Ebay Engine?

[Imachad]

I have been checking around Ebay for possibly replacing my tired old L-48. I would love to drop a crate motor to up the performance and keep the L-48 for #'s matching sake. This is a link to a motor from a builder who appears to be very good. 350 c.i. 440 hp He has a 100% feedback rating. If someone would look over the engine specs for me and let me know if the parts are junk or not. It looks like a good motor. I'm not ready to drop the $$ down right now but i hope to have some decent money saved up at the end of the summer. Thanks for all your help!



Chad

 

[bobherr46]

You need to be sure the engine will fit under your hood with the manifold they are furnishing. A lot of the Edelbrock manifolds will not fit under a Corvette hood. Check the Edlebrock on line catalogue. - Bob Herr

 

[Macgyver]

The specs sound nice but Im no building genius. Heres another from a seller thats a little more experienced. THey have a website as well w/ some badass combos that are very very economical but Im in the process oif asking them about warranty. Some of their other combos you could probably get now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2479707875&category=33615#ebayphotohosting

 

[Macgyver]

ps. the picture that doesnt appear is a link to their site.

 

[Imachad]

You need to be sure the engine will fit under your hood with the manifold they are furnishing. A lot of the Edelbrock manifolds will not fit under a Corvette hood. Check the Edlebrock on line catalogue. - Bob Herr

Really? I guess i never thought about that! Thanks for letting me know, so if i do decide on something i can be more informed on what to purchase. I hope some others can chime in and express any concerns or comments. Has anyone else swicthed engines? If so let me know how it went and what you would have done differently.

Thanks

chad

 

[goingballistic]

Edelbrock will tell you if the intake won't fit, call them. Most of their people are pretty good. I know for sure that the AirGap preformer won't fit without mods to the hood, new hood or low rise intake ( which defeats the purpose with a 750CFM carb), I'm going for the new hood myself. Not sure about that ebay motor, not a lot of specs on it related to the cam etc. The price sounds good, I say that because I'm in the process of building a 383 stroker and know the parts are WAY more than the starting bid on that motor but then again, I'm opting for good parts ( which =$$$).

There is always debate about parts and what's better. I opted for forged pistons, told to stay away from hypereutectics because they can crack (others run them with no problems). Custom ground cam, 74 cc heads AFR 195's, 383 SCAT crank, 3.75 stroke and stock rods and around 10:1 CR, ~420HP when it's done. I personally would find someone who has purchased from them before, ask them for a reference before you plunk down good $$$, never hurts to ask. Good luck.

Paul.

 

[81 Corvette]

the edelbrock rpm air gap will fit under a stock 81. You just have to use a drop base air cleaner

 

[BeaterShark]

Mail order engines, in general, are a gamble. As long as you realize this, you can make an educated decision. If there are any issues with the engine (burning oil, leaking oil, weird noises, etc), you will need to most likely pull the engine and ship it back (usually your $$, both ways) if you want it taken care of. This risk can be greatly reduced if the builder does a test run of the motor, but the cheap places usually don't do this.

Notice that engine has a "written warrenty", but the details are left out in the auction. Also, having a 100% Ebay rating basically means they do ship the engines. Most people give feedback prior to installing/running the engine, so they are only commenting about how it looks and the whole engine-to-my-door experience.

In short, I'd only buy a mail order engine if I really knew what I was doing and I'd basically ignore the warrenty. I'd also go through the engine prior to install myself.

 

[bossvette]

Chad
Personally if I was to go the crate route I would go with a GM that you could pick up locally, the shipping on that particular engine may well bring you near the price of the ZZ4.
The engine in the link with a Victor Jr would not be a good daily driver, unless you changed your rear to match the power band (which will most likely be from 3000 up).
Most of the guys here who have done the ZZ4 swap have been satisfied and I witnessed Eveloution80 do an impressive dyno run and many burnouts at cruise-fest. One other to consider is the HT383 for a daily driver.
And I agree a complete teardown and rebuild is necessary to check clearances and to be sure it is prelubed.
Just my $.02

 

[BeaterShark]

I'm pretty sure that Vic Jr will not fit under a stock shark hood.

