Engine Rebuild ???
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,330
Likes: 6
From: Long Island NY
Engine Rebuild ???
My 96k mile L-82 has seen better days...I went 3 reliable engine builders yesterday to pick there brains and see how much they want to pick my wallet. This will be a stock rebuild, no racing. I'm doing the build, the're just doing the machine work. I wanted to compare notes and see what they all agree on or disagred... They all agreed on TRW Forged Flat Top w/4 relief valves pistons. Clevite 77 'P' bearings. The cam is my choice. I'm leaning to wards Lunati's Voodoo series, they will give me the specs I need. What they disagreed on was...Rings All said that Moly was best, but 1 guy said that it would take around 1,000 miles to seat and this is a weekend cruzer. He said that cast is what they came with, it will last 80k miles and seat quickly. Next was rod bolts...All said that new ARP bolts is best, but 1 guy said if the stock bolts are fine re-use them. It will cost about $225 just to recon the rods & buy the bolts. The motor is lucky to see 5k rpms. They did agree that if $$$ is tight to put it in balancing (about $300) then rod bolts. I guess new rockers are called for. It's between stock or roller tip. Is roller tip, moly rings, & new bolts worth the $$$?
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,068
Likes: 27
From: St. Joseph Mo
Don't reinvent the wheel
"The motor is lucky to see 5k rpms."
Stick with a new stock cam and lifters. Rod bolts and new nuts are not needed with a weekend cruiser. The same reason to forget the balance job. Replacement pistons are spected to weigh the same as OEM. Cast pistons are OK. Use moly rings. The 'cast ring guy' if full of BS. Do; buy a new set of valve springs (stock)
Consider a Goodwrench 350 if the cost gets too much.
Stick with a new stock cam and lifters. Rod bolts and new nuts are not needed with a weekend cruiser. The same reason to forget the balance job. Replacement pistons are spected to weigh the same as OEM. Cast pistons are OK. Use moly rings. The 'cast ring guy' if full of BS. Do; buy a new set of valve springs (stock)
Consider a Goodwrench 350 if the cost gets too much.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,711
Likes: 43
From: San Antonio TX
The stock L-82 cam is more than enough for your intended use.
It's not too hard to test the veracity of what you're being told on the part selections by searching the manufacturers sites for the tech info.
Moly rings are just a moly plasma coating on the piston ring. Most factory rings are cast due to cost. Higher end rings are ductile iron. I would be suspect of the one place that told you about the long break-in for the moly rings. Moly rings seat almost instantly, which is why they are popular. Here is one area where I believe you get what you pay for. A good set of ductile moly rings will cost about $30 more than a broke-dick set of cast rings. And don't use chrome rings unless you intend to run the car without an air cleaner or other environment that's hard on rings.
Your engine now has TRW forged pistons. That's what they put in L-82s at the factory. Replacing them with another set with a .030 will not substantially affect your balance so if you're pinching pennys, don't bother with the balance, especially at your intended rpm.
Good, quality rod bolts like ARPs are a good investment but are not absolutely necessary. RPM kills engines and the rods see their highest loading at TDC on the exhaust stroke due to inertial tension loads on the rod created by the piston wanting to continue on its path. More important in your case is proper assembly and making sure you get adequate stretch on the rod bolts you now have.
If there is nothing mechanically wrong with the rocker that you now have, you will pick up nothing in either performance or durability by upgrading to a roller rocker. However, if you must, look for the cast roller tips. They're not nearly as expensive as the roller tip and fulcrum rockers and you get most of the advantages like less stem loading and accurate ratio. But, again, it's not the best place to spend money that you don't really have.
It's not too hard to test the veracity of what you're being told on the part selections by searching the manufacturers sites for the tech info.
Moly rings are just a moly plasma coating on the piston ring. Most factory rings are cast due to cost. Higher end rings are ductile iron. I would be suspect of the one place that told you about the long break-in for the moly rings. Moly rings seat almost instantly, which is why they are popular. Here is one area where I believe you get what you pay for. A good set of ductile moly rings will cost about $30 more than a broke-dick set of cast rings. And don't use chrome rings unless you intend to run the car without an air cleaner or other environment that's hard on rings.
Your engine now has TRW forged pistons. That's what they put in L-82s at the factory. Replacing them with another set with a .030 will not substantially affect your balance so if you're pinching pennys, don't bother with the balance, especially at your intended rpm.
Good, quality rod bolts like ARPs are a good investment but are not absolutely necessary. RPM kills engines and the rods see their highest loading at TDC on the exhaust stroke due to inertial tension loads on the rod created by the piston wanting to continue on its path. More important in your case is proper assembly and making sure you get adequate stretch on the rod bolts you now have.
