From the look of those bearings it wasn't bad timing to tear this one down, there's a fair amount of wear. If there were some broken rings, how do the bores look? Is there much of a ridge? Any cross hatch pattern left?
Did you keep the lifters in the same spot as related to the cam? They need to go back in the same hole on the same lobe. if the pistons came out easy, I would assume their is no ring ridge, flex hone and rering. you can use gasoline to see if those valves will leak or not. Just pour it in the runners and see if she leaks past the valve. If it’ll hold gas it’ll hold air
To be honest I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking at. Bores look ok (no scratches, pits, ect). I dont see any cross hatch pattern in them. There is a tiny ridge at the very top of the bore all the way around every bore.. Almost big enough to catch my fingernail on.. But not quite.
Well i didn't keep the lifters in order. But they were the one thing i changed. So they are all new lifters. All the pistons came out easily by hand. Not all of the rings move freely in any of the pistons.. And one is cracked. Should i replace all the pistons? And if so can i re-use the rods?
Sound advice : take the block to an automotive machine shop & have it checked . if its usable , decide what you want the engine to do ,stock , mild performance , go fast ???? Gather all the parts & take them to the recycler . Have the machine shop order parts , including heads , build the engine . Pay the bill & enjoy you're new motor. All those parts have scrap value , period!
^^^^^^^^^^^ Also good advise. @Beng87 At some point you may feel the machine shop is just trying to sell you more of his services. Been there as a customer but also worked in a couple shops years ago, you will be money ahead if you fight the urge to cut corners......truthfully, I'm betting you realize you currently just have a rebuildable engine core. Another thing, reusing a camshaft that you don't know the history of, regardless of the new lifters will just add to this being another "fail".
Need new pistons. Rods can be reused. Time to do some google searching. If it’s got a ridge at all, you need to get rid of that or you’ll run the risk of breaking the new rings. Google ridge reamer. Also usually mark the rod with the number of the hole they came out of. Mark the cap also and keep them lined up. I’ve done engines to the extreme on both spectrums. Junk yard build on a tailgate to get one running. And paying some one a lot of money to build some. To me the worse that can happen, is it didn’t work. But it’ll be a learning lesson. first, you need to figure out the oil issue.
You will get a lot of advice, all colored by the experience of the supplier. What should you do? That all depends on the end results you expect, if it’s a engine that runs with warranty, just get a reman and advertise yours, someone will be along shortly to get it, if it’s the learning experience your after well my advice is to get a book on rebuilding sbc engines and read it through and see for yourself what’s involved, then decide. No two ways around it it will take a bit of time and a fair bit of money, but there’s also a good bit of pride in saying I built it.
get a book called, how to hot rod small block chevrolets. build it yourself, that way you know what is in it.
It will need a rebore. From experience any slight ridge is a 15 thou wear/taper at the top. note: you are only feeling 1 side of the bore which is 7.5 thou [and barely noticeable to feel] If you're going to blow $$$ at it! consider a 350 crank and a 350 rebuilder kit.[pistons etc] A 1969 block is large journal 327 so a 350 crank will drop in. Personally [me being the "king of cheap"] I would hunt don't a later model "roller cam, 1 piece rear main seal" 350 short block. Then bolt on all your existing heads ,oilpan , manifolds ,waterpump etc etc. Then you can play with roller hydraulic cams, but still have a carb.
Post photos. I'll go against the grain and say that it's quite possible you can get away with just running a hone through the bores to re-establish the cross hatch pattern, clean the pistons of all the carbon buildup and install new rings. Hundreds of thousands of engines have been rebuilt this way, so don't listen to somebody saying it can't be done; it's how people did it for years. People didn't always have all this money to put into a complete overhaul. (really wish Old Wolf had finished his thread on rebuilding his 283 before he got banned, it would come in real handy at times like this) It really depends on the condition of the parts, and the condition of your bank account. Somebody mentioned getting a book on rebuilding SBC's, that's excellent advice. It will help you evaluate all the parts for reuse. Don't just take mine or anyone elses advice on reusing parts, read the book on how to evaluate and you make the decision based on what you read here and what your read in the manual.
Holy shit! Just think how many engines were rebuilt by knocking off the ridge and running a hone through the bores and calling it 'good'! Too bad no one told those old time mechanics that they couldn't do that! What dummies, eh?
