240M3SRT

I just purchased my first f-body, its a 99 Formula HT M6. The car has had one owner, a 40 yr old woman who drove to and from work nearly 80-90 miles a day. They had many reciepts for repairs and clutch was replaced at 118k mi, so theres no doubt they did the necessary maintenece. Im ready to make her haul *** but im not sure if i should buy a new short block or a used long block since 140,000 seems like a lot on a motor im gonna race regularly. This is my daily driver so i dont want to "race it until it blows". Money is tight but more importantly i want to do things right.

What do you guys think i should do?

12stones

iTrader: (2)

Depends on how hard your gonna give it to your engine. 140k isn't terrible i had that on my old LS1 and raced it all the time. If you dont do a lot of mods then you'll be fine. honestly though i dont thing the engine will be the first to go if you drag the car alot! -Jim

nikejr16

I have 130,XXX on mine. Gotta love the LS!

Byter

iTrader: (1)

Just my 2 cents, but it sounds like you have a really good engine in the car (i.e. it came from the factory with good tolerances and well assembled). Knowing what I know now, I would just do the normal bolt-on's until you do develop engine trouble. This will give you time to save money and really decide on what you want.

777

iTrader: (21)

i would set aside about 5,000 for a new engine (forged+labor)...then i would start off simple with bolt-ons...then when the engine starts to give you trouble get a new one put in and transfer the bolt-ons...then you can start modding it big time...but that rear end might give you trouble if you plan on racing it...they aren't too strong

Steve Burger

iTrader: (33)

I would start with Rear end, suspension, and bolt ons if you plan to race. Keep in mind that the factory lifters may be the first thing to go. You should be safe wit this but don't expect a lot more miles if you will drive hard.

240M3SRT

Thanks for the input thus far. To be a little more specific i dont plan on hitting the track to often. Just here and there to test my mods. Probably w/o slicks to be safe.

I was considering long tube hooker headers, big cam w/ springs, and oryp. Wonder what that will add and if i could do it myself?

mike c.

iTrader: (1)

run that thing ti'll it dies,then buy a new motor.

LSs1Power

iTrader: (5)

Check the compression or a leak down test on each bank and see how healthy the motor is before u start modding.

Steve Burger

iTrader: (33)

Big cam and springs will kill the stock lifters. In the middle of a swap now to fix this om a 70K motor.

Vortech5300

Don't fix what ain't broke dude! Don't spend money till you have to. I would do bolt ons first. BUT I would start stashing a little here and there, just incase. I wouldn't spray it though.

GuitsBoy

iTrader: (4)

yeah, id keep away from sray, and like already mentioned, do a compression and leakdown test and see how inline everything is. You may very weel have tons of life left in that motor.

Grant B

Think about 140,000 miles on the highway in 6th and 50,000 in the city. I think I would rather have the former.

Now I know GM's quality isn't so great, but why would an old motor blow up unless you reved too high, sprayed too much, etc? Granted the bearing only last so long, but its a '99... Maybe I was spoiled by my Supra, but I never thought a good factory motor would suffer catastrophic failure without being abused.

JMBLOWNWS6

iTrader: (17)

Exactly. Upgrade the rear and get a nice suspension setup.

2MuchRiceMakesMeSick

I am amazed...this car is 100% stock....even the 10 bolt


It sounds like you have already answered your own question


It really depends on what you want to do with the car. I would never race an engine with that many miles. I would take this opportunity to go with forged internals and then workin on putting down some real power. 408 are pretty cheap. Its at least worth looking into.

240M3SRT

What rear end and suspension set-up?

I found a 40k mi ls1 from a local salvage yard for $3,000. Is this a good deal or should i get a short block and how much am i looking at?

408?

Steve Burger

iTrader: (33)

You can get a new shortblock for less than 3K.

GuitsBoy

iTrader: (4)

Like it was said, dont fix it till its broke. But if you can hang on to that 3K for a shortblock, do so. Heck, you could probably have your stocker rebuilt. Ebay has mahle forged pistons and rods for $800. New bearings and seals are a few hundred bucks. Have the stock crank checked out, you can probably reuse it. The rest is just labor.

But dont forget that there has been atleast one vette owner with 300K miles on the clock without major problems.

cyphur

iTrader: (10)

if you're going to buy a motor, get a new forged shortblock. you can get them for like $2400 bucks from LPE these days for a 347ci. 383's and 408's are a grand or so more depending on component choices.

240M3SRT

$2400 for a fully assembled short block with forged pistons/rods?

Pardon my ignorance but who is LPE, is there a link?