Hot Rods Spending the money building vintage engines

Man I always wanted a blown and injected 394 olds on alky in a little 150 in or so FED.

 

I might know where there is a 394, not sure on the displacement. Might be the smaller 371... It's definitely not a Y block or a Caddy.

 

You can usually find 394s pretty inexpensively, typically with a 61-63 Olds still attached to it

 

These 303 324 371 Olds rockets seem pretty elusive..Im looking for one as a builder and not having much luck Unless Im willing to shell out $$1000.+what can a fella expect to pay for a 371 builder these days ? will eventually find one ..

 

Hell, none of this makes sense! What makes sense is my little OT Toyota that gets 25 mpg, weighs 1800lbs, has a stick and is faster than a lot of old cars. BUT! I still want to build my gasser, my roadster, the Pontiac, the 365 Cadillac and the nail head (yes I have issues) Why, because I want to bang gears in each an everyone of them going down the strip! Make sense???? Hell no! Then again there were those who told me jumping out of flying air craft, getting hypothermia “playing” in cold water and blowing shit up didn’t make sense either! I guess sometimes it is more about the fun factor than making logical sense. Then again I might have issues.


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Keep your eyes peeled on Facebook marketplace. I just bought 2 371s Friday for $200. They're out there. But a non-locked up builder should be $500 IMHO, and up to $1000 for a non-runner with nice stuff on it.

 

Yup, cores are the easy part
I tried to give a few 303s and 324s away here not too long ago, no takers for months, finally three went to new homes and two went for scrap.

 

Hello,

My brother and I had the time of our lives when we started our 1940 Willys Coupe project. Building a reliable 283 Chevy was partially done for us with the long block that we bought. But, the assembly of the rest of the motor was like a giant puzzle game. We knew the specs, the rules, and the placement of the speed parts to finish the engine. It took us a bunch of everyday afterschool working hours in the backyard garage, until well past bedtime.

It was a learn as you go situation. It ran good enough for a "streetable" motor and be somewhat competitive, but would not take us the the next level of competition against the top westcoast gas coupe competitors.(there were plenty of now, famous racers...) Then, when we got about 4 months later, there was enough money to tear apart the 283 SBC to rebuild it as a 292 C.I. motor with blower spec parts. A new 671 supercharger set up was being assembled and that we knew would take more money. The Willys Coupe needed more work, but it was a functioning coupe and showed promise to be a cool gas coupe for the classes every Saturday.
a similar build in 1960
This time, the build had a million more parts specifically designated “blower spec” design. So, with our work bench neatly cleaned and orderly, we started the long assembly of the blower spec SBC motor. Now, the empty block had already been honed for the larger pistons and those forged pistons, rods, crank all got the treatment before our assembly. There were so many more parts to be assembled, but we worked extra hard each day. The heads got ported and polished, the Howard Cam and kit was sitting on a clean cloth, ready for assembly.

We were finally ready to get our modified 671 supercharger back from Reath Automotive after their scrutiny in a rebuild for drag racing. The large blower was a first for a small SBC motor. The new Isky Gilmer Belt Drive fit perfectly on the 671. (One of the first kits on the market) Now, IF we had more money, a two hole Hilborn Injector System would have been installed. But, as it goes for a couple of teenagers, the pocket book talks and we stuck to the 6 Stromberg carbs we used on the 283 build, on top of the 671.
A similar look build
One of the final things of this Willys Coupe build was to get another C&O Stick Hydro installed. But, again, the money factor was hitting us on the head and we did have a running competitive motor ready to attack the B/Gas and C/Gas classes. So, the 3 speed LaSalle was stick transmission of choice.


Jnaki

If we were to do another hot rod or drag race car, (not a Willys or Ford Sedan Delivery) rebuilding a vintage 283 would do it for us. (or any SBC) Having more spending money to get the motor done right is no longer a problem. Only, this tired, old, creaky guy would have some local reputable builder do the assembly for us. That is the way the older generation would be able to do it, after spending the teenage years experimenting on a Flathead powered sedan delivery, building a fast SBC for the Gas Coupe and Sedan Class. Then, during the 20 something years doing most of the work on a 327 powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery.

The SBC is a motor for all levels of mechanics, fits in most hot rods and comes with a long line of speed parts for any size, horsepower. There are plenty of good businesses that still port/polish/balance and even assemble. So, the vintage SBC motor comes back round for any convenient install with the fit and finish of the good old days.

 

Thank you for the walk down the way things use to be. That was a fun read as are all of your post. As a Chevy guy first I tend to get turned off if I see late model Chevy stuff trying to be vintage unless of course the owner really tried hard to hide it. (I know there are those who disagree with trying to make new stuff look vintage) With all that being said I do like the look of actual vintage Chevy speed parts. My 55 Chevy gasser will have a very vintage exterior.


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I've spent a ton of $$ on yblocks over the years. I can say they always ran good and were reliable for me. Recently upgraded to FE's for a more modern engine to play with.