After following Tersian's thread about his engine pull I have decided that I will do the same. I have a new to me '79 L-82 w/ a 4spd. that I do not know any history about. Pretty sure it has over 100K on the block. I figure that if it I take my time and be patient that I can manage to do it.
A couple of questions from someone that hasn't done this:
Are Air Tools a must to do this job?
Since I already have the oil pan and pump off, can I just leave them off?
Since I have a 4 spd., is it easier to leave the tranny on or off?

I haven;t decided on what I am going to put back in it: I 've read all the threads on the various crate motors and mods out there.
Does someone have a good recipe for about 300 horses- I wouldn;t mind salvaging as much of this short block that I can to achieve this and save $$.
Any opinions on this are welcome.

 

Hand tools will get the job done. If you have someone to help you, you can leave the tranny attached. If you don't, it is easier to unbolt the tranny from the motor. Leave the pan off, it won't make any difference.

As for what to do with the motor, the heads and cam are the major roadblock to horsepower. A set of vortecs and a lumpy cam will really wake it up. Get the bottom end rebuilt by a good builder and replace the heads and cam and you'll be very pleased with how it runs.

 

call a machine shop & price out how much a re-build is going to cost
add the cost of new pistons, rods, rings and bearings... a crate motor made more sence to me!!
I have air tools, about the only time I used them during the install was putting the clutch and flywheel on!!
I left the tranny in the car, and yes you can leave the pan off but if you bolt it in place with 5-6 bolts you won't drip oil EVERYWHERE!!!

 

The L82 is a good stout short block in stock form. It may be worth saving. There are lots of heads to choose from...it all depends on your goals: streetability or 1/4 second times

 

Air tools are not needed, they just make some things easier at times. I used them maybe 20% of the time, the rest was all hand wrenching.

For a 4 speed, I would say leave the tranny attached, from all I've read it's a real bear to line it back up with a manual. If I ever pull my engine again, I would DEFINATELY pull the tranny with it. It was more of a hassle disconnecting the bellhousing while on the car. Plus, I'd like to see the tranny and inspect the lines. However, I just had all that done to my tranny, so no need to do that for me.

300 RWHP or 300 at the crank? 300 at the crank should be easy to do, new heads and new cam in the same short block and you're there. 300RWHP is another story, not impossible but takes more of a recipe than I can give.

 

i don't think we used any air power tools on our engine/trans swap job...

 

It sounds like the 4spd needs to come out as well....hmmm..wondering if i should rebuild the transmission while its out..clutch as well...
Do you think that the engine and tranny will clear the A/C evaporator when being pulled out?
As far as what i am wanting to put back in---definitly want streetability..Don't care for a lopey idle as well.

 

as I've posted a few times before(sorry guys-he asked), I put the 350ci 4 bolt main 260hp 1973-'85 Direct Replacement engine in my '75 this past spring for $1199 BRAND NEW with a 3yr/36K warranty

Driven the car 2300mi in the last three weeks and with the BorgWarner Wide Ratio trans with the 2.64 1st gear and 3.36:1 rear gears-it's superb More power than I need, gets 18mpg and pulls excellent

The easiest/best way to me to pull the motor & tranny is to have the shroud/core support/radiator/condensor removed BEFORE you pull the motor & tranny as a unit. This is the way I did it

 

Is that warranty in effect only if it is installed by GM?
I have been considering the 290HP version of that GM crate.
Did you use the stock intake, carb, exhaust w/ that motor?

 

Opinions are like belly buttons and I got one too.

It all comes down to the condition of the bores. If the bores are still salvageable and not needing a re-bore, you will be many bucks ahead in the end. The problem is knowing when the wear is too much to save the bore. The machine shop will want to bore it but that is where you need to make a decision. If you can keep it stock sized bore and just re-hone and re-ring it, you can use the existing rotating assembly. The L-82 has very good bottom end internals and you will do well if you keep them. The crank might need to be turned but that is not a lot of cabbage in the overall cost of the job.