Calling Edelbrock is pretty useless as they will say the same thing as what is on their web site (only a Performer will fit). They will give a conservative answer rather than have to deal with "you said it would fit, but it doesn't".

When researching what will fit, you have to take the following into consideration:
1) Year. The '76 hoods have about 1" more hood clearance than the '68-'72 SB hoods. I don't know all the variations, but keep this in mind. So, when somebody says it fits under their stock hood, take note.
2) Air Cleaner/Base. Many people run many different combinations of air cleaners and drop bases. Make sure you get this info if you're trying to use a manifold that somebody says will fit.
3) Other vairables as to what will fit (motor mounts, carb height, etc).
4) People lie. This is the internet. Some people lie on purpose, some just give mis-information unknowingly.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

GM Crate

I purchased a GM Crate motor in 1997 because I wanted a warranty and I could have the motor shipped to a dealership near my mechanic.

I've been very happy with the motor, however just recently the timing chain and driving conditions (my lead foot) allowed the #4 piston and intake valve to kiss. We replaced the piston, lifters, pushrods, timing chain and heads this past winter and I have been very happy with the changes. Big gobs of hp are not what I was looking for, I wanted a reliable replacement engine...but with the top end changes we made this past winter I have crisper throttle response and more low end torque, which is what I like.

Decide what is important to you, research the seller and make an informed decision that allows you to be happy and remain within your budget.
Heidi

 

[81 Corvette]

as for the 100 reply, take some time and email people that bought from them to see how satisfied they are after getting the motor installed

 

[bobherr46]

A few more comments. You should ask questions about driveability too. The engine you cite is claiming about 1.3 HP per cubic inch which is pushing the higher side for a street motor. If they are getting these high HP #'s due to a wild cam and very high compression ratio you will have some rough idle,etc. that you may not like. I recommend you buy a couple of the books on souping up small block chevys. I bought one by Vizard and by Lingenfelter that really helped me to get up on the learning curve. I am sure there are a lot of others out there that are good too. This is not rocket science,but specialized knowledge that needs to be acquired. At some point you are going to have to trust someone but it helps your confidence to know what questions to ask. - Bob Herr P.S. I just read Bossvette's comment and he and I are saying the same thing about driveability.

 

[Imachad]

thank you!

Thanks everybody! this is just the advice and converstation i was looking for. I most likely will not buy the engine in the link. Its all a "Plan" right now but to have a plan - I need to know what to have! A buddy at my work builds engines and has his own 8 second Outlaw class '66 Nova. I'm talking with him and we might build a engine this summer. Since my car is not a daily driver i wouldn't be afraid of a higher horsepower motor that isn't as streetable as my current engine. As i said before its in the "planning" stage right now so we shall see what the future brings!

Thanks everyone!!!

Chad

 

[Jack]

I purchased a GM Crate motor in 1997 because I wanted a warranty and I could have the motor shipped to a dealership near my mechanic. I've been very happy with the motor, however just recently the timing chain and driving conditions (my lead foot) allowed the #4 piston and intake valve to kiss. We replaced the piston, lifters, pushrods, timing chain and heads this past winter and I have been very happy with the changes. Big gobs of hp are not what I was looking for, I wanted a reliable replacement engine...but with the top end changes we made this past winter I have crisper throttle response and more low end torque, which is what I like. Heidi

Heidi:
I followed your motor repair-upgrade and Kenny's broken rib for a time ... then lost track. Did you also install new cam? If so, curious which cam profile you went with?
JACK:gap

 

[78SilvAnniv]

We only changed the things I mentioned above...we did not replace the cam.

At the time I was considering a different cam, I had some major health complications that confined me to home and the speed shop guy I purchased the heads from was not available by phone and I was unable to go to his shop to discuss options with him.
If I had been able to get together with him I most likely would have changed the cam. Overall, the changes we made have been improvements and all the parts are working well together all throughout the power band.
I've been very happy. Ecstatic, actually...just to be driving the 78 again!
Heidi