[Chevelle-list] 350 crate engines & 200-4R

[John Nasta]

I am talking with a company that has 4 possibilities for me for a 350 crate engine. They have 2-bolt and 4-bolt mains, and each one is available as a stock rebuild (+.030, 8:1 Federal Mogul composite pistons, stock cam) for $1049 or a "hi-performance" rebuild (+.060, flat-top pistons, hi-per cam) for $1589 (both prices after core return and free shipping either way). They say the hp model can be set up to put out about 300HP w/ a good intake, 600cfm carb, HEI, and headers, and is set up for more torque in the low band but pretty much the same performance as the stock engine at highway speeds. He says that this one is really for people who are either going to be towing something, or just like that extra torque when pulling away from a dead stop. He said that the stock rebuild model would typically put out about 250HP w/ stock-x-mans and stock cast iron intake.   Apparently the drill is to see if your current engine is 2-bolt or 4-bolt and they replace it with the same thing. If you want to "upgrade" from 2-bolt to 4-bolt you forego the core return of a few hundred bucks, but either way you can choose whether you want the stock rebuild or the hi-per rebuild.   He also said that even at 300HP a 4-bolt main is not really necessary, and told me an interesting story about how the 350 came about to have a 4-bolt main. He says that for a long time, wreckers (tow trucks) only came with the biggest big block engine that was being offered. Apparently at some point in order to make cheaper wreckers, GM came out with 4-bolt 350s, and the reason for the 4-bolt main was simply because the driveshaft would wobble when the PTO kicked in as you were lifting up a 5000 pound Cadillac. So, he says that the 4-bolt main was not so much to contain the forces that the engine puts out when driving, but was really a tow truck thing to compensate for the load that the PTO put on the driveshaft.   He also said they could sell me a 2004R w/ new (not rebuilt) torque converter for $1049 w/ free shipping. bowtietransmissions.com has them for $895 but that appears to be w/o the converter and plus shipping, so I figure I may as well get both from the same place and only have to wait for one delivery. I will probably go w/ the hi-per model because I do want that take-off speed. That's half the fun.   John Nasta