kadoi

looks like i am going to have the motor pulled out of my car and rebuilt after what i thought was a head gasket leak. the smoke that was white is now dark black and im pretty sure that is a good indicator to go have it rebuilt. what i am wondering is what you guys would suggest as far as pistons, bearings, valve train and such that i should put in this. i am not looking for a supercar motor here but a good base for if i ever decide to start modding it. also what have you guys paid for rebuilds?

kadoi

nobody?

FastZinTennessee

You need to tell us-

-what your budget is
-what future mods you might do
-what driveability/power characteristics you want after this rebuild

I paid about $4k for my rebuild, including rotating assembly, machine work, valvetrain, gaskets, 4 bolt splayed conversion and head studs.

kadoi

what i basically want is the motor to come back close to stock with just a stronger core, while keeping the cost as low as possible. it will probably be bored .03 over and could i keep the stock rods? how strong are they? would i be okay upgrading the valve train to the lt4 components? with the motor out of the car what would you guys recommend be done while its out that would be convienient? I have never had a motor rebuilt before and i dont want to regret how i do this one. when and if i start modding it im not going to go insane probably a mild cam, bolt ons, maybe a good port and polish. i really want to do this right. any help is appreciated. but remember low budget here.e

FastZinTennessee

The stock crank and rods will be fine. Have them inspected by the machine shop, and upgrade to some ARP bolts on the rods. Everyone seems to like the Clevite "H" series bearings, you'll need to wait and order those after you see if the crank needs to be machined or not. I'm really happy with my Mahle pistons that I got, mine were actually a few grams lighter than stock (probably because the Mahle's are for a 6" rod as opposed to the stock 5.7 or 5.85 whatever it is), they will run you about $550-570 for the pistons, rings and wristpins. Since you want the motor to be stronger than before, you can use ARP main studs for a little more stability on the bottom end. A stock replacement oil pump will be more than fine.

As far as the valvetrain, I'm a little confused here. You ask about doing the LT4 valvetrain now, but then ask about upgrading later?? You might as well go ahead and get whatever cam you want now while the motor is apart. The LT4 HOTcam kit is a good and popular setup for people wanting a mild cam like yourself. I think the whole kit is somewhere in the 4-500 dollar range now.

kadoi

thanks a lot.....how much does it typically cost to have the motor pulled, machined, and rebuilt. just the labor? and would milling the heads be a good thing to go ahead and do since the head gasket was blown and to up the compression a bit?

FastZinTennessee

You will definitely need to mill the heads. I would suggest just enough to get them flat again. If you want to raise the compression use a thinner headgasket from Fel-Pro or Mr. Gasket. I believe Mr. Gasket has the thinnest gasket at .029", which should bump the compression a few points.

I'm really not sure how much the labor on pulling and re-installing the motor would be. Valve job and setting up the heads usually costs around $200, milling the heads might cost you $50-100, I wish I had the breakdown of what I paid for boring/honing and all that bottom end related stuff, but I don't have it handy right now. I would suggest that you call local machine shops and find out what they charge, how competent they sound, etc. Not all machine shops are created equal! Might also be a plus to find one with some high performance experience as well.

kadoi

thanks alot. eric@victory racing pm'd me. are his engine combos a good choice, good deal?

jkipp84

From VRE's site:

• Eagle 6.000" Connecting Rods
• Eagle 3.480" 4340 Crankshaft
• Diamond Shelf Pistons
• Diamond Pro-Select Rings
• Clevite Connecting Rod Bearings
• Clevite Main Bearings
• ARP Main Studs
• Dura-Bond Cam Bearings
• Balance Rotating Assembly
• Fully Machine Block w/Deck Plates
• Blueprint and Assemble Short Block

Looks a lot like the build I got from APE when they were around. Same price too. Solid short block right there.

FastZinTennessee

I have never heard anything bad about him or his company. His prices on the racer 355 short block looks right in line with what I paid for mine, and I feel like I got a good dea.