what do the chevy 350 conversions go for?

[raser13]

hey guys, i'm getting ready to take the chevy 350 out of my jeep and go back to a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . what i'm wondering is what do the parts to convert to a 350 normally go for? i'd have the bell housing and the motor mounts sections. just trying to recoup some of the money for the engine.

p.s. the bell housing is for a 350 to a t-175/176

 

[tarry99]

hey guys, i'm getting ready to take the chevy 350 out of my jeep and go back to a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . what i'm wondering is what do the parts to convert to a 350 normally go for? i'd have the bell housing and the motor mounts sections. just trying to recoup some of the money for the engine.

p.s. the bell housing is for a 350 to a t-175/176

What's wrong with the Chevy?............no disrespect intended , I'm not flaming any inline 6 guys.....the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l / 6 is a good motor if that's all ya got.........but what you have to do to it vs what the chevy is out of the crate is really no comparison......and as far as support the chevy dwarfs the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l by about a 100:1..............Just Wondering why the change?

 

[Dep]

I'm curious too, I'm collecting the parts need for this conversion. Just wondering if i'm going down the wrong path.

 

[raser13]

The main reason is last week when i went weeling i blew the rear main seal when i was in timbucktoo. I also didn't have any extra oil. So i had to limp home with no oil. So the engine is in real bad shape. And a repacement 350 is not the chespest motor around here.

Not to mention since I bought this jeep a year ago it's been nothin but a battle to get this thing running and keeping it running.

The distributer is right up against the fire wall. There's maybe a quater inch between them. And I can't get it to time right because the clip for the hei sticks out and is hitting the fire wall so i can't turn it any farther. And every time i go trailing i inevitably flex to much and bend the lower part of the dizzy. At a hundred bucks plus, it makes it no fun to go any more. Evidently you can get a smaller setup for like two hundred and a half. But for that price i can get all the parts to go back to the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l including the engine. Also evidently you can also loosen up the body to frame bolts and pull the body back about an inch.

Also the engine bay is such a conglomeration of different year Chevy parts that I'm amazed it all works together at all!

The motor was a 90's FI engine that the PO turned back into a carbed engine. Then he put a holley double pumping 660 four barrel carb that's made for the dragstrip not for the woods. The power steering pump is out of a 70's chevy. The alt is out of an 80's camero. The flywheel and clutch are either 10 or 12 inch set out of some super duty thing from the early 70's. It's just a hodge podge of parts that was never designed to work together and don't do it well.

If you got every thing out of the same donor car it would probably go a lot better. Get either the smaller distribution system or go FI so you have coil packs.

 

[Kane]

I cant blame you there after that explanation. With that said I love the power, sound and smooth running of my 350. Of course I built the whole thing to my specs so I do not have to deal with what you described. My biggest issue was finding a carb that ran good. I had the holley truck avenger but it drank fuel. It had crazy low end torque and great upper rpm power. I also had the Edlebrock 600 but the throttle shaft work out and caused a bad vacuum leak. I am running a Q-jet from 1979 and it is a smooth operator. I lost some power but the part throttle operation is awesome. Plus I can just start the motor and drive with no stalling or throttle feathering.

 

[Hedgehog]

Raser13 - Sorry for your engine troubles, but I have to comment on part of what you are calling trouble with mixed parts. A stock CJ is a conglomeration of parts, AMC engine, GM power steering, GM alternator, Motor Craft carbonator and Motor Craft distributor. Clutch and Transmission are a mix of this and that. A hodge podge life is the jeepers life

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Well-If your not going to carry basic spare stuff(oil). No engine will work for you for long.

AMC=All Most a Car

HH-Don't leave out Dana/Spicer and Blackstone

Most SBC/CJ's have the firewall 'clearanced'(BFH)for the dizzy.

LG

 

[007]

Not sure about the body movement, but it seems to me that there's an alignment issue somewhere causing this. There's A LOT of 350's in Jeeps that don't have this problem (see LG's post above). Some of these frames are known to split at the bottom and you don't see it under normal sitting weight, but put a couple people in it and get some stuff on the trail and they'll open wide. Check the frame very carefully, if good - then see what the alignment issue is as it may cause you a similar problem with that long and tall AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l in there.

