ddevlin

Hi everyone, I stumbled across an old 350 small out of a '77 nova for $350 on Craigslist still fully assembled - the guy claims it runs but doesn't know the milage or if any work has been done to it. I'm thinking it's a good deal, I'm looking to buy it and match it up in something cheap from a junkyard or something for a 'quick' flip for a little profit. My concern is that engine is only rated about 120hp stock, I'm guessing a little less with all the wear on it, and am wondering if anyone has any expert tips to bring it up a little bit - maybe a double carb or something? This would be my first gas rebuild but I've done a good amount of diesel rebuilds for a company. Or is this not even worth the time/money to put into it?
Any and all help is totally appreciated! Thanks a lot!

oldchevy

Can you get a battery and do a compression check on it? Or can you take off one of the valve covers to see if it is clean?

ddevlin

I'll do both! Assuming it's good to go, is there anything pretty basic you'd recommend doing to it to make it a little better?

oldchevy

Is it worth it to put a lot of money into a car from a junk yard that you want to flip. Modifications cost money and cut into the profits. Carbs and manifolds cost a lot of money. This is basically a smog engine and it would be expensive to really improve it. Maybe you can put dual exhaust on it for a minimal expense.