Engine Rebuild

[potter22]

I don't need one, but just looking down the road at what it may cost to do rebuild a stock 89 Corvette engine. Also is this something you would take to a Chevy dealer or independent who works only on Vettes?

 

[Vettelt193]

I don't need one, but just looking down the road at what it may cost to do rebuild a stock 89 Corvette engine. Also is this something you would take to a Chevy dealer or independent who works only on Vettes?

I don't trust most chevy dealers they will charge you an arm and a leg anyway. If you are going for a rebuild, you are probably better off finding a good speed shop (or corvette shop).

On the flip side of the coin, many times you are better off just replacing the engine with a longblock

 

[Vis Croceus]

I don't need one, but just looking down the road at what it may cost to do rebuild a stock 89 Corvette engine. Also is this something you would take to a Chevy dealer or independent who works only on Vettes?

Absolutely positively not to a dealer. They'll just farm the work out, charge you an arm and a leg, and probably screw it up.

Where to take it depends on how much you know and how involved you are going to be. If you just want somebody to do everything for you, then take it to a vette specialist. If you are going to do some of the work, choose the components yourself, etc., then any good machine shop can do the machining, doesn't have to be a vette expert.

 

[Vettefan87]

Well I had to get my motor rebuilt three times....once due to a bad head gasket, and the other due to faulty workmanship. The third time I redid the motor it ran about 1800 bucks, which did not include any performance parts, other then heavier duty bearings and gaskets. Also you have to look at pulling the motor, if you can't do it yourself that will be about another 6-800 bucks or so. I would not take it to a dealer. Just do your homework before you give your motor away to somebody to work on it.

 

[Edmond]

The dealer is the last place you should bring it. It's almost 100% guaranteed that they will mess it up.

Like it was said before, they'll just farm it out to someone else and then charge you for that. So basically, they'll make money for doing nothing. And if you run into a problem, do you go back to the dealer or to the shop? See where I'm going?

Look in the phone book for machine shops in your area. Ask some of the local car guys, especially the guys you know who have had engines built what shops they use.

 

[OLDCHEV]

Build your own! You will total control over what goes into it! Get a million recommendations and do it yourself. Rebuilding a Chevy small block is easy. Get help if you must but, do it yourself.

 

[Vettefan87]

Technically all you would be doing is putting it together correct? You would still need to find a shop to line hone the block, and turn the crank and etc... But that is definetly a good idea. But I would think you would still need a deacent couple of machine shops to do some of the work.

 

[G Winter]

When you add up the costs. A crate engine from the right place might not be to bad an option. Especially if you can do the swap yourself.

 

[WhalePirot]

A crate engine from the right place might not be to bad an option. Especially if you can do the swap yourself.

Plus, they come with a guarantee, but you cannot be concerned with 'numbers matching'.

Digital photos can really make the reassembly easier if you take a lot during teardown.

I have rebuilt a few engines and enjoy it, but also respect the 'art' of a masterful, experienced builder, which I am not. Such masters are unlikely to be found at a dealer.

 

[Edmond]

Could he use the ZZ383 and convert it to fuel injection? That would be one heckuva motor!

 

[WhalePirot]

Could he use the ZZ383 and convert it to fuel injection? That would be one heckuva motor!

Does it really come with a carb or just the intake?

I found that it was cheaper and better to have an engine built for me, by experts. It also allowed a system approach, not guessing if this intake or that TB was optimal for the new engine/cam/etc.

 

[Edmond]

Does it really come with a carb or just the intake?

I found that it was cheaper and better to have an engine built for me, by experts. It also allowed a system approach, not guessing if this intake or that TB was optimal for the new engine/cam/etc.

I don't think it comes with either but I'll look to make sure.

Using his existing block, heads and crank would save him some significant money, right? That money could go into other things like headers and a nice exhaust system.

 

[corvettespecialists]

I own an indy shop, so I may be a bit biased. But taking it to a 'vette specialilty place is a better way to go. Dealerships are interested in new vehicle service and maintainance. Remember that every aspect of any dealership is to sell new cars. Service, body repair, and used cars only exist at dealerships to move product-- new cars. Therefore the interests of a slightly older vehicle like yours are not foremost on their mind. A corvette shop will have more experience and other cars like yours around to check for correctness. Time is money and wasted time will be at your expense. That being said, check references for any shop before they work on your car!

 

[tyrel]

Service, body repair, and used cars only exist at dealerships to move product-- new cars.

I disagree. The service department is usually separate from the rest of the company, and if they operated at a loss in order to service cars that are not new, they would shut the place down and farm out everything. Dealership service department repair costs are astronomical for a reason: brand identity and customer loyalty guarantee them a healthy profit. There isn't a Chevy dealership service department anywhere that wouldn't be glad to see a 20-year-old Cavalier come rolling through the doors.

