Not sure, if I'm in the right forum, but I'm looking at a 78 short-wide with a 350/auto. The seller is a close friend of my Wife's and says the only thing the motor needs is a new cam. While I've never done any major work to an engine, I'm somewhat knowledgable of what goes into this kind of project. I just really want to know if its worth buying for 500-700 dollars knowing it needs this kind of work. It currently runs, but I still need to test drive... anyway, I'll be doing this myself if I decide to get this, so for those who have real experience, is this something that a first timer can do swiftly, or will I have a garage full of parts for a few days?

 

If you need to ask if you will have a garage full of parts, you cant do it yourself. You have to have specialized tools to do the job. Do you have them?

 

If it has a flat cam then you should probably just consider throwing a rebuild in, the Chevy 350ci is the least expensive engine to replace on the market and this is easier (for the average person) then replacing a cam, not to mention that if it has enough wear on it to have flattened the cam it probably is old and tired anyway.