My Goodwrench is on life support. But what is the best course of action?

[KHildy]

My Goodwrench 350 probably has 230K miles on it. She's low on power, there are exhaust fumes in the radiator, trying to die at stop lights, I have a ticking lifter on #6, and she won't hold timing (keeps advancing). Rear main seal is hanging on by a thread and flexplate has chipped teeth.

Is it time for a new crate engine, a clean slate OR would it be worth rebuilding the Goodwrench? This is my daily work truck we are talking about. I want her to be tough and reliable first and foremost. I want at least 100K miles out of the next iteration.

P.S. short blocks are also an option for me considering the good condition of my accessories. I'd like to make this happen for $3000 or less if that is even possible.

 

[Ricko1966]

A good wrench motor should be a 4bolt standard bore,sounds like the crank is still good,the heads arent terrible for a DD. I'd be real tempted to rebuild it,but I've rebuilt lots of engines so it's nbd to me. The only thing is it would be nice to go to roller cam, and 1 piecevrear seal,but that means more money, and supporting modifications.Money wise,I'd bore it .030 have the heads rebuilt and buy a budget rebuild kit. Look one up I think northern has them. Price what a local machine shop gets to bore a block and rebuild the heads. And I think you may be confused with your terminology a short block has no heads,a long block has heads but no accessories..... The kit I just screenshot and posted,has everything except cam and lifters.

 

[newguy11]

I think a healthy used sbc is a good option. Take it home and rebuild it ( rings, seals and bearings and swap her in.

The way I feel about it is that if it’s a good motor it doesn’t need to be bored out, although heads are a different story they really should be cleaned up by a pro or replaced with new. But that’s just me.

Your price tag of 3k is well within reason. I was in for under 2k and with a home garage rebuild and new heads ( nothin fancy ) just keep in mind all the small stuff really adds up

 

[newguy11]

This came out last night, for those of you not familiar with vice grip garage you should make yourself aquatinted.

This is a good explanation of what to look for during the tear down phase of a rebuild

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[KHildy]

I actually just watched this last night. I love VGG and am very happy for his success, but lately I've been yearning for the older style content that Derek doesn't have time for anymore. So I've been watching PBG (Pole Barn Garage). That channel is great for Pontiac guys.

 

[KHildy]

A good wrench motor should be a 4bolt standard bore,sounds like the crank is still good,the heads arent terrible for a DD. I'd be real tempted to rebuild it,but I've rebuilt lots of engines so it's nbd to me. The only thing is it would be nice to go to roller cam, and 1 piecevrear seal,but that means more money, and supporting modifications.Money wise,I'd bore it .030 have the heads rebuilt and buy a budget rebuild kit. Look one up I think northern has them. Price what a local machine shop gets to bore a block and rebuild the heads. And I think you may be confused with your terminology a short block has no heads,a long block has heads but no accessories..... The kit I just screenshot and posted,has everything except cam and lifters.

You are correct, I did have my terms flipped around. If a rebuild gets me a long lasting engine with acceptable towing and power for heavy loads, then I'm down if it saves me some cash. I would like to be able to put regular oil in my truck without the ZDDP package too. Any guestimate on how much the roller cam modification would add to the bill if I did that? Also anyone know any Atlanta-area shops?

 

[KHildy]

I think a healthy used sbc is a good option. Take it home and rebuild it ( rings, seals and bearings and swap her in.

The way I feel about it is that if it’s a good motor it doesn’t need to be bored out, although heads are a different story they really should be cleaned up by a pro or replaced with new. But that’s just me.

Your price tag of 3k is well within reason. I was in for under 2k and with a home garage rebuild and new heads ( nothin fancy ) just keep in mind all the small stuff really adds up

This is my first engine rebuild so I don't know fully what to expect as far as the small stuff goes. What's some stuff I'll need if I decided to do this in my garage with a friend? Can I even get it in and out of the chassis with a standard height motor lift? Is it possible to lift an engine on a square body without the tranny and get it back in and reach the bolts on the top of the bell housing?

 

[Ricko1966]

You are correct, I did have my terms flipped around. If a rebuild gets me a long lasting engine with acceptable towing and power for heavy loads, then I'm down if it saves me some cash. I would like to be able to put regular oil in my truck without the ZDDP package too. Any guestimate on how much the roller cam modification would add to the bill if I did that? Also anyone know any Atlanta-area shops?

