I just acquired the better part of a 348

b1bomber

b1bomber

Member
Hi I just acquired a 1960 try power from what I have found thru searching ,I came to the pros with hope of rebuilding and putting in my 51 merc

Hey everybody ,
Good news is the motor is at my house ,so so new is not a 409 which I knew .
I cannot get the photos to upload today but here's the skinny I believe a 1960 348
3755011
f8 60

heads 3758379

manifold 3748848?
gm no 1
k657. XX
carbs gn rochester 2
one has vacuum
one does not one has large can on side choke?

crank 3732692. ?
gm 23

no pan ,rods,pistons or pumps
it does have main caps
 
4

427John

Well Known Member
Since you're going to have to buy rods and pistons anyway,you may want to consider a stroker the stock stroke is 3.25 and there are cranks available in 3.5(stock 409 crank), 3.75 and 4.00 inch strokes.I tend to believe the bigger the better and biggest is best especially when in a bigger heavier car.A larger engine can make equal or more power at lower rpm's than a smaller engine which tends to be easier on parts.
 
61BUBBLE348

61BUBBLE348

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 11
The intake date is November 57, so for 58 production, nothing wrong with it as the Tripower manifolds didn't change much through to 61. The Block is August 60, this block will have the spark plug cooling holes in the block which the heads have also.
 
Tom Kochtanek

Tom Kochtanek

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 13
You may want to consider different cylinder heads if you're attempting to get more torque/HP out of you rebuilt engine. Those 379s are good for 250-280 horses in stock form. Don will steer you in the right direction, but you'll need to decide for yourself what kind of performance you are after. You can go anywhere from 250 horses to 450 horses with a 348 depending on your intentions and your budget :).

Have fun! TomK
 
4

427John

Well Known Member
While Tom is correct in that the 379 heads will become a limiting factor we've now reached a point that between all the responses we have now recommended that you toss everything you have except for the block and intake.I standby the stroker recommendation simply because you already have to buy some parts to complete the shortblock,it will give you a power increase just due to increased displacement,and it will give you a solid foundation for even more power in case your budget and desire justifies buying better heads at a later date,a head swap is something that can be done with the engine in the car with relative ease.Any upgrades to the shortblock will require pulling the engine again with the possible exception of a cam swap and I consider in car cam swaps risky at best.Also I was under the impression that some 305 horse engines had the 379's?
 
Tom Kochtanek

Tom Kochtanek

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 13
Pretty sure those 305 horse builds sported the 1147 heads or maybe even the 586s in 1961?

At least the one I had did :).

Problem is once you spend the $$$ freshening up those 379s, you still have 379s... Don't get me wrong, they're OK, but I'd spend the dough on the top end using modified 333s or maybe a set of 817s.
 
D

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
The very early[58-59] 305 horse engines and the 315 horse engines used the 379 head,the 61 engine used the 1147.If he's looking for around 370 horse power with great low-mid rage power,then I'd suggest installing the 2.06 and 1.72 exhaust valves[as is found in the 817 and 1147 head,and a bowl blend on those 379's.With the right cam,one hp. per cu.inch would be fairly easy to to and because you never need to spin it any where near 6,000 live a long time.Yes,333's and 817's would be stronger by 20 hp given the same treatment with everything else being the same.It depends on what his needs and budget are.
 
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La Hot Rods

La Hot Rods

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 15
So if one wanted to build it with the 348 stroke there isn't much need to worry about the heads, just get the transmission and rear gears set right and should be good for a cruiser.
How much weight difference is there between a 51 Merc and a 58 Impala?
 
4

427John

Well Known Member
Don't get me wrong Tom I'm a firm believer in what a better set of heads will do for an engine especially in conjunction with a cam swap,when I initially swapped in the Gen 5 peanut port 454 into my old truck,not having had much experience with BBC's(most of my BB experience was with Fords)to put it mildly I was not impressed,I had taken off the EFI and put an early 396 holley pattern intake and AFB with corvette exh manifolds.It ran great but didn't seem to have much more power than the 305 I pulled out,I found a set of Gen 5 427 dump truck heads with closed chambers and large oval ports had the 2.06/1.72 valves from the peanut ports installed swapped them onto the engine in conjunction with swapping in a ZZ502 crate engine cam with everything else being the same those 2 changes turned the engine into a beast.
 
Tom Kochtanek

Tom Kochtanek

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 13
I stand corrected on those earlier 305 builds (thanks Don!). The engine I was in possession of was of 1961 vintage, and as such it sported the more desirable 1147 heads.

I was going on the assumption that a person would totally refurbish a bare set of cylinder heads. The cost to totally R&R a set of heads is pretty much the same for those 379s as would be for 333s or 817s. In that case I'd go for the latter sets. If one were to just "freshen up" the existing 379s, that's OK too. I just didn't want to give the impression that refurbishing a set of stock 379s was going to be some big performance leap :).

On the other hand, I remember not too long ago Ray (Fatride) was running some ported 379s and tripower on his 1960 drag car :).

I second Don's recommendation to focus on good stuff on the bottom end, as one can always swap out that top end when resources merited that exchange. Just depends on what he's aiming for in the new build.

I'd be interested in knowing how our new member procedes with all this info!

Cheers! TomK
 
4

427John

Well Known Member
Tom Kochtanek said:
I stand corrected on those earlier 305 builds (thanks Don!). The engine I was in possession of was of 1961 vintage, and as such it sported the more desirable 1147 heads.

I was going on the assumption that a person would totally refurbish a bare set of cylinder heads. The cost to totally R&R a set of heads is pretty much the same for those 379s as would be for 333s or 817s. In that case I'd go for the latter sets. If one were to just "freshen up" the existing 379s, that's OK too. I just didn't want to give the impression that refurbishing a set of stock 379s was going to be some big performance leap :).

On the other hand, I remember not too long ago Ray (Fatride) was running some ported 379s and tripower on his 1960 drag car :).

I second Don's recommendation to focus on good stuff on the bottom end, as one can always swap out that top end when resources merited that exchange. Just depends on what he's aiming for in the new build.

I'd be interested in knowing how our new member procedes with all this info!

Cheers! TomK
Click to expand...
I agree 100% Tom if you had a set of 379's sitting next to a set of 333's why would you pick up the 379's and load em into your rig to take to get rebuilt over the 333's,the answer is you wouldn't.
 
b1bomber

b1bomber

Member
ok a lot of great info everyone , the block does have a crank the number is listed above and main caps . no rods, pistons ,oil pan pumps or pulleys
so I guess my next question is
what is the " general" value of what I have ? I can and certainly would magneflux the block if the value is there or I build it.
pertaining to the 379 heads ,do they have any value ?
i'm debating on whether this is a good direction for me to go ,I found this under a tarp in an old-timers garage among 25 sbc motors and parts. He said he pulled it from a wrecked impala off a famers property about 15 yrs ago.
Im not a w expert by any means ,I saw it and thought dam that would be sweet in my merc build on my gearstar 700r 355 ratio 8.8"rear 26.5" tires
im ok spending like 5k total on the upgrades and rebuild but I want 350 plus hp am I high on fumes ?lol
or should I offer it up to one of you guys to do it justice ..
thanks
Ray
also just fyi im in Northern California above the bay a couple hrs
 
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