hello! new member here
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 206
Likes: 0
From: WY
hello! new member here
I thought id just say hi to everyone. ive been lurking about for the past few weeks but havent posted anything until today. anyway, ive got a few questions that im sure you all hear often :D..I recently bought a '79 L-82 corvette. as i understand, these are not rare at all.. but nontheless i was wondering how much it would hurt the value to swap in a new motor? currently the original is still in the car but id like a bit more. ive noticed many people seem to have a crate engine or a newer corvette motor in their car. what kind of power can the car take without reliability problems? id like to keep the parts in the car stock if i could. the only thing ive been able to find so far is to replace the u-joints. thanks everyone! :chevy
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,102
Likes: 0
From: Montreal QC
Re: hello! new member here (Yellow79)
Welcome on board! :seeya
I'm pretty much novice by myself also, but this is my opinion. Changing the engine will of course brake the originality of your car, but I guess that it doesn't effect much to the price. Replacing the engine with new one might be even better choise, because that way you can always put the original engine to the corner of the carage waiting for the day that you might want to restore your car back to original condition!
I'm pretty much novice by myself also, but this is my opinion. Changing the engine will of course brake the originality of your car, but I guess that it doesn't effect much to the price. Replacing the engine with new one might be even better choise, because that way you can always put the original engine to the corner of the carage waiting for the day that you might want to restore your car back to original condition!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,635
Likes: 0
From: Union Ontario
Re: hello! new member here (FinnShark)
Welcome aboard.
Changing the engine in your car could possibly increase the value of your car depending on what engine you swap in there. Make it so you can enjoy it, crate the original up and save it in case you want to go original later.
Changing the engine in your car could possibly increase the value of your car depending on what engine you swap in there. Make it so you can enjoy it, crate the original up and save it in case you want to go original later.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,456
Likes: 2
From: Coming home from Luckenbach Texas
Re: hello! new member here (FinnShark)
:iagree: I don't think the '79s are going to reach the insane prices of the mid-year Corvettes. There's simply too many of them! I've already taken what was basically a numbers-matching car and swapped out the transmission. As far as I'm concerned, late-70's technology doesn't need to be preserved, because it consisted mostly of rubber-hammer smog control junk :p:
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,125
Likes: 9
From: Crescent City, CA
Re: hello! new member here (Yellow79)
Welcome to the forum.
If you are worried about originality, keep the original engine and build or replace it with another.
You have to drive it, make it fun. I think being able to offer the original engine to a prospective buyer would be a big +.
Terry
If you are worried about originality, keep the original engine and build or replace it with another.
You have to drive it, make it fun. I think being able to offer the original engine to a prospective buyer would be a big +.
Terry
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Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 16,978
Likes: 7
From: In Dreams There Is Truth Ohio
Re: hello! new member here (trw)
one more thing about the original vs crate motor....if you do a cost comparison between rebuild and getting it warmed up vs. hot crate, you will find the difference is not that great, maybe a thousand, and your cost will be a thousand for the crate AND you get to keep your engine....just in case you decide to sell later and buyer wants original engine.
One more point, if you decide to have fun, and throw a rod through the original engine, and a future buyer wants a vette with the original engine....you will be out of luck...
Buy the crate, bag the L-82, have fun.....for almost the same amount of $$$$ you can have two engines instead of one
One more point, if you decide to have fun, and throw a rod through the original engine, and a future buyer wants a vette with the original engine....you will be out of luck...
Buy the crate, bag the L-82, have fun.....for almost the same amount of $$$$ you can have two engines instead of one
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,362
Likes: 7
From: Brazos TX
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Cruise-In V Veteran
Re: hello! new member here (Yellow79)
Greetings, glad to have you here. If it's the original engine and the car is basically original then you may want to get a crate engine (the valuse won't decrease if you have the original). If you plan on modifying the car or it's not original then it really doesn't matter. Go with the way you would like to. Crate engines are a fast way to get a great engine in the car but rebuilding an engine is a lot of fun (if you have the tools).
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,228
Likes: 6
From: lancaster ma
Re: hello! new member here (Yellow79)
Welcome to the forum. This is definitly the most active and helpful forums I have joined. I am also a new member and have a Red 79 L82. Is yours a standard or an automatic? I bought the car with a ZZ4 crate motor. The car was priced higher than the stock engine counterparts I looked at. :cool:
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 206
Likes: 0
From: WY
Re: hello! new member here (Metal_Wulf)
thanks for the warm welcome everyone! i think i really like the yellow color, it stands out quite a bit ! as for the tranny, I have a manual 4spd in the car... any idea what that might be? im guessing its a super t-10 but i could be wrong. thanks again everyone!