Going roller is going to be expensive, you will either have to go full aftermarket roller with your block or buy a newer GM roller block like out of a Cadillac,then you have the problem of no fuel pump provision so now you have to plumb and wire an electric fuel pump. Some people will say such and such truck block is set up for roller,yep,but they still have a flat tappet cam so still have to buy all the roller parts,I do believe the Vortc 5.7 truck Motors were roller. Anyways rollers going to cost you. A basic kit like I put up and a 929 cam you will have just what you had before and can expect similiar life from it. As for pulling the engine plenty of guys on here are pulling them with cheap cherry pickers. BUY A BOOK!!!!!! A guy just busted up his transmission trying to pull an engine with no expierience and no book and blamed us because we didn't tell him instructions on every single bolt he needed to pull. We told him to buy a book twice. BUY A BOOK!!!!!

 

[Ricko1966]

This is my first engine rebuild so I don't know fully what to expect as far as the small stuff goes. What's some stuff I'll need if I decided to do this in my garage with a friend? Can I even get it in and out of the chassis with a standard height motor lift? Is it possible to lift an engine on a square body without the tranny and get it back in and reach the bolts on the top of the bell housing?

You can get to all the bolts with common hand tools,you'll need common hand tools a cherry picker and a book. I'll look up what other engines would be roller and how much after market roller is biab.

 

[Ricko1966]

Okay going after market roller is going to be 750. and up there maybe Chinese kits cheaper but I wouldn't use one. According to motor trend GM cars got roller cams in 1987 trucks didn't get them until 95. Read the pic.

 

[SquareRoot]

I put a new Goodwrench in my truck a few years back. Wasn't impressed with the power so I put on vortec heads and a 4x4 Comp cam. Eventually switched to pf4 efi and hooker manifolds. She runs great now. Only regret was not spending the extra $$$ on a roller cam. Never again will I own a flat tappet cam. Rollers virtually eliminate break in procedures, last much longer, are easier on the valvetrain , make more power (respectively) and do away with expensive hard to find oil. Just my opinion from my experience.

 

[Travlr]

This is my first engine rebuild so I don't know fully what to expect as far as the small stuff goes. What's some stuff I'll need if I decided to do this in my garage with a friend? Can I even get it in and out of the chassis with a standard height motor lift? Is it possible to lift an engine on a square body without the tranny and get it back in and reach the bolts on the top of the bell housing?

If the truck is too tall you can flatten the tires or even take the wheels off to take the height out.

My two cents, don't go radical with roller cam or timing gears or any of that kind of high dollar low return kind of thing. The most bang for the buck is going to be an RV cam and a set of headers. Those two things will both increase horsepower and miles per gallon more than anything else for the number of dollars spent... and they are easy to do.

 

[75gmck25]

In about 2003 I bought a new GM 350/290 hp crate after my 350 threw a rod.
I lived in a gated community with restrictions on mechanical work. We pushed/parked the K25 so it was set back several feet in front of one garage door and then pulled off the grill, radiator, hood, and everything else in the way. I rolled the engine picker out of the garage and pulled out the engine. We then rolled the picker back into the garage and put the hood back on the truck. Now I just had a truck parked in the driveway. My truck is a stock height K25 HD and the picker had plenty of lift height to get the engine out.

Picked up the new engine from the dealer and backed up to the other garage door. Used blocks and wood ramps to slide it out of a friends pickup and get it into the garage. Now I had the old engine hanging from the picker in one bay, and the new engine in the other bay in the crate. Swapped everything over from one engine to the other, and reversed the process to install, using new motor mounts .

Over the years I have changed flat tappet cams in the engine (350/290 cam has too much duration for its low compression), finally did a roller cam conversion, and then swapped to 64cc aluminum heads. It gave me the ability to spread the cost out over several years, but I can tell you now that using a roller cam and Vortec or aluminum heads would have made sense right up front.

If you could find a junkyard Vortec 350 from about 95-96, that would be a good starting point, although these iron heads are prone to cracking and need to be checked. You would need an electric fuel pump and a Vortec intake, but with a complete engine you would also get a modern serpentine setup that is easier to maintain than 3 v-belts. YMMV.

 

[peats]

Craigslist or facebook marketplace are 2 good spots to find a confirmed good running used 350. I would avoid a freshly rebuilt engine that has no run time. Expect to pay about $800 to $2,000.

 

[MikeB]

GM doesn't sell that base Goodwrench engine anymore, and I can't find a GM replacement for it. Kind of a shame, because it was very popular. I had one in a 69 C10 and installed at least two more in other vehicles over the years. Nice cruiser engine with a small 4bbl carb and dual exhausts.

Here's one from ATK that should work for your 78 truck. They don't list many specs for it, but I'd guess it's comparable to the base Goodrich engine. https://www.jegs.com/i/ATK-Engines/059/VC12/10002/-1

You may need to buy a new oil pan for it. The Goodwrench block and pan had kick-outs for dipsticks on both sides.