engine rebuild

[DashDriver]

I have to rebuild my L98 engine in my 85. Anyone have any suggestion on what changes or where to get a replacement?

 

[grumpyvette]

youve got lots of options,
(keep in mind your stock enging had about 230hp)

the quickests and about the cheapest is to buy and install one of these

http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=123&pid=110

if you do it comes with a factory warranty

for about twice that you can get this with about 80 more hp
http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=120&pid=115

got big buck$ and want a CHALLANGE??
http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=120&pid=156334
or even more of a challange?
http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=120&pid=466

OR JUST FEEL POWER MAD? and FILTHY RICH?
http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=3449&pid=156315

THEY ALL CAN BE DONE!

first and BY FAR the most common mistake people make is over camming the combo for the rear gear and stall speed of the engine. if your going to rebuild your stock engine

NEVER BUY A USED CAM OR LIFTERS it SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES THE CHANCE OF PROBLEMS

AFTERMARKET CYLINDER HEADS OFFER SIGNIFICANT improvement over even ported stock heads, while the choices available are almost endless the heads in the 175-200cc range will more than likely fit your goals better than larger heads, the TRICKFLOW 23 deg and AFR195cc heads offer good value

even a PORTED TPI intake will limit air flow over 5000rpm, so match you cam to the compression and rpm range of 5000rpm and below, that generally will keep the effective duration below about 220 @.050 lift if your useing nearly stock components and intend to have good low rpm torque matching the stock gearing

pay close attention to matching your DYNAMIC COMPRESSION RATIO to the cams rpm range and the intakes effective flow range, and remember what goes in needs to go out, a LOW RESTRICTION EXHAUST AND HEADERS IS MANDATORY for good results

Id suggest you BUY AND READ books 3, 4, and 5 on the list as an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM before lifting a tool

you really should get these books and read them before going any further, it will help a good deal, while only the basic info is presented it still makes for a good knowledge base, and referance :grin:
DO YOURSELF A HUGE FAVOR
buy these books, FIRST it will be the best money you ever spent, read them, and you will be miles ahead of the average guy. youll save thousands of dollars and thousands of hours once youve got a good basic understanding of what your trying to do!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...g=UTF8&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books

HOW TO BUILD THE SMALL BLOCK CHEVEROLET by LARRY ATHERTON&LARRY SCHREIB
.
HOW TO BUILD MAX PERFORMANCE CHEVY SMALL BLOCKS ON A BUDGET by DAVID VIZARD

.
JOHN LINGENFELTER on modifying small-block chevy engines

how to build & modify CHEVROLET small-block V-8 CAMSHAFTS & VALVTRAINS BY DAVID VIZARD
SMOKEY YUNICK,S POWER SECRETS

SMALL BLOCK CHEVY ENGINE BUILDUPS

[
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/155...1234339-0571324

 

[grumpyvette]

BTW theres LOTS of HIDDEN costs IN personally rebuilding an engine, CORRECTLY, do you have the skills and tools and a place to do the work? theres a HUGE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN BOLTING SOME PARTS TOGEATHER ON A BLOCK AND CORRECTLY ASSEMBLING AN ENGINE
what Im pointing out here is that a crate engine is FREQUENTLY a good idea if you DON,T have the tools time skills and space!!
heres a few things that should always be checked on an engine build

heads
are the pushrods perfectly strait?
do the pushrods flow oil?
rocker studs/guides torqued correctly?
do the head bolts have washers under the bolt heads? are they the correct length for the cylinder heads in use?
have the heads been pocket ported?
combustion chambers unshrouded?
intake ports gasket matched"
are the valve guides cut to the correct length?
are the heads pocket ported?
is the retainer to valve guide clearance correct?
are the valve guide oil seals installed?
is there valve spring seats installed?
inner damper springs installed?
spring bind height checked? (to exceed max valve lift by .050 min.)
oil return holes cleaned of casting flash?
were steam holes in heads necessary?
were the spark plug threads of a installed spark plug extending into the combustion chamber?
rocker slot to rocker stud clearances ?
retainer to valve guide clearances?
spring bind height checked for the correct spring pressure?
valve lash/preload ?
are the valve springs the correct tension,height?dia.
keeper the correct angle? style? size?
valve seats the correct angles?
valves back cut?
valves the correct length, stemsthe correct diam.
strait?
rockers the correct ratio?
were the valve to valve guide clearances checked?
were the heads milled?
did the head gasket overlap the bore?
what are your valve train clearances?
is the rocker arm geometry correct!
chambers CC,ed

port work..(some steps optional)