If you want an engine that will only last a very short period of time , go ahead & do it the " backyard" way . As to reusing parts , cleaning , straightening , magna fluxing , resizeing & installing new bolts will cost more than buying new & leave you with an old /stressed cycled rod . Same goes for all the other parts , you can buy new , ready to run chev heads for less than the price of a quality valve job & not be concerned with cracked castings , in today's world it simply is not economically advantageous to try & do things the " old time way" .
Granted, it will cost a little more to build a 327 over a 350 but the value adder is being able to proudly say "it's a 327" when someone asks what your engine is.
Sure! I "overhauled" more than I care to remember in the 1950s. These would have 60,000 to 100,000 plus on them. I don't remember one that we bored. Ten thousands over rings, filed to fit. Two thousandths under bearings, maybe. Most standard. We had a valve grinding machine [ boss still had it a few years back] that I could do a six cyl head on in a couple hours. Never did any come back. Did a couple of my own. The last was going strong 3 years later when it was traded. It is my belief that most engines of the last 30 years will run 100,00 plus if even marginally maintained, then almost that again , or more , with a "shadetree" overhaul. Having said that, I did go all the way with mine. I will never drive enough to wear it out. Perhaps it depends upon who as much as how? Ben
Except that this forum is not pre-1964. It is pre-1966. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-h-a-m-b-rules-guidelines.44274/
I just got done with a 350. It came outta somebody's junk pile in the mud. It had a .010 / .020 crank in it that was still good. Pistons stuck. I cut the ridge out & BEAT the pistons out. Sanded & honed the cyl walls. Upon close inspection of the main brg bore it looked like #2 had spun a brg in the past- prolly why the .010 / .020 crank! anyway I wasn't gonna spend $200 having a block lined bored tht also needed the cyls bored. So I measured #2 & it was .007" outta round. What to do? I got my big file out & drew the cap across the file until it was close. Measured again & I was .001" tapered from front to rear. Drew the cap at an angle across the file & got bore to .0005" from true round! Dropped the crank in & Plastigaged it & #2 is .001" out from the rest. That'll work! Stuck a used set of 2nd gen LT1 pistons in, used oil pump w/ high pressure spring, an old 283 cam & a set of 305 cyl heads I reworked 30 yrs ago & POOF! 1978 Chevy C60 dump truck hauling dirt again! Got 165 psi compression! Was the work I did as good as a full machine shop build? Is this engine as good as a a GM crate engine? Will it last as long as a new engine? Of course it won't. But I needed my old $600 farm dump truck running & only $ I spent was bearings, gaskets, oil & filter. I even used the old rings that were on the pistons! A SBC has got to be the easiest engine ever built to get running after they go down that was ever made. But this isn't an engine that I would use in a daily driver for my wife either! It all depends on what you want AND CAN AFFORD! The op WANTS to learn about his 327 & WANTS to figure out why his lifters aint oiling. That's why the engine is outta the frame & on an engine stand disassembled, instead of over in the corner of the garage & a new GM ZZ4 hanging over his car on the engine hoist. I see so many posts made telling someone how to build a refrigerator when all they asked for is a Sandwich. Let's help this boy get his 327 running again & he'll be able to say-"I Did That"
In my opinion, and based on personal experience, my input is "it depends on the size of the ridge". I personally "knocked off" the ridge on a 305 and, after a dingle-ball hone and cleaning of the pistons, I ended up with brutal piston slap that was not there before I "freshened" the engine. I ended up tossing that engine in the trash and tried again with a 350 that had very minimal ridge and was successful. I wasted a lot of time, some gaskets, fluids and cam bearings on that 305. Yes it can be done. Yes a LOT of people have done it BUT I disagree with a blanket statement of "it'll work just fine, it's been done for decades" because ... it totally depends on just how worn the block is.
That’s a 327 casting # in that last pic . And it is rumored to be used as a later service block . But,,,it’s for sure a 4 inch bore block . Tommy
I honestly do not know what I would do with myself if I had the free time that some of you guys have. I am envious. Each hour of labor that takes me away from paying labor is a loss of necessary income. My engine builder charges less per hour than my labor costs. I cannot pay me for working on my engines.
I am gonna spend the winter doing my research. And build this engine at home! I'm excited to learn & say that i did the work to it myself. I Understand both arguments. Do it yourself or bring it in and have it done "rite" but at the end of the day if it just doesn't work out... Or the engine doesn't run rite at least i gave it my absolute best & i learned a ton. Alot of great advice on here! I will keep posting pictures of my progress!
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