79 chevy

[johns cubs]

Hey guys, some of you know I bought a 79 Chevy 4x4 pickup with 6' step side box. I found an engine(350 4 bolt main) out of a motor home for the old girl that has only 37k miles on it. Actually I got the entire home. With brand new tires on it and the 400 turbo autotrans. And the guy delivered and started to pull engine out for me, all for 450$ !!
I was wondering about changing all the bolts I have to remove to stainless steel. Obviously not all the bolts but the body bolts and what ever else don't have to be hardened. Any thoughts??

[olds45512]

ive actually been on the net all night looking at old chevys, id really like a 2wd long bed but id take whatevers cheap. as for the bolts id leave them stock or buy new factory style bolts, the stainless may look out of place anywhere but the engine.

[J-Mech]

I wouldn't. Stainless is very hard. Pretty, but not fun to remove and also not always a good choice as they can break because of how hard they are. I'd leave them stock.


Another thing to look at on that 350 is the cam. Motor home engines don't always do too well when set into a truck. They ran a different cam for one, and also usually were set up different. Compare the gearing, that cam that is in it...... you probably won't be happy with.

[Mike McKown]

SBC engines use non-standard length intake and exhaust manifold bolts.

Too long bolts in the intake can run into the pushrods and bend them. Too long bolts in the exhaust manifolds mean they can tighten up but not necessarily clamp the manifold to the head before they bottom out.

Don't know whether the camshaft is different issue than the standard pickup camshaft or not but having had a '79 Chevy 4X4 back then I can tell you the factory pickup truck cam is no hot rod item. But neither is the carburetor or the distributor.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by Mike McKown

Don't know whether the camshaft is different issue than the standard pickup camshaft or not but having had a '79 Chevy 4X4 back then I can tell you the factory pickup truck cam is no hot rod item. But neither is the carburetor or the distributor.

Maybe you owned a turd.

All the ones I ever owned or drove were pretty impressive. Able to tow large loads, and roast the tires off when not. More than once had a 76 over 100mph, and took it no time to get there. Only truck I owned that I didn't care for was a 77 1 ton dually, 2wd with a 454. It was a TURD. When I got rid of that gas hog, I went to a Dodge Cummins.

[johns cubs]

The engine that is in the truck was built by a buddy of mines buddy. He stopped in the other day to let me know i had his truck. The cylinders are bored .060 (way too much for that specific block) and its got a Holley Street Dominator intake and Holley 4"barrel carb. I havent ran numbers from carb yet to see what size it is but the guy says its a 750cfm.20160202_135246-1.jpg

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The cam is not stock either. He says its a crane cam but cant remember what size lobe or duration or anything on it so I am hoping its going to warm up this next week so i can pull Harmonic balancer and see whats in it for sure. Its a post 87 top end, has the vortec style heads and the 4 bolts that are in the intake around carb go into heads at a straighter angle than that of the older blocks.
The kid I bought the truck from said he bought the truck with a crack in the #1 cylinder between cylinder and water jacket. I can see the crack and been looking up info about different blocks and some had more material between water jacket and cylinder. I have to finish pulling the engine to see what exact block it is but it doesn' t reall matter now as block is junk. I also have a 350 out of a 76 dump truck i am eventually going to strip and send out to my cousins engine machine shop and have him work it over. Prob only going .030 over on cylinders and have it decked. And new cam bearings put in it and what ever else he suggests. He is one of the best engine build guys I know ss far as matching parts so everything is working together and building a lasting engine. But for now i just wanna get it running so i can move it around easier to start working on her. I am going to cut new red oak boards for the floor of the bed out of my buddys 140 acre wood lot.

[J-Mech]

Those pics look like a redneck mess.

I can see those are TBI heads, but I'm not convinced they are Vortec.

[Sam Mac]

This would get you down the road quick. Carb for it was a BLP/Holley that flowed 915 CFM.

[mortten]

Small block 400's are turds. Had one in a 79 GMC 1 ton dually 4X4 and one in a 70 Monte Carlo. Couldn't get out of their own way.

[sbauerz28]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Those pics look like a redneck mess.

I can see those are TBI heads, but I'm not convinced they are Vortec.

Correct. Those are not Vortec heads. They are just 87 up heads. It they were Vortec heads the intake bolts would go straight down.