If there is nothing mechanically wrong with the rocker that you now have, you will pick up nothing in either performance or durability by upgrading to a roller rocker. However, if you must, look for the cast roller tips. They're not nearly as expensive as the roller tip and fulcrum rockers and you get most of the advantages like less stem loading and accurate ratio. But, again, it's not the best place to spend money that you don't really have.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,720
Likes: 12
From: Chattanooga TN
Originally Posted by 67L36Driver
"The motor is lucky to see 5k rpms."
Stick with a new stock cam and lifters. Rod bolts and new nuts are not needed with a weekend cruiser. The same reason to forget the balance job. Replacement pistons are spected to weigh the same as OEM. Cast pistons are OK. Use moly rings. The 'cast ring guy' if full of BS. Do; buy a new set of valve springs (stock)
Consider a Goodwrench 350 if the cost gets too much.
Stick with a new stock cam and lifters. Rod bolts and new nuts are not needed with a weekend cruiser. The same reason to forget the balance job. Replacement pistons are spected to weigh the same as OEM. Cast pistons are OK. Use moly rings. The 'cast ring guy' if full of BS. Do; buy a new set of valve springs (stock)
Consider a Goodwrench 350 if the cost gets too much.
For a driver/cruiser ARP bolts are not necessary, nor is balancing. If I was in your shoes I would probably buy a crate Goodwrench 350 and put a different cam in it. It will probably be cheaper in the long run.
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 16,100
Likes: 17
Originally Posted by gerry72
The stock L-82 cam is more than enough for your intended use.
It's not too hard to test the veracity of what you're being told on the part selections by searching the manufacturers sites for the tech info.
Moly rings are just a moly plasma coating on the piston ring. Most factory rings are cast due to cost. Higher end rings are ductile iron. I would be suspect of the one place that told you about the long break-in for the moly rings. Moly rings seat almost instantly, which is why they are popular. Here is one area where I believe you get what you pay for. A good set of ductile moly rings will cost about $30 more than a broke-dick set of cast rings. And don't use chrome rings unless you intend to run the car without an air cleaner or other environment that's hard on rings.
Your engine now has TRW forged pistons. That's what they put in L-82s at the factory. Replacing them with another set with a .030 will not substantially affect your balance so if you're pinching pennys, don't bother with the balance, especially at your intended rpm.
Good, quality rod bolts like ARPs are a good investment but are not absolutely necessary. RPM kills engines and the rods see their highest loading at TDC on the exhaust stroke due to inertial tension loads on the rod created by the piston wanting to continue on its path. More important in your case is proper assembly and making sure you get adequate stretch on the rod bolts you now have.
If there is nothing mechanically wrong with the rocker that you now have, you will pick up nothing in either performance or durability by upgrading to a roller rocker. However, if you must, look for the cast roller tips. They're not nearly as expensive as the roller tip and fulcrum rockers and you get most of the advantages like less stem loading and accurate ratio. But, again, it's not the best place to spend money that you don't really have.
It's not too hard to test the veracity of what you're being told on the part selections by searching the manufacturers sites for the tech info.
Moly rings are just a moly plasma coating on the piston ring. Most factory rings are cast due to cost. Higher end rings are ductile iron. I would be suspect of the one place that told you about the long break-in for the moly rings. Moly rings seat almost instantly, which is why they are popular. Here is one area where I believe you get what you pay for. A good set of ductile moly rings will cost about $30 more than a broke-dick set of cast rings. And don't use chrome rings unless you intend to run the car without an air cleaner or other environment that's hard on rings.
Your engine now has TRW forged pistons. That's what they put in L-82s at the factory. Replacing them with another set with a .030 will not substantially affect your balance so if you're pinching pennys, don't bother with the balance, especially at your intended rpm.
Good, quality rod bolts like ARPs are a good investment but are not absolutely necessary. RPM kills engines and the rods see their highest loading at TDC on the exhaust stroke due to inertial tension loads on the rod created by the piston wanting to continue on its path. More important in your case is proper assembly and making sure you get adequate stretch on the rod bolts you now have.
If there is nothing mechanically wrong with the rocker that you now have, you will pick up nothing in either performance or durability by upgrading to a roller rocker. However, if you must, look for the cast roller tips. They're not nearly as expensive as the roller tip and fulcrum rockers and you get most of the advantages like less stem loading and accurate ratio. But, again, it's not the best place to spend money that you don't really have.
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