New member here--Rebuild? Or buy new?
09-30-2015, 09:08 PM
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New member here--Rebuild? Or buy new? So I blew a head gasket on my 95 z28 and have decided that this may be the time to do something new for my car. I'd like to pull the motor and rebuild it for street use but have 400+ horsepower. It's an automatic and barebone stock right now. My budget for rebuild is about 3k. Is it worth putting new crank, cam, heads or anything or no? I'm not very knowledgable on these things but am digging in this forum and learning lots. I would probably have someone do my work to prevent me creating more damage. I would appreciate all the help I can get and how to get the parts if needed. Thank you very much.
09-30-2015, 11:40 PM
#2
It all depends. 3k could net you a used LS1 with some money left over to beef it up. Hell, bolt on LS1's could outrun my ****... And I have a forged 355 
but I'm an LT1 guy, it's nice being the underdog. 3k can only go so far but if you do things on a budget you can have a nice street car. The Factory LT1 crank is nearly indestructible. It still can break but highly unlikely. Stay away from any machine shop that recommends a Eagle cast crank or something similar. Look up on here many people have had there's grenade and destroy there motor. A mild head/cam motor with full bolt ons could get you somewhere in the 400HP range.
but I'm an LT1 guy, it's nice being the underdog. 3k can only go so far but if you do things on a budget you can have a nice street car. The Factory LT1 crank is nearly indestructible. It still can break but highly unlikely. Stay away from any machine shop that recommends a Eagle cast crank or something similar. Look up on here many people have had there's grenade and destroy there motor. A mild head/cam motor with full bolt ons could get you somewhere in the 400HP range.
10-01-2015, 12:51 AM
#3
From personal experience, I would leave the short block in the car at the very least. 3k won't rebuild a good motor especially to make 400+. Heads / cam is what I would do and you'll spend plenty of your money. Just my opinion
10-01-2015, 06:24 AM
#4
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Save your money until you can afford a larger budget (probably closer to 5-6k). The supporting mods alone (exhaust, torque converter, gears, tires, suspension, tuning!) will easily make a huge dent in your budget.
until then:
If the bottom end wasn't hurt then have the heads cleaned, decked install new valve springs and reinstall with new gaskets.
If the bottom end was hurt then look for another stock motor that can pass a compression and leak down test, swap your accessories to it and install it.
until then:
If the bottom end wasn't hurt then have the heads cleaned, decked install new valve springs and reinstall with new gaskets.
If the bottom end was hurt then look for another stock motor that can pass a compression and leak down test, swap your accessories to it and install it.
10-01-2015, 06:44 AM
#5
TECH Addict
New member here--Rebuild? Or buy new? Save your money until you can afford a larger budget (probably closer to 5-6k). The supporting mods alone (exhaust, torque converter, gears, tires, suspension, tuning!) will easily make a huge dent in your budget.
until then:
If the bottom end wasn't hurt then have the heads cleaned, decked install new valve springs and reinstall with new gaskets.
If the bottom end was hurt then look for another stock motor that can pass a compression and leak down test, swap your accessories to it and install it.
until then:
If the bottom end wasn't hurt then have the heads cleaned, decked install new valve springs and reinstall with new gaskets.
If the bottom end was hurt then look for another stock motor that can pass a compression and leak down test, swap your accessories to it and install it.
3k will be hard pressed to get you 400rwhp. I spent $4.5k on just my engine and the supporting bolt ons for it (I didn't touch the intake manifold or TB). I put another 1300 into the trans. I still need to do the rear axle and good tires..... So another 3-4k...
Don't shoot for a horsepower number.
For $3k you can do bolt ons and an LE1 package so long as your long block is good (with some savy shopping). Or you could do bolt ons and a good stall and have a little left over.... maybe. Those should get you into the 12s and make for a really fun daily driver.
10-01-2015, 07:37 AM
#6
Everyone will say buy forged this and that when its not necessary, like said the stock crank will take a lot, I made 648 RWHP on a stock crank, the rods are good for a mild build, just replace the bolts with ARP, I would use ARP for the whole engine. Look for used parts, cams, headers, ect. I knew of someone that built a nice performance motor with all used parts for literally 1/3 of the price and ran low 12's.
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10-01-2015, 02:06 PM
#9
Since this is tech and everyone probably already assumed I meant for 3k he could get 400 RWHP, I meant FWHP.... I probably have a little over 3k in my build... I have a few used things here and there, machine work was also free...
10-01-2015, 02:46 PM
#10
TECH Regular
If doing ported heads and cam on the existing shortblock, you could probably attain 400rw for $3k, it'd be a stretch though, and you'd be doing all the work yourself. To get in under $3k, you'd probably have to spend some time finding used headers, exhaust, etc for cheap.
A full motor build, no way.
A full motor build, no way.
10-01-2015, 07:00 PM
#11
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Engine aside...your auto transmission is stock too. Tack on another thousand or so for a billet stall converter, shift kit, trans cooler, etc. I hope you have tires and some suspension on deck. This stuff adds up fast
