help chevy 350??

so I just traded for a 75 firebird a few weeks ago. and the motor is deffinetly getting pretty worn out. so i was going to start working on rebuilding a new motor, so that the time comes i can just swap them out. It has the original pontiac 350 in it now. I have to blocks sitting in my garage a chevy 350 and a pontiac 350. both need to be bored.

my question is its about half the price to rebuild the chevy, than it is the pontiac. And Iam a college student with a tight budget. so what would i have to do to put a chevy 350 in? mounts? heddars? etc?

or would it just be cheaper to do the pontiac in the long run?

thanks alot alex  

Alex, I know the temptation is to go with the cheap SBC 350 rebuild, but in the long run, I think you will be better off with the Pontiac. At the end of this post I have left you a link to Summit racing for a Pontiac rebuild kit. It lists at about $550 and includes everything but the cam/lifters/timing set. yes, that is about twice as expensive as your 350 Chevy, but only for parts. Consider the following points:
-no need to change mounts, trans (bell housing is different, unless you have a dual pattern trans), alternator/brackets, power steering pump/brackets/hoses, fuel lines, swap battery/tray and cables to opposite side, alter wiring harness for Chevy (alt and starter are on the wrong side) and so on.
-machine work will cost the same regardless of which engine you build.
-the Pontiac heads on your original motor should be 5C's which are better heads than any of the typical Chevy smog heads, including larger 2.11" intake and 1.66" exhaust valves compared to most Chevy's with 1.94 and 1.50" valves, some even had 1.72 or 1.84 intakes!
-the pontiac V8 4bbl intake is a great performance piece even in EGR form, the Chevy piece is a boat anchor which you will have to replace with an aluminum intake to equal the performance of the stock Pontiac manifold.
-my 79 Formula with a 75 350 and 5c heads runs mid 14's at almost 100mph on all stock parts (including intake and exhaust manifolds) except the cam/lifters/timing set, stock converter and 3.42 gears, find me a 34 year old small block that turns that kind of numbers with just a cam swap!
-You will make more torque with the 3.75" stroke of the Pontiac than the 3.48" stroke of the Chevy, Chevy guys have to put a stroker crank in for that!

Find a chevy guy to sell the small block to and use the cash for your Pontiac buildup. What heads are on the second pontiac 350? The number is cast on the center exhaust port.
Steve

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FEM-MKP621D-311/  
Trying to help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!

You would be happier with the pontiac 350 in the long run the pontiac will make more torque.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

Check out my Pontiac power regal in the readers rides section it is powered by a Pontiac 350.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

ok thanks you. I will go with pontiac then. the heads say 46.

what do you recomend for a good cam for this motor?

the car is mostly going to be drivin a few times a week, but would still like a little bit of torque.

thanks again  

The #46 head is from a 73/early 74 350 and they have the smaller 1.96" intake valves, they are however, the same chamber size as your 5C heads from 1975. So both heads give a compression ratio of 7.6:1. Milling them might bring the CR up to 8:1, if you choose that route, I would use the 5C's from your 75 motor because they have the larger intakes and screw-in studs with guide plates. I'm not sure if the 46 heads would have the screw-in studs and guide plates, but it is easy enough to check, just pull a valve cover of and have a look. For even more power, look for a set of late 60's/early 70's big valve closed chamber heads to get the CR above 9:1. The nice thing about the heads you have is they will make decent power and can be run on the lowest octane pump gas around (87octane) with no worries about detonation.
As for the cam, what trans do you have and what rear gear ratio? Let me know and I'll help you with a cam recommendation.
Steve  
Trying to help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!