'93 formy ...

I posted yesterday about the drivability issues I was was having with my car and how I got a code "33" on my LT1 Formula. Some of you took the time to respond and try to help me out (thank you to those who did) . Anyway's it turns out that code "33" was for the MAP sensor.

Well, I picked up a new MAP sensor today ($85 ) I disconected the battery to erase the ECM and replaced the old sensor. Started the car up and took her for a spin. No difference. When I stomp on the gas it feels like I'm running on 4 cylinders (now I know how import driver's feel ). I got back and popped the hood and the valve cover breather is spewing oil all over my passenger side header. It's also smoking like a chimney. I take off the breather and the smoke is "puffing" out. Not a good sign) It's also coming out of the exhaust. I took it to my mechanic and described the symptom's. He right away asked if I was on the bottle at the time and when I said that I was he said I'd probably killed the motor.

Anyways, not exactly the way I wanted to start off my summer but hey, atleast I had the car on the road for 2 month's this year. 2's better than none I guess. It's been one problem after the other. The very day my insurance started (April 1st) my tranny blew up. Then I messed up the suspension, now this.

This sucks.

I can't afford to repair anything right now so I'll have to call up the insurance company tomorrow and tell them I won't be driving anymore. That's it for this summer. In all honesty though, I really don't feel as bad as I thought I would. I mean, in a way, I'm actually kind of releived. I knew that the motor would let go one day or another and always thought to myself "this is it" whenever I hit the spray. Now it's finally happened. I can stop worrying about it now.

Since I have to rebuild the motor anyway, I may aswell build it with some heavy-duty parts to keep this little "accident" from happening again. Since money is an issue, (like always) I will be using what I can from my current set-up, the stock heads (they've been ported/polished with 2.02intake/1.6 exhaust valves) the ported intake and factory 2bolt block.

I'm considering just "rebuilding" the motor with a set of forged pistons and connecting rods. A new crank (forged?) and a girdle to strenghten the block. I'm going to upgrade the LT4 Hot cam with a GM 847 cam aswell.

What do you guy's think? Any suggestion's? I've never had to rebuild an engine before (this was/is my very first car) so I'd like some advice from those of you with more experience than I. Would I have to get a forged crank or woud cast one do? What sized injector's should I get? What brand names are reccomended? I need some info PLEASE!!

Also, would I be better off (financially) buying the rotating assembly as a "kit" or in seperates? Where would you reccomed I buy it from?

Thanks in advance.

IrocSS85

well, Im goin thorought this right now too. only I am fixing it right now, and am getting new rotatins assembly. proline and scat seem to be the best bang for the buck as far as cranks and rods goes. look at www.flatlanderracing.com they have great prices. also you can look at www.strokermotor.com the way I see it, if Im gonn rebuild and replace the crank/rods/pistons, why not stroke it? only thing extra to do is clearance the block and rods, and get assembly balanced. I still have to work out the details, but I should be able to get all the parts for under $1500 and they would all be forged. not the best parts, but good middle of the road parts that will easily put up with 700HP while on the juice.
chris

'93 formy ...

So what your telling me is that I'd be better off with a 383 or 396 than a 355? The only reason why I chose to just rebuild the motor was because I thought it'd be cheaper thn stroking it. How much extra would it be to go with a 383? Forged piston's/connecting rods are definetely a must but how 'bout the crank? Shoud I stay with a cast piece or go forged on that aswell? I only plan on making 600-700HP max (on the bottle) Would a cast crank be able to handle that? How 'bout the compression? Leave it the same or go higher or lower? Anybody else have any suggestions?


Thanks for the links, by the way I'll be checking them out.

Fastbird93

I feel your pain, went through the same thing a couple of months ago. Check my post over at SD.org.

Andrew04ME

I can't answer the questions regarding 383 vs 355. However, i can tell you of a couple interesting books that are out there that can help you learn alot about rebuilding and choosing parts, setup, etc.

John Lingenfelter - Modifying small block chevy engines -ISBN - 1-55788-238

Mike Mavrigian -How to rebuild small-block Chevy LTI-1/LT-4 engines : step-by-step rebuild to factory specifications -isbn- 1557883939

Amazon.com has both these books, but i just keep renewing them from the library.

IrocSS85

well it def. is cheaper to just redo a 355. esp. if you cant do any of the assembly or clearancing on the block. the parts will be cheaper too since they are alot more common to sell. but, for me, I can do all my own assembly and clearancing, so the only extra cost is in the parts. as far as the crank goes, I was thinking the same thoughts. I wonder if a cast crank (the eagle ESP crank is only $220 at www.cmotorsports.com so there's a$180 diff right there if you think you can trust is. if you not sure you can afford to go the stroker route, then Id recomend just sticking with the 355 and put nice 4340 forged eagle crank, hbeam forged rods, and some nice pistons and spray 300 instead. a good benifit of the stroker eng. is more torque and lower powerband. so your not reving it as hard to make the same power. therefore the eng. should last longer.
another thing, if your gonna pay someone to rebuild your eng., you should check into shortblocks instead. that would save you money too over any local shop. no way can a local shop compete with the prices of mailorder shortblocks. here's another link to check into.

http://www.revolutionaryperformance.com/

I think all these are supporting advertisers here too.

