great when people include map to a place they recommend.....Good Luck on your journey with engine and other mods. step back for awhile if you get discouraged, don't just plod ahead it will only lead to mistakes.

 

I only have one piece of advice I can give you as I am a couple of years away from pulling my own engine.

FIRE YOUR CFO....now, before your costs exceed the budget by at lease double....lol

Ken

 

My "opinion":

Scrub anything that is not easily replaceable after you get done with the engine.

Start with the INSIDE of the engine first, then work your way out.

I spent as much money as I could on the GUTS of my engine...cam, lifters, rods, heads, etc. Even though I knew I was giving something up, I kept my Winter's intake. I also re-used my beat up oil pan. Those two things saved me $800 and are on my "list" for replacement.

Spread your money too thin onto the suspension and your engine build will suffer. You can tackle the suspension another day. If it is THAT bad, put in new stocker rubber and soldier on. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

And I'd repeat the "pull the trans" sentiment. It is very easy at this point and will allow you to clean those bits up as well.

Now's also a great time to get intimately familiar with your firewall. I spent EASILY 40 hours prepping my engine bay and it probably didn't cost me $40 total. Very satisfying.

So you know, my CFO gave me a $3k limit also. All I did was drag the build over fiscal years. Ended up costing me $5,500, but I am VERY satisfied with the result. So is she. It ultimately took me about 20 months (Oct 2012 to May 2014), but it was worth every minute.

Another aside: DON'T take apart any more than you need to. The death of many projects is "while-i'm-at-it-itis" which results in taking apart a huge chunk of the car and the re-assembly task becomes overwhelming. Stick to the engine bay. Trust me...it will be enough.

Useful investments for the future: 60 or 80 gallon air compressor, sand blast cabinet, and impact driver. You will use them many, many times and will save you their cost very quickly.

 

Research alot!! No one can make the choices for you, so make sure you know your options and approx costs.

I agree with others that have said - pull trans, plan on going over budget, and clean everything you can while your in there, cleaning is cheap and I find it enjoyable and makes for a much better finished product.

 

Im guessing you mean "divorce"?

 

Awesome advice, just what I needed to hear.

 

I have to ALMOST agree with ALL of this.

Another aside: DON'T take apart any more than you need to. The death of many projects is "while-i'm-at-it-itis" which results in taking apart a huge chunk of the car and the re-assembly task becomes overwhelming. Stick to the engine bay. Trust me...it will be enough.

This is where I am on the 'fence'. Although I do agree with his opinion and advice which is VERY GOOD to someone doing this for the first time. the part that I have a problem with is that if 'something' is NOT attended to when it can be done much easier with the engine out, etc. Then it would be foolish (in my opinion) to skip it and then have to go back and address it with parts in the way and the time to do it is now greatly increased.

I can say that I would suggest much like 'keithinspace' did if you read between the lines is taking too much off at one time. And I can say that if you do start to work in an area for what ever reason...do not get so far ahead of yourself that what you did remove you can not remember how to re-install. Its fun taking things apart...but sometimes NOT so much fun getting them back on again. THAT is where OVERWHELMING can come into play rather quickly.

Anything I can add is to sit down and try to work on a spread sheet of what you KNOW you have to spend money on and the costs for those items. Because doing this type of work for people everyday that have budgets or only want to spend 'X'. There is a 'fine line' on me being able to meet there budget or spending limit. Because I am not going to do something that is not correct. And if I can not get the 'numbers' to work...they can come get their car. Sometime when certain areas are being worked on that are of such importance.....being on a budget and sacrificing quality can come back and haunt you.

DUB

 

To do the job once and correct. I'd plan on twice your budget .....the guy that did it for 5500 is more realistic . And he seemed to be very careful to boot.

It s your life on the line out on the road .....don't be stupid or cheap

there will lots of stuff you'll see, and as Dub said makes no sense to put it back together to fail .......it will cost more to take it all apart again.



Good luck

 

MattRV73.....This is a very logical approach. Advantage...warranty When you take your old engine to rebuilder you can count on double the cost of the Summit engine by the time you are done. Been down that road a number of times. Just my .02



Fred

 

I was looking at that route - I have a friend that owns a Machine Shop, owes me some favors- yet rebuilding mine would have cost more....


Browsing the Corvette Forum classifieds- I found this sweet deal from fellow forum member-David AKA "ALLC34ME"

So if you don't rush out and buy stuff- there's some great deals out there!!!

