L98 cam ? and update on cheap guy project

[livinez]

Well the 85 has been torn down since turkey day and may other life things has slowed work on it.
So far the engine is out and block is getting cleaned, checked and new freeeze plugs and cam bearings. Block is in great shape with crosshatch still visible in cylinders with miniminal wear. Heads were just as good.
So lapping in valves and reuseing springs rockers and pushrods.
Will redo cross hatch to break in new rings.
All new bearings and reuse orginal pistons and rods.
Cant find stock specs on the cam which I'd like to replace with one of Summits cam and lift kits.
Was advised elsewhere that Summits 1100 cam kit would be fine for stock motor.
But without the specs to make educated decision on cam will probably reuse old one and its lifters as I kept them in order.
Only mod so far is gutting cat (no smog checks here!), nixing air pump and cutting off air tubes on exhaust manifolds.
Will probably do some of the "free" mods mentioned, but some dont suit living in a rainy state.

Will send pictures as soon as I can find problem with this computer or IP that prevents mme from sending them.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

I don't kow 85 cam specs, but i would go a little bigger..

Some suggestions:
-Replace the at least the rod bolts with ARP
-If you get a new cam, get springs to match it.

I will search and see if I can find the Cam specs for the 85

 

[vader86]

stock cam is 202/206 @ .050", i forget the rest

if you change cams, to something different from that, you really need to change springs

realize though that any cam much different from stock requires a chip reprogram to make it run right

 

[livinez]

Thx guys

Will do on the springs (stockers look cheesy anyway) Decided this isnt the block to build. Nor do I want to mess with computer. If I want a high HP vette will buy a newer one as this years motor looks like it belongs in a station wagon! Heck I think my bikes brakes are bigger!

 

[Mad-Mic]

i think you can go as high as .520 inch lift. i know on my 87 i have to have some head work done to obtain higher lift. my cam is the ZZ 409 cam i bought from Jeff

once i'm ready i'll weight the money issues of redoing these heads or buying a set of D113's or just going aftermarket since i'll have to most likely rebuild mine or the D113's for the cam i got. with 1.6 RR's i'm looking at .555" lift

BTW do yourself a favor and change out the pushrods for some new ones. they are cheap and is a piece of mind if you know what i mean! there is alot you can do to your 85 to make it run in Z06 territory for not much more than your spending now. a good cam and a set of reworked heads you can achieve 400 hp pretty easy with some computer tuning and Jeff can help you there if need be :cool

good luck and let us know how it goes! i'm doing the same thing after i achieve my stock motor goals of 12.7 then the motor comes out for some new bearings and flat top forged pistons with a compression ratio of 11:1. i'm hoping naturally asaperated 11.9's and on juice 11.2's-11.3's

 

[livinez]

havent spend anything....,yet!

"there is alot you can do to your 85 to make it run in Z06 territory for not much more than your spending now."

Have less than $400 into the overhaul.
After much reading and pricing I've decided that this 85 isnt the vette chassis I want to pour money in. If anything will use another block as a starting point and decide if the L98's fuel system is even worth bothering with.
The way I see things, pulling and selling the L98 and its computer would get me close to a PAW 468 long block with all the right goodies, then I'd just need to pop for either Edelbrocks or Holleys EFI systems, exhaust and aftermarket brake system. Much quicker and more reliable way to 450-550 HP. Plus I just LOOOVE big blocks!
But for now my situation dictates going with just the overhaul...,sigh.
Heck when the rubber hits the road again I'll be thrilled to drive my"stocker" with its new Kumhos and sound system!
Forget being the fastest rig in the county, I'll happily settle for stylin n smilin!

 

[vette1985]

How can you say this about your car. Don't let anyone make you believe that this car is not worth your time. I had a man names Tony try to tell me that 84-88 corvettes are not worth putting money into. Here I am now with alot of money in the car, however I found that with the intentions I set I would have spent more or less about the same if I went on and purchased A newer model. Go slow, get your intentions down on paper, talk to people in the know, and you will find that you can do alot if you make your mods over time. I had my motor overhauled and added some goodies to handle a blower. Horsepower before blower is 334, after should be close to 500. There are a host of bolt-ons you can perform to get you over 300hp. Take a look at tpis.com, Myron is a wiz with this stuff. Shop prices. Exotic Muscle is another group to talk with, they are pretty good. Make this corvette yours. You are the owner of a car that some only dream of being an owner of. Spend the time and money, it will reward you with smiles. After all, isn't that what customizing is all about. Bob.