The heads on a 79 L-82 are realy where the L-82 falls down. I have mine in boxes out in the garage and you should do that too without any question. You can do what several of us on the forum have done with our L-82's and upgrade to '69 L-46 350/350 specs. I have converted my '80 L-82 this way, "Page62" has done a similar buildup and several others on the forum have had sucess with this modification. You can't go wrong with this setup based on your given target. It is a GM designed package for the top of the line Vette engine so you know it will idle, get decent mileage and operate your vacuum accessories like a stock HP Vette should work.

The only major changes you need to make are the heads and the exhaust. The heads need to be 64cc combustion chambers and I would advise buying some that retain the exhaust heat crossover passages. Edelbrock Performer heads have them but the Performer RPM heads do not. I have used Dart Iron Eagle and they are good pieces but they do not have the exhaust heat crossover passage so the warm up takes a little longer. As for the exhaust, true duals without the cats are one way to go but check in your area for the legality question. A high flow cat is the least I would consider. The distributor needs a full overhaul but that is mostly labor and a recurve kit.

You can stay with the "962" GM cam design but yours is sure to need to be replaced as a few of the lobes will be worn down after all those miles. Use the thinnest Fel-Pro .015" steel shim racing head gaskets and the copper spray sealer. The parts counter can order them for you. This is very important so the engine will run well on pump gas.

All of this assumes your bores are still salvageable. If you need to go .030" oversized, I would go with a 383 stroker kit. and a large supply of rear tires.

-Mark.

 

No, does NOT need to be installed by them for that 3yr/36K warranty.
I did it using the stock "flavor" look. I used my Corvette exhaust manifolds, intake, carb, water pump, alternator, starter, distributor & valve covers. To most people it "looks" stock, but I have no EGR, EFE, catalytic converter, heat riser or smog pump.

 

The reason that I am pulling this motor is due to a lack of oil pressure.
It was pretty much nonexistent--yes I tried a new sender unit, filter and a mechanical gauge..
So I am not sure if the bottom end is still in good enough shape to be able to add heads and a cam.
Has anyone tried 260HP motor from GM and then added a different cam and heads? Or is this overkill?

 

This was the exact reason I had to yank my '75's L-82. 17lbs. of oil pressure and I did everything you did, plus put a "remote" oil pressure gauge on it & it showed the same thing. Instead of scattering it, I pulled the original L-82/automatic tranny and went to work.

Several people here have used this same 260hp engine as a "base", then changed the cam, put on an aluminum intake, Holley, headers and have got 300hp fairly easy out of these motors

 

Well here is a pic of the pulled L-82...
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/sho...cat/500/page/1

It was my first engine pull and I have to say that it was not nearly as bad as I expected. I used all hand tools and I really did not run into any real road blocks. I took a ton of digital pics and tagged and labeled all of it.
I am still taking suggestions for what will go back in....I am looking for 300-350 STREETABLE hp

 

Where are you located? In Tarpon Springs Fl. there is a shop that will rebuild your motor with a 300 hp kit and warranty it for 3 years 36k miles.

 

I'm not 100% sure if this would work - there are more experienced members here on this forum:

If the bores are fine and you only need new piston rings and a good cleanup, can't you install a stroker crank ($150 on ebay) and re-use the rods and pistons ?? It does not require .030" oversized bores, does it ??

That should help your HP/torque signifficantly....

 

Get This

 

Rods are OK to re-use on a stroker but the pistons will need to be replaced due to the difference in compression height or else the piston will stick out of the bore about 1/4" or so.

-Mark.

 

Air tools arent necessary... Yes, they make things way easier. Shoot, electricity isn't even necessary.. I did mmy top end change in a 10 x 20 storage unit with a flashlight! If the weather was nice (and the land lord was gone) I would roll it out and work in the sun...