(1) open throat to 85%-90% of valve size
(2)cut a 4 angle seat with 45 degree angle .065-.075 wide where the valve seats and about .100 at 60 degrees below and a .030 wide 30 degree cut above and a 20 degree cut above that rolled and blended into the combustion chamber
(3)blend the spark plug boss slightly and lay back the combustion chamber walls near the valves
(4)narrow but dont shorten the valve guide
(5) open and straiten and blend the upper two port corner edges along the port roof
(6) gasket match to/with intake and raise the port roof slightly
(7) back cut valves at 30 degrees
( polish valve face and round outer edges slightly
(9)polish combustion chamber surface and blend edges slightly
(10) remove and smooth away all casting flash , keep the floor of the port slightly rough but the roof and walls smoothed but not polished.
(11) use a head gasket to see the max you can open the combustion chamber walls
(12) blend but don,t grind away the short side radias


block
is the oil pump pick-up mounted 3/8"-1/2" from the oil pan floor/
is the windage screen mounted about 1/8" from the rotateing assembly/
is the pick-up brazed to the pump body?
has the oil pump relief piston in the oil pump been checked for free ,easy movement? clearance? spring tension?
is the oil pump pick-up tube inserted too far into the oil pump body,(binding the gears)
has the block been clearanced for the rotating assembly?
has the block been aline honed?
is the crank strait?
are the damper install keyway and threads ok?
counter weights clearanced?
MAGNAFLUXED?
OIL PASSAGES CLEANED?
GALLERY PLUGS INSTALLED CORRECTLY?
has the cam to rod bolt clearance been checked?
piston to valve clearances checked?
piston to bore clearances?
TRUST BEARING CLEARANCE?
what were the piston ring to slot clearances?
RING GAPS?
were the rings all checked individually for end gap in the cylinders they were used/installed in?
were the rings checked to make sure the correct side faced up, and the correct ring was in each groove?
what were the back clearance on the rings?
were the oil ring expanders carefully fitted for correct drag?
were the oil ring scraper ring rails checked for end gap?
total cam lift and remaining clearanceS?
WAS THE CAM DEGREED IN?
main bearing clearances?
what is the main bearing run-out clearance
piston to head clearance? (QUENCH?)
head gasket to coolent holes checked?
magnets installed?
rod bolt to block clearances?
what tq reading is necessay to spin the crank with no rods attached?
are the rod bolts and main caps torqued correctly? (rod bolts checked with a bolt stretch gauge?)
did you check the block for a strait main cap alignment?
what size journals and what were the bearings edge to filet clearance??
are the journals checked for finish and run-out/tapper?
did you use moly lube to assemble?
correct bearing crush?
did you pre-lube before start-up?
did the distributor gear fit the cam gear precisely?
was the distributor oil flow mod done?
was the correct style distributor gear used?
did you check the piston to piston pin bores for fit and clearance?
did the piston pins to snap ring clearance seem overly tight?
if they are pressed pins were they correctly matched and checked for free movement in the pistons?
was the engine ballanced?
cam button installed?, and lock plate installed?
were the rods resized? checked for parrallel bores/were the rods strait?
piston valve clearance notchs correctly located on the pistons? edges smoothed?
were the rods checked for length?
is there a few thousands clearance on the oil pump drive shaft AFTER the distributors bolted down?
did you install a steel collar on the oil pump drive shaft?
was the rod to piston pin side clearance checked? (at 4 places seperated bye 90 degree spots)
does the oil pump drive shaft mid section clear the block with the pump installed?
whats the starter to flywheel gear clearance?
is the pilot bearing to trans imput shaft clearance ok?
is the front motor mount bolt to fuel pump pushrod clearance ok? did the fuel pump pushrod move easily/
are you possitive the pistons were installed with the correct valve relief in the correct location?(eiieeiie) were the pistons installed with the correct side facing forward/
what torque values were used on all fasteners/ were they the correct length and type bolts?
were the bores honed with a torque plate in place?
was the cylinder finish correct for the type rings used?
was the oil pump itself checked for free spin and clearance AFTER THE PICK-UP WAS INSTALLED?
was the cam drive checked for free rotation and drag/
were the oil passage plugs drilled for extra oil flow?
were the lifter bores checked?
cam to timing cover clearance?
cam journal to cam bearing clearances?
was the cam journal run-out checked?
was the cam degreed in or just lined up useing factiory index marks?
has the rod and windage screen to oilpan clearnce been checked?
does the dipstick & tube clear the windage screen?
was the cam lobes/LSA/LIFT CHECKED?
is the deck square/level?
whats the cross hatch hone angle?
what grit hone was used?
are all the threads clean/clear?
brass freeze plugs installed?
block painted?

 

[78SilvAnniv]

BTW theres LOTS of HIDDEN costs IN personally rebuilding an engine, CORRECTLY, do you have the skills and tools and a place to do the work? theres a HUGE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN BOLTING SOME PARTS TOGEATHER ON A BLOCK AND CORRECTLY ASSEMBLING AN ENGINE
what Im pointing out here is that a crate engine is FREQUENTLY a good idea if you DON,T have the tools time skills and space!!

Yup.
Kenny and I just rebuilt our '97 crate engine ourselves, but after tallying up the cost of the various services (machine shop) we used, parts and special tools we needed to buy for this one-time-job and the amount of time it took...we will be buying a crate engine that is ready to be dropped in if we ever are faced with this prospect again.
Heidi

 

[taegdh]

I don't think I've read that much since I did a Tale of Two Cities, but Grumpy done hit it on the head, about everything I could think of.

Skoggin - Dickey does have good prices, but check also near where you llive. Your local Chevrolet Dealer may have the same prices, and save you a shipping charge, plus you get to see right then what it has.

Many of the major autoparts chains, (i.e. Pep Boys, Autozone, etc...), have rebuilds with warranty.

What I am saying, do your homework, you'll save a few dollars and many hours of grief.....

 

[DashDriver]

Thanks. I now have a little light reading to do in my spare time. It does sound like the crate engine is the way to go. This is my first Corvette and it lasted about 22hrs.