went with the roller setup. My first ever attempt was a great experience. Am going to upgrade from the rebuilt stock heads in the future but had to get it back on the road. Love this motor

[peterdarr]

The best 350 block is the one you have (that's not cracked) and have most of the parts for. The old-style rear main seals will last 15 Years if you do them right, Make sure your lifters rotate before installing the intake.

[Sledbuddy]

Thanks for these videos!
I've only done LS builds. I just started building a vortec 350 for my old Camaro.
Thanks brother!

[scottymoondogjakubin]

Very to the point and informative ! Unlike %90 of the other channels !

[cemeteryhill]

Fantastic info!
Man one of the nastiest SBCs I ever saw was a Marine engine. My old Diesel Shop Teacher had a boat with the loudest cammiest SBC stroker I have ever heard.

[Myvintageiron]

Yes you will also need a different flex plate and you may need to run an electric fuel pump.

[hydroy]

Being old school, I was always told the 4 bolt 010 truck block was the hot ticket for a built SBC using factory Pink Rods (X & Os) with a 1183 steel forged factory crank you had a top running short block. Put a pair of AFR 2.02 long runner heads on it with a .500 or more lifter solid cam with a 3-2 or longer Der. and a Victor Jr. intake & 750cfm Holley and 1 3/4"primary tube long headers you had everything covered.

[davidwellman]

I found the cleanest 70-73 350 4 bolt main I've ever seen that I put in my 73 C10. Bought for 500, when I took the valve cover off you could eat off from it. I was going to put a big cam and other goodies but it run so good I'm not going to mess with it. But I've heard really good things about the motors that your showing here!

[genewilliams]

Your information is always great! Thank you for taking the time to share the wisdom you've acquired over a career in engine building. I'm a lifelong amateur "hot rodder" and I learn something from nearly all of your videos.

[junkyarddawgfixit]

Years ago we picked up an unopened ZZ3 crate engine that used the 4 bolt 638 block with 113 aluminum heads and it has a steel crank with pink rods. The engine had very little running time on it and is almost a museum piece as all of the paint stripes and daubs look like they were put on yesterday. Always wondered what factory pinks looked like or how to identify them and now we know.

[CarGuyV]

I love the 880 blocks. The most common tbi block casting number ends in 638, and they’re good too. 638s often times have a mechanical fuel pump provision. Some 880s do too.

[thisisyourcaptainspeaking]

The 880 is a roller cam block, probably the best common GM sbc block. IMO

[Cartier_specialist]

I'm not building an engine probably ever but I found the information you conveyed very informative.

[goratgo]

Thanks for broad informative look.
I will continue building from my '72 Corvette 4 bolt block to a 383.
Had it since I pulled it in '88 awaiting rebuild. New Eagle crank,
KB .060 pistons, AFR heads, summit 1103 cam for my '91 convertible Camaro.

[robertbryant]

I built a nice street 357 with the 638 casting that did have the roller provisions, all drilled and tapped. My understanding is that the 638 has a little more material at the bottom of the bores and is better suited for longer stroke applications, less prone to any rocking in the bore at BDC.

[metalworksmachineshop]

GM had N cranks for years. I have a N crank for a Pontiac 400 also have a ARMA Steel crank from the 60s good video Sir.