overhaul or purchase

[CLABORN1960]

I have owned my vette for about 2 years and after reading about you guys and the mods you have done I have a question. Should I get the present engine overhauled, or should I purchase an engine setup from a performance shop? What are the pitfalls of either option? Thanks for your feedback.....

 

[sothpaw]

What do you want the car to do? That will drive whether you purchase a new engine...

--I would say almost everyone overhauls what they have as it is more intrusive to take the
engine out of the car then it is to leave it in and do heads,cam, headers, which is what
most people do. So, changing engines is more costly in parts and labor then an overhaul,
assuming your engine was good.

Of course, you wouldn't change engines if you wanted to go with Nitrous or Superchanging...

--Pitfalls: I'm having a heads/cam job done now. I'd say the biggest pitfalls are the nitty
gritty details that you need to know to order parts and put the car together in a timely fashion. For example, you need to order new studs, guideplates, and maybe roller rockers with a
heads/cam job. That info. wasn't given to me until too late and has cost weeks of time.

 

[Mad-Mic]

it boils down to how many miles you have on your ride and how much horsepower you are trying to achieve.

answer these questions and we'll be able to help more

 

[CLABORN1960]

I have 121,000 miles on the car. When I purchased it two years ago it had 75,000 on it. It is not burning oil and has been very reliable. I want to pump up the horsepower to a respectable 375-400 with torque to match. I thoroughly enjoy the car and just want some more power. (and there is always that lurking fear that some kid will show up in a tricked out Neon and embarrass me, but I am not saying that out loud)(smile)

 

[Tuna]

I'm leaning toward a rebuild of my existing engine and doing the following:
LT4 heads and intake, CNC ported, 1.6 rockers
ZZ9 or similar cam
headers and better exhaust
52mm TB
then update the computer.

Based on articles and tuner info, this ought to push the HP up into the area you and I are looking for. Of course stroking to 383 wouldn't hurt either.

Lingenfelter wants over $9000 for this little project.
Speed Hound Perf in Atlanta area says $7500+ for similar work.

One alternative is to get an LT4 replacement motor from Chevy or a recycle center and install that - along with better exhaust and headers.

Decisions, decisions. Would be easier if I had the money!