Questions about rebuild

[minifridge1138]

Hey everyone,

For some time i've been thinking about a top end rebuild: roller cam, lifters, rockers, intake manifold, and springs.

These are all things that can be done with the engine in the car (getting the cam out is a tight fit but can be done). However, in another thread it was pointed out that old piston rings + new top end = increased blow by.

So is just a top end rebuild a good idea?
If I do a bottom end rebuild, would I need to have the block honed?
Would it just be cheaper to buy a crate motor?

Any first hand experience would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[bradfordsvettes]

a lot depends on the milage and how the previous P.M. was done. you could take a wet and dry compression test and make a determination along with a leak down test this is a good bet but not a guarantee of future problems . Does it have blow by now? The thing is with the upgrades you may be more inclined to flog the crap out of ithnoes and the bottom end is still got miles on it so it may give up the ghost sooner than if a new lower end was installed . rings and bearings may not be a bad idea depending on your finding from the tests just my 2 cents Steve

 

[KANE]

a lot depends on the mileage and how the previous P.M. was done. you could take a wet and dry compression test and make a determination along with a leak down test this is a good bet but not a guarantee of future problems . Does it have blow by now? The thing is with the upgrades you may be more inclined to flog the crap out of ithnoes and the bottom end is still got miles on it so it may give up the ghost sooner than if a new lower end was installed . rings and bearings may not be a bad idea depending on your finding from the tests just my 2 cents Steve

Steve's right. There are a lot of unknowns. Testing it now will prevent you from throwing a wad of money at an engine that needs more help than you might have known otherwise.

Even an inexpensive crate like mine is a good start. I know the history (all 2k miles of it!) and mods will come over time.

 

[Vette79]

minifridge1138, I think you are referring to my build. Prior to my build there was no indication of blowby and the compression on all cylinders were really good. My vette only has 64K miles. I don't feel that I made the wrong decision with doing just the top-end build. She looks better and runs better. But as indicated previously, do a lot of research prior to moving forward. I sure did. I have plenty of pics of the build if you need them.