 

[vader86]

"there is alot you can do to your 85 to make it run in Z06 territory for not much more than your spending now."

Have less than $400 into the overhaul.
After much reading and pricing I've decided that this 85 isnt the vette chassis I want to pour money in. If anything will use another block as a starting point and decide if the L98's fuel system is even worth bothering with.
The way I see things, pulling and selling the L98 and its computer would get me close to a PAW 468 long block with all the right goodies, then I'd just need to pop for either Edelbrocks or Holleys EFI systems, exhaust and aftermarket brake system. Much quicker and more reliable way to 450-550 HP. Plus I just LOOOVE big blocks!

Then you need to continue your research by listening to what others with L98s have done to put down that much HP, because there is nothing wrong with your chassis. The block is just fine for that amount of power, the L98s FI system is not SEFI, but is easily capable of 450-500hp. You also have larger injectors than following years, so you wouldnt need to change yours.

You already have forged pistons in the 85, so a 100shot of Juice wont hurt anything, if anything for this reason an 85 block is probably the better one to start with.

You dont want any Edelbrock or Holley management systems to make those power goals after you did top end work, a simple chip change will suffice. Accel DFI and the Commander systems are for people who know what they are doing, as they can be hard to get a handle on even for those who have been playing with tuning for years.

You have obviously been talking to the those people who believe the 85-91 is a piece of junk.

All you need to get 400+, is better heads/cam/intake/exhaust. Buying this stuff on ebay for less than 3K (not including heads) is doable.

 

[livinez]

Good points

Sorry to give the impression I dont think much of my C4. Not the case.
I'm very much looking forward to driving it again!!! Only got to drive it less than a week when a leaking freeze plug put it out of commision.
Its in great shape with a rebuilt tranny and now a freshened up motor, brake job, new Kumho Esta Supra 712's and new sound system dialed in by my oldest Son.
Just going to run it near stock while I get other things in my life straightened out and I decide what my goals are for my 1st Vette.
Will make engine and brake modification decisions later when I know what I'll be doing with the car and so what my preformance goals are.
Autocrossing? Will build it to suit that.
Drags? Here comes a supercharger big block and different running gear!
Keep it on the street? With the Olympic Mountains and its twisting highways and backroads five minutes away from my house I will most likely add to the L98s lowend torque and do suspension work to blow up the Jags, Beemers and rice cars out there!

 

[Mad-Mic]

All you need to get 400+, is better heads/cam/intake/exhaust. Buying this stuff on ebay for less than 3K (not including heads) is doable.

i think you can achieve these goals with less than that. when said and done my setup will be around 1500 bucks total. i got less than 300 in mods now and am almost in the 12's. (actually i think i coudl of hit 12.9's to 13.0's if i had more time before the tracks shut down as she sits now) after i add my long tube TPiS headers and a few other things i think i'll be in the 12's pretty solid.

my quote of 400 hp i forgot to mention with my calculations should be around 500 lbs of torque with those caclulations mid to high 11's N/A but i'll be satisfied with 12.0's to 12.20 range.

 

[Mad-Mic]

The way I see things, pulling and selling the L98 and its computer would get me close to a PAW 468 long block with all the right goodies, then I'd just need to pop for either Edelbrocks or Holleys EFI systems, exhaust and aftermarket brake system. Much quicker and more reliable way to 450-550 HP. Plus I just LOOOVE big blocks!

be prepared for ALOT of work and ALOT of cash to be spent! your looking at 15k+ very easily. you'll need another tranny and alot of cutting and shoehorning to get it to fit. better do alot of research before you think about this setup.

my suggestion would be go with the 434 sbc shafiroff motor. 675 to 725 hp on race fuel but i'm sure they can bump the compression down for streetability.

http://www.shafiroff.com/434_sportsengine.asp

this would put your vette in low 10's N/A.

