I am looking into a 94 Z28, the car looks pretty good for the most part, interior looks very good. The problem is the car has popped a head gasket and it has 220k miles on it. Do you think it is worth my time to simply replace the head gasket and drive it or should the whole motor be pulled and looked at?
I'm not looking to make any big power with it right now, just need a reliable daily driver. I will be stockpiling parts in order to eventually replace the motor, but I just want to make sure I don't put a head gasket on a motor that is already on it's last leg. Maybe I should just take the heads to a machine shop and have them milled and new seals put in? Do you think the bottom end can survive for another year or two of daily commuting?

 

Id say put a head gasket and see how it runs, inspect everything you can while you have the intake and heads off. Might be a good idea to pull the pan too once you get it. There is no reason to be scared of mileage, ive owned three trucks that all have had 300K or more and still running on original motors. My most recent was a 99 4.8 with 294K.

 

That's hard to say, 220k is a lot of miles and you'll have to wait until after you replace the head gasket to perform a compression test. Are you getting a really good deal on the car?

 

LT1 engines can last a long time if taken care of. I would be suspect because of the blown head gasket. Best thing to do would be to pull the heads, get them milled and maybe ported while you have them out, new valves springs etc., then put em on. How bad was the damage with the blown head gasket? Did the previous owner(s) change the oil regularly and follow service procedures. There's no way to know unless you pull the bottom end out too.

How much were you looking to pay for it?

A good way to tell how the oil was taken care of is to Seafoam it. Look it up in the articles section, see if the seller won't object to doing it. Lots of carbon buildup coming out the exhaust, lots of gunk and stuff. I bought my car with 90k on it and Seafoamed it the other day and it had almost no carbon buildup inside, so someone took care of it and didn't drive it a lot.

There are better cars for a DD, as much as I love Camaros and driving mine around everyday, when they break, its a bitch.

 

The car is $1500, I'm trying to knock him down a little further though.

Seafoam, I know you said search but I figured I'd ask too: What is it and what does it do?

 

Not bad.

Seafoam is a cleaning agent that you can use in your oil, fuel, and vacuum system.

 

I found the Seafoam thread, the only problem with using it is that I won't know if that's all it needed until I invest the initial money in the new head gaskets and getting the heads milled.
I think I'm going to go for it though and pray that all it needs is a head gasket and cleaning of the heads. Hopefully I have enough money saved up so I can put a new motor in it next year anyway.
What else should I replace while I'm in there just for arguments sake? Oil and filter obviously, fuel filter, air filter, plugs, and wires. What about 02 sensors? What about the Optispark? I just want to be able to walk out and not worry about it starting. Since it's going to be down when I first get it I'd like it to be the last time for awhile.

 

Is everything all original?

Assuming 220k on all parts, I would replace:

plugs
wires
coil
opti
o2's
fuel filter
air filter
PCV valve
clean the MAF
clean the IAC
check all rubber and plastic hoses
change thermostat
flush radiator
change engine oil & filter
check all fuses
change tranny oil (and filter if A4)
change diff oil
replace any leaking gaskets
new serpentine belt