Im going to get my 351w rebuilt and was wondering should I send the block to get disassembled and cleaned up, decked, and all that? or should i just rebuild? what are the benefits on getting the block preped up and whats the average cost for doing something like that?
I would get the block preped. Even though it has seen most of the changes from heat it is going to see if you are planning on changing any parts like heads and such you could be loosing power by not having the block decked and further machined properly. Mabye this link will help you out.
You should have a machine shop look over your block. They can tell if there is any problems and what size over bore it will need. Decking is standard on race blocks but not always needed on a street block They can check your your decks to see if it's really needed. A hot tank, cam bearings, bore and hone runs about $ 225.00 in my area. You might want to take your engine apart. most shops charge about $75.00 hr labor. If you're building a race engine, you can very easily spend a grand on block prep. Make sure you use a shop that gives you what you want and not trying to sell you on uneeded stuff. You also might look into a crank, piston, rod kit. depending on the condition of yours, the machining cost can end up being a lot more than getting the kit. Keep your used bearings in your rods and mains. A lot can told about condition and issues by looking at them.
Sorry i took so long to respond. what things should i consider doing to the block? its a daily driver, but will see some mild performance parts soon.
carb, intake, cam, ignition,and hopefully some decent heads.
Depends on how much you want to spend. IMHO a basic build would be hot tank, crack check, check that the mains are straight, decks are flat. I would also spend the money to have the bores plate honed. If your block needs all the bells and whistles to make it right, I would recomend you start whith a standard bore block so you get a couple over bores before trashing the block. I would get a balance done also. About $150.00 but sure smooths out the engine and should help your rebuild last longer. Ask your buddies or ask around at some car shows to see what shops have good reps for quality work at fair prices. A good shop should be happy to answer your questions and show you why work they recomend needs done. After all this you might look into crate motors, after you start adding all the cost up the can be a good deal. If that interests you use the search because that subject is frequent one.
I agree with Rusty. Disassemble the thing yourself, you will save provably 2 hours of labor. Also, you could provably assemble the top end yourself and save some money that way. I think the hardest part of the topend of the motor is geting the valves adjusted correctly.
do you like to hammer your motor?
planning on power adders later on, you always want more power after a build. you just get the itch. If so, I'd go with the blueprinting also. no sense worrying about the bottom end. stock rods can handle quite a bit when prepped.
Decking has a lot to do with the rod and piston combo. If you have a 9.5" deck and use stock rods and an SRP piston, the stack-up is 9.48". If your block deck is 9.5", you may want to have some shaved off. You can determine how much by measuring piston-to-deck height when you tear down the motor. If it does turn out to be .020", you can ask to have .015" taken off. That will provide a good sealing surface for your head gaskets and bump your compression a few tenths. All together, I would have the shop:
hot tank
inspect
check mains alignment, align hone as needed
cam bearings
bore
hone with plate (best if they also use your head gaskets, but not required)
balance rotating assy (incl. balancer and flexplate/flywheel)
deck as needed, per above
install oil gallery and freeze plugs