I may be out in left field on this, but it would seem to me that if your distributor is so close to the firewall that you can't set the timing then that's an indicator of another structural issue that "may" be an issue with the top end of a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l as well if nothing else is changed...maybe not, but just spitballing here...

As for our PS pump and alternator - who cares so long as they work? If they don't slap on each off a '78 and call it done. As for the block, VERY few changes from inception through the early 90's.

I don't care what engine you run or why you want to run it, but make sure that you're fixing the problem with whatever you do. It would really suck to pull all that out and go to a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and have similar problems.

 

[Hedgehog]

Lumpy - I didn't want to be too specific and figured the point was made.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Lumpy - I didn't want to be too specific and figured the point was made.

I just 'sharpened' the tip of that 'point' is all.

LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Raser13 - I have a GM style HEI distributor on my CJ and ran into a problem with clearance. I pulled the dist. and jumped a gear to find clearance. You could do the same thing, pull the dist. jump a gear or two to get the part that is interfering past the problem then reset the gear, make sure the wires are in the correct place, IE the rotor is pointing at the #1 plug wire, reinstall the spark plug wires in the correct order from there, time her up and you are good.

 

[raser13]

Well-If your not going to carry basic spare stuff(oil). No engine will work for you for long.

normally i keep a full set of fluids in the back of the jeep when we go wheeling.
i keep them all in one nice package in a milkcrate. well my wife evidently decided that the milkcrate of fluids would bounce around to much this time. so she removed it from the jeep right before we went out. so they were nice and safe at camp when i needed them out on the trail. needless to say we had a conversation about this on the trail. so now i'm looking for a new motor. if i could find a 350 around here on the cheap i'd just stay with the way it is. but they want 600+ and i can get the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , the flywheel, and the bell housing for less than $350. so that's probably where i'm going.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Why not put the 6 in and rebuild your 350?
When done, put the 350 back in and sell the 6.
BTW: You'll need engine mounts and radiator for that 6.
It it was me-I'd just get the 350 going and not piss around with the 6
LG

 

[hagar]

It it was me-I'd just get the 350 going and not piss around with the 6
LG

Yep.
And with the 350 out of the Jeep I'd massage that firewall a little bit for clearance.
Sounds like the 350 had other issues other than the rear main.
Take it easy on the wife also.....happy wife, happy life.

 

[Hedgehog]

Remember, you'll be getting a $350 motor. Unless you know the motor you are gambling my friend. How bad I your 350? If you didn't throw a rod or freeze her up the repair might not be all that bad. While you have the motor out, why not find a little room for that dist. by dimpling the fire wall in just the right places. A ball peen hammer or a ball peen hammer and some heat should get her done. I'd probably cut a cross or an exploding star in the fire wall, open it up a little then weld some sheet metal in the gaps. or Industrial Metal Supply sells relatively inexpensive metal balls for decorating iron fences cut a dimple out of one of those and weld it in place. It would be easier than you think.

 

[raser13]

the 350 will still start and run if you give it a little gas. it is rattling in both the top and lower ends. so it would have to be a full rebuild. i've done top ends before, and replaced the bearings in the bottom but never done a set of rings or honed a cylinder.

the original tub had the fire wall bashed in for the dist. but the plastic heater box on the inside of the tub was all broken up. we did gently persuade the fire wall in some when we put the new tub on. but it wasn't as far as what the originally did.

i might put the six in a a fix for now and rework the 305. we use the jeep as a second car. so it can be down for repairs but i need to get it running fairly soon.

the motor is from a guy in our amc club that is meticulous with the maintenance on his vehicles. his spirit had the auto tranny lock into first gear. and he's not planning on rebuilding it. so he's giving me a deal on the engine with all the accessories. i have a set of six cylinder mounts for a cj already. and a fly wheel for the motor.

the lead i had on a bell housing has gone dry so if anyone has one for a T-176 let me know. i have heard that the t-175 and the T-150 also share this bolt pattern, so if you have one of those let me know.

 

[Neuner]

It it was me-I'd just get the 350 going and not piss around with the 6
LG

I agree.

I went a different route but much happier without the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . It was in good shape except for blow-by at 2k+ rpm. Sold it to the first contact for my asking price of $650 but I had a long line of buyers trying to jump over each other offering up to $800 to move to the front. Buyer even drove 5 hours to come get it. I didn't trust my AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and after seeing the interest out there, no way I would trust a $350 engine.