 

[corvettespecialists]

I've worked at a few dealerships over the past 15 years. Dealerships are run by salesmen. That GM you talk to used to be the top salesman, not mechanic, bodyman, painter, or service advisor. The service dept., and body shop are there to keep customers who buy cars from the dealership staying with the dealership and not going to other dealerships. The money that dealerships spend on equipment for their service departments are astronomical. There is little or no sense of fiscal responsibility because the guy running the shop doesn't own it. If half the paint being purchased for the bodyshop gets poured out because the painters mixed too much, the owner doesn't know about it-- his office is (you guessed it!) in the New Car Sales Dept!!! One of my local Dealerships, Lindsay Cadillac of Alexandria, VA, just spent 11 million dollars building a state of the art body shop. They will never recover that investment in body and paint work. But they will sell a whole lot of Cadillacs to impressed customers. The body shop manager, by the way, is a former salesman. He has never straightened a dent or sprayed a car. Dealership prices are astronomical because they have to be to pay for the 'beautification' of the shop enviroment and to pay for the extra overhead of quasi-proffesionals who do none of the actual repair work. When you walk into an indy shop and the guy wipes the grease off his hand before shaking yours, you are looking at a low overhead enterprise. When you walk into a dealership shop and the dedicated greeter offers you some fresh cappacino to enjoy until one of the four or five estimators/advisors comes back from his smoke break, well you get the idea...

 

[G Winter]

I've worked at a few dealerships over the past 15 years. Dealerships are run by salesmen. That GM you talk to used to be the top salesman, not mechanic, bodyman, painter, or service advisor. The service dept., and body shop are there to keep customers who buy cars from the dealership staying with the dealership and not going to other dealerships. The money that dealerships spend on equipment for their service departments are astronomical. There is little or no sense of fiscal responsibility because the guy running the shop doesn't own it. If half the paint being purchased for the bodyshop gets poured out because the painters mixed too much, the owner doesn't know about it-- his office is (you guessed it!) in the New Car Sales Dept!!! One of my local Dealerships, Lindsay Cadillac of Alexandria, VA, just spent 11 million dollars building a state of the art body shop. They will never recover that investment in body and paint work. But they will sell a whole lot of Cadillacs to impressed customers. The body shop manager, by the way, is a former salesman. He has never straightened a dent or sprayed a car. Dealership prices are astronomical because they have to be to pay for the 'beautification' of the shop enviroment and to pay for the extra overhead of quasi-proffesionals who do none of the actual repair work. When you walk into an indy shop and the guy wipes the grease off his hand before shaking yours, you are looking at a low overhead enterprise. When you walk into a dealership shop and the dedicated greeter offers you some fresh cappacino to enjoy until one of the four or five estimators/advisors comes back from his smoke break, well you get the idea...

run !

 

[Lucy64]

I had a motor built by EngineFactory.Com and it is awesome. They will build it and stand behind there work. They built a 350/420hp smallblock for me with everything I wanted. Edelbrock alum heads, manifold and water pump all polished. I also included a Edelbrock carb and cam, MDS billet distrib with MSD 6al box, mini high torque starter, March Pulleys with serpentine belt, chrome alternator, chrome pan, chrome valve covers and chrome low profile air cleaner. They worked with me to get exactly what I wanted and delivered it to my mechanic. This is a total turn-key engine. I don't think I could have built it myself for the price that I paid. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a great motor at a great price. Check out there web site, www.enginefactory.com . If you like what you see give them a call and ask for Matt Walsh and tell him Kerry refered you, he will take good care of you.

 

[Edmond]

I had a motor built by EngineFactory.Com and it is awesome. They will build it and stand behind there work. They built a 350/420hp smallblock for me with everything I wanted. Edelbrock alum heads, manifold and water pump all polished. I also included a Edelbrock carb and cam, MDS billet distrib with MSD 6al box, mini high torque starter, March Pulleys with serpentine belt, chrome alternator, chrome pan, chrome valve covers and chrome low profile air cleaner. They worked with me to get exactly what I wanted and delivered it to my mechanic. This is a total turn-key engine. I don't think I could have built it myself for the price that I paid. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a great motor at a great price. Check out there web site, www.enginefactory.com . If you like what you see give them a call and ask for Matt Walsh and tell him Kerry refered you, he will take good care of you.

That's a cool site. They had a 383 TPI for $6000 Of course, it was an extra $375 for the ZZ camshaft but $375 isn't much more when you already spent $6G's.:L