'93 formy ...

Thanks for the feedback guy's. I really appreciate it. It looks like I'll be going with a 355. Forged pistons and connecting rods. For that extra bit of power I'm going with the GM 847cam (saw a guy last week make 368WHP - all bolt-ons and cam ) . Now I just have to iron out the details. I'm still wondering about the crank. Should I go forged or stick with cast? How much HP can a cast crank handle safely? What about the compression? Fuel injector size? etc.

I need all the help I can get making this decision. I need to start saving some money so I need to make a list of parts and find a price so I can start working towards it.

Thanks.

carlos64030

If all you're gonna do is throw some spray at the motor...I say you'll be fine with the stock crank. The cast stock crank is alot stronger than most people give it credit for. Just have a machine shop re-condition the crank that you have...that'll save you some money right there.

dhirocz

As cheap as it is to stroke it nowadays, I'd do that if you are going to replace any bottom end components. I was going to build one out of some SRP forgings, Eagle 4340 connecting rods and a scat 9000 forged crank. Have the stock heads ported and throw in a decent bumpstick like the 847 and you'll have a jam-*** motor. Just my thoughts.

A 355 would work fine too...I just like the torque bulge in the powerband from stroking it though. Torque makes a car more fun to drive and is what accelerates you!

gb95zconv

Not true......my 383 shortblock cost me $2300 locally. Thats machine work on my block including 4 bolt mains, forged Eagle/SRP rotating assm.,balancing,and assembly. I allready had the cam so that wasnt included in that price.

I also was able to stop by every few days and see what was going on....with all the horror stories Ive read on this sight about various mailorder places being able to stop in and check on the project is a plus.

dhirocz

I think it would be more accurate to say it can be either more or less expensive depending on what you're doing. A setup like the one I listed above is certainly gonna cost less than an all 4340 355 rotating assembly. Dollar for dollar, especially with the torque gain involved, I think the stoker is a decent choice. The price difference for most parts isn't much, but it makes a car with more power more fun and streetable. My my opinion.

'93 formy ...

Well, I just got back from Straight Line (the performance shop I go to) and after talking it out with my Mechanic, I've decided to go with a stroker kit. From what I was told, there really isn't much (if any) difference in cost between a 355 rotating assembly and a stroker one.

I've decided to go with a 396. I'll be getting the entire set-up which includes forged pistons, i beam connecting rods, steel crank and all the rings gaskets etc. etc. Total is $2200 Canadian + tax. That's a lot cheaper than what I thought it'd be. I'm also going to upgrade to the GM 847 cam and add a girdle to the block to strenghten it. I was told that this set up would push 500 Horse EASILY and be able to take a 250 shot of NOS all day long.

What do you guys think? Any reccomendations? Suggestions? Anything I need to know 'bout the 847 cam?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

IrocSS85

well, if you do the 396, Id think the 847 cam is goin to hold you back. depends on how you want to/need to use the car. its a pretty wild cam in a stock engine, but for a bigger cuibic inch eng, would be mild. since you dont already have the cam, Id talk to some cam companies to see if there is a better choice cam for that big ol engine.

so is your $2200 canadian assembled, or is that the total for parts?

what parts exactly are you geting? my wife isnt cooperating as of yet for my eng. build. also, you better check into the cam clearance issue. seems that you may HAVE to run a small base circle cam with the 396. that would be nice to know before you order any parts.

'93 formy ...

the $2200 is for the rotating assembly only. I'm sure there will be some more parts to buy along the way like a new timing chain, valve springs, injectors etc. etc. As far as the 847cam, wow, I never thought it'd be considered a "mild" cam. Keep in mind that this motor is going to go into a daily driver and not a purpose built race car. The 847cam (in my opinion) is already a pretty big cam and even though I'd no doubt make more power with a bigger cam, I'd have more drivability issues to deal with later. This isn't a done deal yet. If all goes according to plan I'll have the money to order up the parts in the next 1 1/2 to 2 months. Then the car will sit there till I come up with the money for all the machine work and labour costs. I'm seriously considering moving back home to save some money.

As far as the "exact parts" well, all I know is that I'd be getting forged pistons (Wiseco I believe) i-beam connecting rods and a steel crank. That and all the rings and stuff. I''ll get some more info on the exact parts next time I go to the shop.

Robert_K

If cash is a real issue, just go stock! At newengineparts.com you can get a short block kit for $373. The kit includes pistons, timing set, cam bearings/ bushings, factor roller camshaft, rod bearings, pistons rings, freeze, galley, pipe plugs and a main bearing. Additional parts: gasket set $168 and many other parts which can be purchased real cheap. Your can even purchase a remanufactured engine block for $869.95.