78 Pace Car Upgrade
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From: Edgewater Maryland
78 Pace Car Upgrade
I am helping a good buddy of mine upgrade his 78 Pace Car. He wants to put the Orig mtr away and install a crate motor. I am thinking of the GM ZZ4. Any thoughts?
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From: Crossville TN
Sounds like a dandy idea....as long as the original motor can't be salvaged. If the original block IS still servicible, then the new motor can NOT be considered an "upgrade". It will just de-value the car.
There isn't a big market for Pace Cars, anyway [at least, not for any significant premium over other '78 cars]. Those that ARE interested in a Pace Car actually want it to be complete and original. Otherwise, you just have another late-70's modified C3.
There isn't a big market for Pace Cars, anyway [at least, not for any significant premium over other '78 cars]. Those that ARE interested in a Pace Car actually want it to be complete and original. Otherwise, you just have another late-70's modified C3.
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From: Edgewater Maryland
Thanks for the reply. He does not intend to ever sell it, he just wants alittle more HP. For what the ZZ4 sells for you can't be them. The orig mtr, I will pickle and it can be put back in if needed.
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From: Crossville TN
If you are going to throw $5K at a new engine, why not just rebuild the block you now have (again, if it's not worn-out) and install a nice roller cam and lifters. You can have much better performance than the stock engine, but still end-up with an original-engine build in the stock vehicle. Best of both worlds, and it will only cost you about $2-3K for machining and parts. Even if you spend another thousand and pop for some aluminum heads to up the power even more, the original block is still with the car and you will retain more value.
Last edited by 7T1vette; Nov 11, 2012 at 05:06 AM.
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From: Edgewater Maryland
I plan on installing a performance exhaust sys and getting rid of the convertor or replacing it with a high flow unit. As far as the motor upgrade, with the cost of machine work and labor, a crate motor makes more sense. The orig motor will be next to the Vette in the garage and can be installed in a days times. It is an L82 model and only has 24k on it. I would rather leave it stock and sitting there. The radiator core is leaking, thinking of having the it recored. I will post pics once we get under way. Thank you all for your thoughts!
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St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
If you are going to throw $5K at a new engine, why not just rebuild the block you now have (again, if it's not worn-out) and install a nice roller cam and lifters. You can have much better performance than the stock engine, but still end-up with an original-engine build in the stock vehicle. Best of both worlds, and it will only cost you about $2-3K for machining and parts. Even if you spend another thousand and pop for some aluminum heads to up the power even more, the original block is still with the car and you will retain more value.
i couldn't agree more. that is exactly what i decided to do. i had no idea as to the actual mileage of my oem engine, but it was pretty beat. actually the interior was pretty clean, the heads were full of carbon (and one was actually cracked in one of the corners. didn't even need a magnifier to see it, lol). machined the block, added a cam and true baffled exhausts, long tube headers ported q-jet carb and it runs like you would expect it to. (i actually did loads more in putting the car back together, but that's a story for another day, lol). my build was pretty mild and i'm generating just under 350 hp instead of the 185 it came with (before the engine was beaten up, lol). the total engine rebuild parts, machining, removal installation, etc was under 3600.00.
