I don't have a lot more at this time. It's at a friends on his lift and I'm going back this Saturday. These are the thrust bearings: Most of the metal I found in the pan must have come from somewhere else.
To get to your 400 pump gas HP goal, you'll need to be able to spin that thing passed 6,000 to get to the 400 HP in the upper RPM band. So either the aftermarket Molnar rods or nascar take outs that will handle the higher RPMs. Adding cubes helps to pull the power band down into a more useable RPM range, that's the best reason to build a sbb stroker. The added advantage is that it will make more torque down low as well. 400 HP is doable without any head porting BUT probably won't be the most streetable and probably will want better gas than is available at the pump. So head porting will be necessary to get to 400 pump gas naturally aspirated HP. With boost without head porting 400 HP would be reachable but would cost more than having port work done and add more complication and costs if it needs any work done to it down the road if you can't do the work yourself. I would guess around $1,000 in port work could get you where the heads need to be to get you to your HP goal with a good set of rods. Adding a roller cam and roller rockers would help but probably not be necessary unless you want more than 400 HP.
I would agree to spend the money on head work. Get intake flow over 250. Unshroud valves. Competition valve job, back cut and polished . If your interested in the stroker setup Derek mentioned, I have an already cut crank and Prankl 1.850 rods at the shop Derek works at I would sell .I may even have main bearings, depending on which one Derek balanced for my engine. You are a couple hours from there. Just need custom Pistons then. Rods will need some slight adjustments to fit. Easily make 370 cubes. Maybe Derek could talk Dave into taking on the short block , even though Dave is pretty well booked up.
Auto My main concern isn't the crank, those are fairly inexpensive to replace. I'm not sure if the block saddles and main caps are even usable.
Rods will not increase your hp. High rpm twisting capabilities yes, hp No. Cam, porting, valves, compression, balancing, etc will get hp levels up.
Can't tell from the pics, did the thrust bearing spin in the main saddle? If not and the caps fit tightly in their registers then they are probably ok? The crank on the other hand, if the thrust surface is excessively worn it may need to be replaced?
I don't see anything Blueing up in the Thrust Bore , but it sure was moving and getting ready to spin! Are those original GM Moraine 200 series bearings as stamped on there back side? If so those bearings even when new have a hard time holding up at even 4800 rpm no less with the signs of water contamination, overheating and grit and detonation that they are showing!
If the caps fit on tightly, then there would be no issue using that block.. a little wear around the bore really is not an issue. Then again, if you want to start fresh, I have several good 350 blocks. Classic thrust failure, seen it many times. JW
I don't think the thrust main bearing spun. I have pics above of the thrust main. It's pitted but it's all intact. The caps still go on tight. The crank may have around .030 in the deep spot. I didn't mic it.
What I don't understand is how the crank thrust surface got ground down against the caps and block, but the bearing didn't get wiped out? That doesn't make sense to me.
I didn't see any visible cracks just looking at it. I assume when it gets magnaflux that any cracks will show up then. Man I hope there aren't any!
Contact Steve Caruso or Dave Hemker from here on the board. Borh are close to you in Michigan, and either are capable of building you a strong, reliable Buick engine. If they are too busy, I can hook you up with my Buick engine builder over here on my side of the state, south of Kalamazoo.
Is your torque converter ballooning? What the hell is going on to put that much force on the thrust in an auto trans car?
Converter looks fine. It's factory as far as I can tell. My new build will require a new one anyway. Maybe the end play was never set correctly? I don't know.
