Mild build up SBC 350

[custom442]

did you bolt in new motor mounts? you might want to do like the other guy said and unbolt them at the flange just to start her up, you can always fix the exhaust later as long as your neighbors don't mind

I'm thinking your problem was the old engine sagged on the mounts and pushed the exhaust downward, simple fix just take it to a local welding/exhaust shop if youre not handy with a welder

 

[anthonychacon80]

Lookin' good, Anthony.

Just a thought. Is your headers still connected to the pipes? If so, you may want to unbolt them from the flanges and try bolting them to the block that way.

I used the same motor mounts. I used brass cleaner, polished them up and then coated with rustoleum and they look brand new. The only thing I think is maybe i reversed the sides they were on.... one of them looks a little more squished than the other, but they does not explain why the headers are coming up short longitudinally.

I can unbolt the flanges at the collectors and try that, but those bolts are pretty rusted!

 

[jrm81bu]

The only thing I think is maybe i reversed the sides they were on.... one of them looks a little more squished than the other, but they does not explain why the headers are coming up short longitudinally.

I can unbolt the flanges at the collectors and try that, but those bolts are pretty rusted!

What exactly do you think you reversed? If you are talking about the exhaust pipes(as in put the driver pipe on the passenger side and vice versa), then yes, it could make one header pushed farther forward and the other farther rearward, assuming the pipes are mounted to the hangers.
A lot of headers won't exit at an even lenght. Meaning the tubes are the same but one head is farther back than the other, so one of your pipes may be shorter than the other.

 

[anthonychacon80]

nope the headers and pipes never left the car. Im talking about the mounts, I didnt see any noticable difference in the motor mounts.

 

[jrm81bu]

nope the headers and pipes never left the car. Im talking about the mounts, I didnt see any noticable difference in the motor mounts.

There shouldn't ba a left or right mount, however looking at your pics, you also don't have the right mounts in there. They may be early small block mounts but not ones that shoulda been used for this car. The motor was already in with the current mounts though, right? So that shouldn't be the problem. Next thing i'd say is unhook the rest of the exhaust to make sure the pipes aren't hanging up on something.

 

[anthonychacon80]

nope the headers and pipes never left the car. Im talking about the mounts, I didnt see any noticable difference in the motor mounts.

There shouldn't ba a left or right mount, however looking at your pics, you also don't have the right mounts in there. They may be early small block mounts but not ones that shoulda been used for this car. The motor was already in with the current mounts though, right? So that shouldn't be the problem. Next thing i'd say is unhook the rest of the exhaust to make sure the pipes aren't hanging up on something.

right. I noticed that. The guy that put in that engine in 2001 did not do any research so he just bolted in some old style mounts and welded the Bumps to the frame. Seems to work! If he had not welded in the mounts I would have put in the correct bolted type... but since the engine is staying in and not going anywhere...

 

[stomis]

To comment on the 1.5 vs 1.6 rocker comments. I wouldnt say at all that if your building a motor from scratch to always use a 1.5 rocker and pick the appropriate cam. I'll be using 1.6 rockers in my fresh build in order to achieve high lift and keep the duration down for streetability.

Its sorta like a cheap mans roller cam profile.

 

[anthonychacon80]

nope the headers and pipes never left the car. Im talking about the mounts, I didnt see any noticable difference in the motor mounts.

There shouldn't ba a left or right mount, however looking at your pics, you also don't have the right mounts in there. They may be early small block mounts but not ones that shoulda been used for this car. The motor was already in with the current mounts though, right? So that shouldn't be the problem. Next thing i'd say is unhook the rest of the exhaust to make sure the pipes aren't hanging up on something.

Thanks. That is my weekend project. The shop that did the work 9 years ago did not research the correct mounts and just welded in the frame mounts and used Old Style Mounts on the engine. They have worked fine the last 9 years and I don't know how to weld so I was not about to change it.
The only thing the headers can be caught on is the starter. I put a new one in, but I threw out the old one before comparing the two. There is a chance my old one was a "tiny" one. The one that is in there now is a Autozone standard sized large one. It does not LOOK like it is hitting though, So maybe there is a difference in the heads afterall.

I borrowed a Sawsall and I will be cutting the rusted header flange bolts off this weekend and seeing I can attach the headers

 

[anthonychacon80]

Update: I used a sawsall and cut the header flange to pipe bolts. I was then able to attach the headers to the block without much problem. I then was able to connect the drivers side back up with new bolts and gasket without a problem. I did not have time to reconnect the passenger side but it looks like I should be able to get it reconnected. I bought a couple extra hard metal gaskets just in case I need to make up any difference.


I should be ready to start it up this weekend!

 

[anthonychacon80]

tried to start it for the first time today. I can't!

I thought it was the battery and bought a new one. It drained in about 1 minute of trying to start.

Recharged the battery with a wall plugin box charger.

tried again. it started for a minute but I detected a gas leak. Fixed that.

But then the battery was dead again!

I bought a brand new starter at Autozone for a 1978 Malibu 350 sbc. Shouldnt that work?

It sounds like the starter is having a hard time turning over the motor. But why would that drain a brand new 1000 cranking battery?