7-Cylinder? It is now!

[jet]

Hey guys. Good to see everyone. My buddies Comp choked up a cylinder. cracked piston or a hole in it so Its bad. Question, he wants the cheapest and fastest way to get it running again. Not alot of money$$. Can he drop in a car/truck chevy engine?? Or just a budget build on his boat motor?? Whats your opinion?? Thanks Jet13654

[LoganP]

I don't have much experience but I'm going through the engine in my boat right now. Pulled the engine and had it totally disassembled to the bare block in 7 hours 30 minutes so I'd think if you were just changing the one piston you could have it done in a day pretty easy. Only thing would be you'd have to see if it messed up the cylinder wall (easy enough to do by just pulling the head) but best case scenario you could get away with a new piston and rings and rehoning the cylinder wall.

[haugy]

If it's just a piston, that's an easy fix. Start there. But he needs to have the cylinder wall inspected to ensure that the piston didn't damage the wall, meaning cracks or deep abrasions. Also the crank needs to be checked for any warping or damage as well.

If the cylinder wall and crank checks out, throw in a new piston and swap all the rings on the rest and go. (might as well do new rings since the engine is all apart). Slap in some new gaskets and rock and roll.

If the cylinder wall is damaged, how bad? If it's fubar'd, then go pick up a 351w short block (with a 4-bolt main). Take all the components from your current engine, with a new piston and new rings for the rest. New gaskets, and rock and roll.

There will be others that chime in that way overthink engine rebuilding. Cadunkle :D:D But unless you are doing HP or efficiency mods, it's not rocket science. Engines can take a lot of abuse, and have amazing tolerances. Just swap what needs to be swapped, and let'er rip.

If he is not worried about $$ and wants to do a good build, then look at the 5.8L with GT-40 heads. That motor is super peppy compared to the standard 5.8L in there now.

[cadunkle]

Find a running SBC 305 or 350, bolt on the marine parts, and drop it in. Should be able to do it total under $250 as SBC are dime a dozen. Option B is get one piston and set of rings for the damaged one and toss it in the one that blew up. Don't look at clearances or bearings too close or you'll likely want to do it right. Blind eye, just make it run and see how long 'till it blows again. Either way is quick and dirty and I think more work in long run.

Personally I'd build a Ford engine for it and call it a day. Or even if he's a Chevy guy just rebuild his 350 properly. I don't like worrying about cheap fixes and unknown engines.