 

[livinez]

Threads getting out there

But I'm learning!
Nah Mic, the 468CI Long block from PAW with Manley 2014 rods, good heads will run just over $3k. Add attachments, intake& carb, headers & exhaust, well built 400 trans and upgraded brakes. Shouldnt be over $7,500.
As we have had this discussion I've decided to go with stockish cam from Delta cams ($44) and get it back on the road. Head out to the pennisula and see what is needed. Better brakes & shocks come to mind but we'll see.
I sure like the way you think though! Trying to make a 600+HP small block streetable!
But I want to keep this one reliable and somewhat low upkeep.
I rarely buy the big name, high$ stuff when I can get simular quality elsewhere for half the cost. Not building a out and out racer here.
Last loopy car I built was a 84 Cutlass with slightly built 68' Olds 455. 600 ft.lbs of torque in a grandma car. Didnt fool anyone with those 3" pipes rumbling out back. I was told that GM never put a 350 behind a big block. Hand built shims between flywheel and flex plate hooked em up. A good local tranny builder took on the challenge of building the tranny. Car is still out there winning bets!
And I concur with you Vader that this motor and car is buildable.
and would be reliable and streetable.
In a few months I'll know what the best route willbe. For Me.
After a Benz 600 smokes me on Highway 101 I'm sure I'll become obsessed with doing Bowling Green and backyarders proud.

 

[militant_x]

Well, the cam choice depends mainly on how streetable you want the car, what kind of stall converter you have in the tranny etc. The heads on the 85 dont do that well, and the tune port intake kills you in high rs, so you dont need a really radical cam.

If you change a cam you generally change lifters (unless they are roller). Change springs if you go to a bigger cam. On the dyno programs i like some of the comp cams extreme energy series cams. I have a friend with the 268 it has a rough idle. I like the numbers from the xe274 (.487, .49 lift) and 274/286 duration at seat to seat. I dont know how accurate these dyno programs are though.

have fun

-chris

 

[Mad-Mic]

After a Benz 600 smokes me on Highway 101 I'm sure I'll become obsessed with doing Bowling Green and backyarders proud.

yeah i ran with a Benz S500 and that thing was rolling down the beltway at 2 am on a wed night on the beltway....lol he was rolling 120 mph when he passed me i caught up to him and by 140 he was fading. those suckers are fast though. watch out for the AMG versions!

 

[Mad-Mic]

I sure like the way you think though! Trying to make a 600+HP small block streetable!

yeah i think it can be done. lower compression a bit smaller cam in the 240 duration .600" lift cam. with a mini ram and a D1 procharger your looking at 800+ flhp if you can get the compression down to 8:1 and you should be able to pull 16-18 psi on race fuel 14 psi on 93 octane pump gas

 

[Eagle85C4]

For a great set of heads try looking here. Heads

I bought a set after doing a lot of homework. For the price you get 64cc chambers, new everything, valves are the big ones 2.02\1.6 in stainless. Check out their web site....for 399.00 it is quite a deal.
I also got a Crane cam 2040, which is not a monster cam, but add the heads, Edelbrock ported intake, plenum and runners, double roller chain and 1.6 roller rockers and , as already suggested, heavy duty push rods.
Most of the parts were bought off of Ebay over the past 2 years. This spring I get to put it all together now that I have all the parts.
As it was already said, the L-98 block has a forged crank and pistons, perfect for building up. Read all the threads, do your homework and you will find 350-400 hp is not that far away...Good Luck...

 

[Mad-Mic]

the L-98 block has a forged crank and pistons, perfect for building up

does all L98 have forged pistons? if so i might skip the piston bearing build.

thanks

 

[vader86]

only 85 has the forged pistons, i do not believe it has a forged crank

everybody afterwards got cast until LT1 (cast crank, PM rods, Hyper pistons for LT1)

 

[livinez]

Thx guys

Will probably do simular, acquired parts and knowledge over time. Thats a great deal on those heads. Will keep that suppliers address. Block didnt come back so all engine work waits for Monday. Still debating with myself over cam choice. Ignorant about what will produce more low end torque without computer work. So dont want to gamble and will stay stock. So many claims by cam makers and the various vendors.
Made the mistake of going with just a little too much cam for my goals before. And realistically I dont have a clear cut goal for this one yet.
A guy wants to do mods when the engines out. Oh well, it will be that much easier the second time!