i need your opinions Options

[DamDirtyApes]

my friend has a 350 lying around, we are thinking of swaping it in a vehicle and doing some performance parts with it. So far the only ideas we have are making a go-kart with it, or an older caprice or similer car. Basically it needs to be as cheap as possible, and preforably rwd. So any comments just post em, thanks


o yeah, this kid knows his stuff so it wouldnet be any problem to do major work on a car

This post has been edited by DamDirtyApes: Jun 3, 2005 - 3:59 PM

[darksecret]

Dude a 350 powered go cart? First off what kind of 350 out of what vehicle, there are TBI, SFI Vortecs, TPI, Carbed, 305 and 400 small blocks look very similar also, you also must consider if it was a truck block or car block, most trucks came with 4 bolt mains, while older carbed car versions had 2 bolt and some TPI versions had 6 bolt mains. Either way you could probably build a rail or buggy with it but I wouldn't use any car motor bigger than a Mini's for a go cart, think of it this way the motor would weigh mor than the entire cart.

[DamDirtyApes]

its a carburated 350, thats all i know about it, and as for it weighing more than the entire cart, thats good. Gotta keep the weight down

[darksecret]

Good deal, your first option is to rebuild, at that point you can see if it's 2 bolt or 4, and to see the internal condition. If I had a 350 I would find an old S10 or Luv truck and put it in there, those things are quick probably an easy 13-14 second quarter with about 300 hp and being carbed parts are a lot cheaper. I would take it and make a sleeper out of it, that way you could win some money off of the Mustang crowd. Look at http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp for parts they'll have a lot of what you need.

[DamDirtyApes]

Good deal, your first option is to rebuild, at that point you can see if it's 2 bolt or 4, and to see the internal condition. If I had a 350 I would find an old S10 or Luv truck and put it in there, those things are quick probably an easy 13-14 second quarter with about 300 hp and being carbed parts are a lot cheaper. I would take it and make a sleeper out of it, that way you could win some money off of the Mustang crowd. Look at http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp for parts they'll have a lot of what you need.
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great idea with the s-10. We would be going for sleeper look. It would be a ****ty looking vehicle. We really dont wannt to spend more than 250 for the vehicle

[darksecret]

You can find a beater S10 for 250 it would be difficult and you would probably need to know who you're getting it from though.

[CheesyLobster]

I just finished a 350 swap from a nova to a camaro, and probably know more about the 350 than my own 7afe.

First off, there is no way you could do a 350 gocart. A 350 and tranny weights several hundred pounds and is probably about 5 feet long and 2-3 feet tall. To make a gocart that that could fit this would have to be huge, almost the size of a normal car, and would there for not be a gocart any more.

I would definitely recomend a rebuild; replace all gaskets, check pistons and rods, etc. Then, get a TH-350 or so transmission, a nice stall converter, headers, high manifold and a nice carb, etc. and that thing will fly.

It's up to you what you want to drop it into, but if I were you, I might look for something light like an old covette body in a dunkyard for really cheap. Voila, a Classic Corvette for under 3000 dolars!

This post has been edited by CheesyLobster: Jun 7, 2005 - 9:53 PM

[darksecret]

5 feet, what are you talking about a powerglide, I could see 2 foot tall max put no more than 4 foot long from bellhousing to output shaft in a turbo tranny. CheesyLobster is right about a TH-350, you can also go for a TH-400 or 700 which tend to be beefier, stay away from 4L80E, it's a really good tranny but it runs into overheating issues and is also electronic, a powerglide is a good choice but it's very heavy and not recommended for daily driving at all. He's trying to keep it as cheap as possible and it's hard to find an early '80s Vette (you know the crappy ones, 200hp) for less than $1,000 even if it's totaled. I chose an S-10 because they are cheap, abundant, and it's easier to customize parts for because of the space and design.

[CheesyLobster]

Alright maybe not 5 feet, but atleast 4, 2 for trany, 2 for block. Arent powerglides shorter than turbohydrolics? I heard that the th-350 is more reliable than the 400, which is supposed to be beefier. but i dont have any experience with that trany. As for the car, i just think that an s-10 is too heavy for real speed and handling, if thats what you want. If you want something good for customizing, get and s-10 if thats your thing.

[Andason]

id say make a dune buggy

[DamDirtyApes]

word ^ ...


that corvette idea is actully very good

[darksecret]

Alright maybe not 5 feet, but atleast 4, 2 for trany, 2 for block. Arent powerglides shorter than turbohydrolics? I heard that the th-350 is more reliable than the 400, which is supposed to be beefier. but i dont have any experience with that trany. As for the car, i just think that an s-10 is too heavy for real speed and handling, if thats what you want. If you want something good for customizing, get and s-10 if thats your thing.
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The gearbox of a powerglide is smaller but the output shaft is beefier, hence why it's heavier and sometimes longer (ex. the TSI Powerglide) than trannys with more gears, it's questionable about the turbo trannys, the only people really don't bother with is the TH-200 the rest hold up to the abuse. IMO the 4L65E is the best all around but it's also the newest and electronic. An S-10 makes a good speed option because for trucks a gutted S10 is pretty light, as far as handling you're right it won't do good there, but unless he wants a C3 whats the point of having good handling in a truck. Dune buggy is a good option, use a roll cage type material (stay away from galvanized steel) and make a plan, it's harder to build those things than you think, but from the ground up using actual blueprints and a used 911 engine they run around $10,000, of course most of that is in the engine.

This post has been edited by darksecret: Jun 9, 2005 - 9:09 AM