Hello all. I am again "building a race car" again lol.
I am possibly going to buy another engine to swap the 267 4.4L in it (which was swapped into it...this is swap #3). I am looking at 327/350/355 as choices
I've heard that 383s were not dependable longevity wise engines. I was wondering if 355s have this same issue, what is the consensus on 355s are they good engines?
I wouldn't mind a 327, but they are harder to find than the old SBC 350.
So I guess really my choice is 350 or 355

ALSO....this is NOT literally a race car....this is a daily driver. Therefore MPG is not #1 on the list, but it is in the top 5 priorities (which is why I gotta get that TH250 outta there and get something with overdrive)
So how bad are 355s gas-wise compared to 350s?

 

ok forget those questions

.......what is the range of mileage would you consider for a used motor?
Somebody has a motor with approx. 150k....(now I know this is subject...because a few factors could effect how good an engine is kept)
But generally......would 150k be considered a good buy? or what is the mileage range?

 

i think theres tons of factors. what motor are you looking at? i assume if your going to build a street race car youre going to throw money at it. if you pick up the motor i would check the crank, but then again i assume your going to have the block checked for cracks and if the cranks wasted and its a factory cast crank and youre getting serious about the car your going to run a forged one anyway. personally id buy a crate ready to rock unless you have some contacts or knowledge yourself, or buy a short block ready to rock and build from there. sending **** out to be done winds up costing you more in the long run. if i was going to build one though id look for a newer 350 with the one piece rear main seal and factory roller cam. that way you wont have to pay a ton for the retrofit kits to run a roller. to answer your previous questions 350 and 355 are the same block. 383 is also a 350 block with a 400 crank. dependability isnt an issue. just be sure to go to a good machine shop. 383 would cost more to do but will give you the extra cubes and the 400s stroke for brutal torque. 327s are great motors. not super torquey but can rev like psychos so gearing is a must and i wouldnt want to run one in a heavy car. ie monte carlo. a 327 would be nice in a vega with 4.11s and up and a 6sp. for a monte i want something with serious torque to compensate for the 3300lbs+ weight. on fuel mileage on a na car its tough to have it all. youre going to want an overdrive either 2004r or 700r4, but you have to be serious about what kinda fuel milage youre going to get. once you put a set of heads on it, a real cam, a deep converter, and gearing what can you really expect. if youre running a carb it wont be great. they arent really great at doing bot cruising the street and soso at wot. thats mechanical secondary at least. the vacuum secondary i think is better for daily driving, but i wouldnt use it for optimum performance. lets put it this way my montes fairly light for a monte. under 3300. ive got a what i consider a mildly built 406 with a 750 dbl pumper, 2500rpm stall, in a 700r4, and 3.73s. the car was built for a 300 shot of n2o. off the spray it should be capable of going easily into the 12s if it hooks. that car was my daily driver for 8yrs, and with that combo it got about 6-8 miles city and 14-15 on the highway. that was my dd/street race car. now you may have a different idea of what a street race car is. take into account that my car was built 5yrs ago and was built to go toe to toe with a quick street car at that time on just the motor, and we were looking to go low to flat 11s on the spray. now a days factory muscle cars are 12 second cars so my car would still be competitive but not really a world beater any more. so if your building a street race car to take on serious cars your looking at a low 12 car and fuel mileage wont be great at least on a heavy na car. if your just looking to build na import cars and stuff like that then ignore all i said. a extremely docile 350 in a monte with an overdrive and 3.70s should be able to go into the 13s, get good mileage, and pound all the civics you can find. hope i was of some help. all this info was from my own personal experiences others may feel differently. oh yeah what body are you looking to build, and where are you located cause you could always buy mine off of me and save yourself the trouble.

 

Wow thats alot of writing.....Im sure others who read will find a multitude of things in it, nd it will help.....not really answered my questions exactly, most information I knew :-)

Im now thinking of getting a Vortec egine and doing an efi-to-carb conv. or just an older 350
I would rather the newer Vortec, but there alot of factors kinda deterring me.....somebody says they known for becoming knockers :-( and thatll be extra money for carb conversion that could have been spent of other things to my Monte
But if the engine if good......I would have a great engine better flowing Vortec Heads+Roller Cam is great

So I really don't know which way im going to go...on top of that I gotta buy tranny
I want 700r but....thats gonna be new driveshaft and crossmember (or cut shaft and modify crossmember)
Soo, maybe just a 200r (because I want overdrive) and it will go right in, no mods
and not to metion that motor nd tranny gonna kill my lil V6 rearend gears :-(

Of coarse many of these factors are an issue because used engine....if were buying crate (which i can't do ATM), then would be less thought processes
But I gotta make it work :-D

 

well you had two posts and quite a few questions with no one answering them. this post will be slightly shorter. you dont have to invest alot on carb swapping a vortec motor. ive personally never hearrd of them being known for any knocking issues. the carb intake for the vortec is only slightly more than the standard sbc intake. on the newer roller blocks you dont have to get a vortec motor. you could get a tpi 350 out of an iroc z or a gta or any other 86 and up 350 with center bolt valve covers. sorry for answering questions you knew the answers to, but you did ask. on the 700 you can have the drive shaft cut and the cross member modified, but jegs sells new cross members for a buck and change. the 700 and the 200 both have there pros and cons. i personally like the 700. it has a couple downsides one being a real deep first gear, its heavy, and no full throttle 3-4 upshift. on the whole crate thing hunt around and youll find something *** cheap. car craft last month just did an article on a crate 454 big block that put down good power for 2600 bucks. anyways good luck.

 

No I appreciate it....maybe how I said that sounded worse than I meant it.
I'm always appreciative!
First question pretty dead...im gonna go straight 350
just don't know Vortec+carb or older
So any information about the Vortec engine and reliability is great

The reason they said about knocking was....almost all Vortec had bad about intake leaking
Coolent got in oil.....and before anyone really suspected it....already messed with the bottom end...or on its way to becoming major rebuild

No a carb swap is not a bigg deal for me......I was just saying its a deal because the extra money on the swap (which is nothing but intake, elec pump and distributor) that could go to others things the Monte need ya know? :-D

 

there is a lot of throtlebodyinjection out there the type that looks like a carb but it has two or more injectors on it. i would get pricing on the things that you might need to do the swap as in the engine that you like to get and get a listing on the parts that you might need. like the type of trans that you find like 700r4 to the tremics t56 six speed that is used as well as there auto that they have ford and chevy use them in there comaro and the ford mustang gt. i have 4.11 gear ratio in the rear of my mustang it moves and goes quick and the last i checked i got around 16 to 24 city and high way befor i did the supercharger and cold air and after cooler. i built mine for a super charger but i got the super charger later on down the road when i got the money. with the super charger it gets 28-38 miles to the gallon city and high way and runs great on the track i get into the 11's with mild boost. mid 12's with out a supercharger. i am saying is get a listing on the things you might like to do and go from there.that throtle body injecting works great for chevy and dodge because there are some companies out there just for them.

 

what ford motor are you getting 28mpg in the city and 38mpg highway and running a supercharger? i dont buy this. good luck with your build. make sure you do research.

 

Broke down motor/tranny yesterday so, should be pulling them out 2day and clean up my engine bay while I decide which engine build imma go
Ill let you guys know soon