CUSTOM S

yeah you people that responded were a little more realistic about this than I was. I guess thats the route I should take..start digging in to it. I'm located in WI. I've located an old '70 350 long block (instate) for $55, if the timing chain cover is still good its cheaper than a new one. Plus I have a new Cam thats better suited to this engine, just need to invest in the matching valvetrain components. I was just hoping I didnt have go this route right out the gate...Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted instant gratification. We dont always get what we want do we?

OK Its gone from BAD to WORSE now! It looks like I need a timing chain cover too. Corrosion has eatin thru the housing. Wheres a good source for parts anyone?

Thanks Frosty, I pulled the water pump off last night and low and behold crud galore! Alot was built up around the ports, mud and kind of like clumps of white looking crystals probably from the anti-freeze broken down. The area under the thermostat has got alot of crap aswell which leads me to believe the whole engine is full of crap. Geez part of me wants to dig deeper and rip the intake and heads off, but the other the part of me wants to get this thing started. I think it was the gaskets leaking but there is signs of rust at the weep hole. And btw I've bought a new pump but the plate that sits behind the pump looks like it was hit with a shotgun. Where do I find one of these? I gotta figure out what route to take on this engine.

Well I flushed the heater core, rad. and block using a power flusher (air/water) and everything came out real clear after good flushing. No chunks or heavy setiment was observed. I did, however manage to blow out the seal in the H2o pump, better in the garage than out on the road, right?. Thanks to all for the advice and I'll be back for more. I'm off to price a water pump now...any suggestions or references?

Thanks Prof. I'm hoping it knocks all the crud loose and shoots it out the discharge hose...then maybe reverse the flow a couple of times. PIN HOLE LEAKS! Now ur starting to scare me! lol I will indeed replace the thermostat. Thanks for the heads-up..And I'm hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Much appreciated..

The water/coolent in the engine is really rusty and $hit brown from sitting a long time. I want to isolate and flush the block by itself. Meaning I dont want to flush that ugly brown water into heater core and rad. (I'll do those seperately as well). The water that came out of the rad. is clean looking so no need to run rusty water thru it Im thinking. My thoughts are to attach hose barbs to heater hose at the rear of the engine and the hose at the water pump. Screw two garden hoses to the ends and connect one to a faucet and the other to the drain. I think I only need to pull the lower rad. hose and plug as the upper has the thermostat which should be shut . Does this sound right? And which way should I make the water to flow? Does it matter? After it comes clear I will flush with a Gunk Rad. rust remover product. Any thoughts or advice on this would be appreciated.

Thanks for the advice on that issue...I will have many more questions in the future regarding this project. Still going thru my checklist of preparing engine for initial startup. 30 years of water in the block sure can get rusty! I'm preparing for the big "flush" of the block.

Thanks Frosty, I will look it over(under)...You also mentioned "Also are your springs, lifters, rockers and push rods matched to this cam?" Can you please explain that as well?

Thanks...the heads are the original 2 bbl.heads and were rebuilt prior to the use of unleaded gas. So for now I will have to stick with them.( only 10k after the rebuild as I stated earlier) But I will eventually get some machine work done on them. Im looking for some "instant gratification" so I'm going to put the fresh gasketed 800cfm back on and see how it runs with no vacuum leaks. I've also been worried by some folks saying that Pontiacs tend to leak oil at the rear main seal area after they've been sitting for a period of time. I guess we'll see the outcome after the start-up. It just may be that I'll be ripping into this mill more than I want too but that's life. So, all in all, I'm thanking you Frosty and others for taking the time to follow up on my questions here....I will return

Thanks for the helpful replies here so far... My Ultradyne cam specs are attached, it appears to be close to the one listed at the bottom of the list. So far the concensus is to get rid of the 800cfm carb. One thing I noticed with the carb is a St.steel (thin sheet) shim between the base gasket to intake. I'm not sure of its purpose but I think its some sort of heat sheild/sink but it was not sealing well as its got signs of blowby leakage which of course caused the rough running issues. Hell, I dont know why I need it? So now Ive got some thoughts to ponder. Get a smaller carb? I would need to find one with a divorced type of choke I believe. Install a Edelbrock dual plane that I bought years ago? (P4B). Its been mentioned here that its not the best for low end. I didn't mention that my heads are a casting number #47..Any issues with these? And finally, would it be wise to install my set of factory cast R.A. style exhaust manafolds? Thanks again for the replies as its giving the bug to get her on the road again.

Hi all..I'm finally gonna try to get my ol' ragtop back on the road again... Many years ago I converted my 350ci.(freshly rebuilt) from 2bbl. to a 4bbl. intake set-up. I drove the car for about 10k miles then put the car away...30 or so years ago. The engine, I feel never really ran as well as it should. i will explain what i know: Engine bored .30 over, (just over 10k now) Ram Air IV cam (no info) high perf. valve springs with threaded studs and lockers. later model 4bbl. stocker intake ('70-'73) Big quadrajet service replacement. Pt.# 7041263, ('71 400 manual tranny.) with a divorced choke setup. Auto tranny turbo 400. Future projects; factory cast iron exhaust manafolds and a differential with 3:08 gears. Ultra Dyne cam. thats best suited for this engine ( I was told ) I have all the specs with this cam. I just recently put a gasket kit in the carb over the winter but I dont know if I should use it. I did not look at the jets and rods numbers. I remember this engine as loping rough idle. and not alot of low end..but the mid and high were quite fast. Any thoughts on this to make any improvements? I want everyday driveability but some fun under the pedal. Please help me get this girl back on the road! Thanks for any and all input.

Thanks for allowing me to join this place, I've had a 1969 Custom S Conv. stored in my garage for many many years. I'm now not so busy with life and kids and such and have got the itch to bring her back to life. Im going to have lots of questions to ponder, as the carb. and intake are not original and was not running the best when I put her away some 30 years ago.