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...50-engine.html

Here it is in it's new home-

 

Don't forget to factor in the cost of a clutch assembly, release bearing, and flywheel machining. Those are pretty much a MUST while you have the engine out. (IMHO)

 

Some people on this forum should write a book.

So a cousin came over and checked things out and immediately said "replace your throw out bearing while the engine is out". He showed me that it was worn out and a cheap fix.

Those are some of the things I'm looking out for, somebody to say "hey definitely need to do -----------"

To do stuff
1. Replace Worn out suspension parts
2. Replace Clutch release bearing
3. Clean and or scrub engine compartment (i pressure washed mine)
4. Wirewheel metal things
5. Drop in new engine and go zoom zoom

 

Copy that on the release bearing

 

Get yourself a parts catalogue and subtract what the cost of the suspension headers and new clutch assembly is. With what you have left Figure out what you want vs what you need horsepower wise. Like keithinspace said, start with the internals and work out. You can get your heads done at resonable price but are on the outside of the block, put them last on the list. Assuming you didn't spin a bearing you can reuse your crankshaft and connecting rods. So, you need these things..

1. Main bearings
2. Cam shaft kit and bearings ( Kit has lifters )
3. Higher compression pistons/ rings. You can rent a hone and keep the piston diameter the same
4. New pushrods.
5. Valve job possibly new valves/ springs etc.

You probably dont need to deck your block or bore your cylinders. That will save money as long as you are just wanting a more reliable motor and not some 400+ hp monster. You can reuse your oil pump, pan ,valve covers etc. You can use your old intake and carb and replace those when you can afford them. Stuff you can get to without pulling the engine/trans is what you need now. You can do any fancy porting on your heads without pulling the motor. Just go for reliable and having a fresh bottom end and higher compression 10.5:1 pistons can give you 50 more horse. If you have any cash left get a bigger carb or rebuild and rejet the old to give you what you need for the compression you're running. Ive had to do cheap and doing it youself is easy if you can follow instructions. You need to use a good torque wrench and follow an assembly guide. Its not rocket science for a close to stock motor. Racing engines are a different monster and are not for the budget builder like myself, but maybe someday.

 

Matt, sent you a PM...

Good luck with your project

GUSTO

 

Just a quick question, are the alignment problems encountered when trying to mate the input shaft with the clutch inherit with most GM cars or just the Corvettes? When I was playing with Fords I never had a problem pulling and installing the motor only. Just in case I decide to pull my motor. Thanks, sorry for the hijacking.

 

I see some really good advice and some really bad advice here, good luck on your build I'm going to unsubscribe to this thread before I say something that's going to start a war

 

That is exactly what I was thinking..

 

[QUOTE=KYC4;1591057017]Matt, I'd suggest that you rebuild your engine. A fuel injected LT1 would be loads of fun but the swap will require a good deal of wiring and some changes to the power steering plumbing. If you want to do that then go for it as, outside of the Opti-spark, the LT1 is a terrific engine.

If you want engine work done I HIGHLY recommend the good guys at Cincy Speed in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have known the owner and lead tech for well over a decade. Give them a call at (513) 821-2221 and tell them that Lee sent you.


UPDATE!

I called and was told that "Terry" across the street rebuilds engines

(513) 821-0444

 

Heck...I almost agree with MYSELF to a degree!!!

Throwout bearing? Of course.

Pilot busing? No brainer.

Feel the tailshaft universal and it's 'crunchy'? Address it.

Front suspension bushings petrified or non-existent? Replace them. Of course.

My point was to not think that by tearing into the engine bay, that would be an absolutely brilliant time to ALSO remove the entire dashboard system just so you can see the other end of the wire. That's what firewall connectors are for. You can get to them later.

And don't carry the engine project all the way through the rear end. That's a project in itself.

That was my point. Do what needs doing, but remember how easy it is to 'stall out' during the reassembly process.

I know there were some moments during my engine reassembly process where I had to take the "one bolt at a time" approach. I committed to only putting in ONE BOLT while I was taking the dog outside or had a few minutes to myself. ONE BOLT each time. Before I knew it, I had put in 50 bolts and several components, helping me see the light at the end of the tunnel. THEN I was able to happily pour a Saturday into the car knowing I would see appreciable progress by the end of the day.