Old Vs New
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2
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From: dallas tx
Old Vs New
Im about to buy a 79 Stingray L-82 and have a few questions about what to do with the engine. The car has a brand new paint job and is in relatively good condition good shape body wise. The engine was rebuilt and since then 130,000 miles have been put on it and the bottom of the car is fairly rusted out. I would like to put an engine in that is reliable and with a good amount of power. My question is would it make more since for me to buy this car and put a crate engine in or keep the current engine and try to fix it up. Im interested on what your guys's take would be on this problem, any help would be appreciated.
John Hamann
John Hamann
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Semper ubi, sub ubi
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Re: Old Vs New (flwave03)
The first thing that scares me is your comment
Just how bad is it? If the frame has rust holes in it, run away as fast as you can. Just because the paint is good doesn't mean the rest of the car is any good. A lot of sins can be hidden by a shiny paint job. If the frame is rusted out then there is a good chance that the birdcage (metal frame around the cockpit, that is covered with fiberglass) is probaby rusted out too! Frame repair isn't any fun, birdcage repair is a royal pain in the ****! It is expensive and time consuming.
130,000 miles on the engine means that for all practical purposes it has passed it's useful life time.
You can figure that you are going to spend $3000 to $5000 for a crate engine. There are alot of really nice cars out there that don't have these problems, look for one of them before you break your heart and wallet working on a worn out rusty car.
the bottom of the car is fairly rusted out.
130,000 miles on the engine means that for all practical purposes it has passed it's useful life time.
You can figure that you are going to spend $3000 to $5000 for a crate engine. There are alot of really nice cars out there that don't have these problems, look for one of them before you break your heart and wallet working on a worn out rusty car.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 3,631
Likes: 14
From: Fountain Hills AZ
Re: Old Vs New (Smokehouse69)
The first thing that scares me is your comment the bottom of the car is fairly rusted out.
Unless the price is low enough to justify the cost of a new engine AND replacing the frame, I'd pass on that one.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,844
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From: Orrtanna Pa.
Re: Old Vs New (Vetterodder)
The question I have for you and you must be honest with yourself is,how mechanically inclined are you.Can you pull this off yourself,or are you the type that can not rebuild an engine,and just pays someone else to do it.If you're comfortable doing it,by all means do it yourself.I spent $4500 on my 406 and it's top of the line parts right down to the stainless intake bolts and hand ported intake runners.You normally don't see this kind of attention to detail in a crate engine,and for what it's worth the 355 I pulled out had 120,000 miles on it,and would still whoop most of the cars on the forum.I built that one too! :flag
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,121
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From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
Re: Old Vs New (flwave03)
I agree with smokehouse and the others, STOP and find out how bad this rust situation is and where it is. Nomatter how cheap the car is, a rusted frame is a Serious PITA to have to deal with. Any shark bodies Corvette can have rust in the frame and that alone needs to be assessed first. You need a good corvette mechanic to look the frame over and see what condition first. If you buy it a corvette is always worth more if it has the original engine with the correct serial number on it. good luck
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 16,978
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From: In Dreams There Is Truth Ohio
Re: Old Vs New (The Money Pit)
the 355 I pulled out had 120,000 miles on it,and would still whoop most of the cars on the forum.I built that one too! :flag
Yea, if the frame is bad....RUN BOY RUN, and don't look back. There are so many nice vettes out there...I would buy a vette that had a perfect frame but in dire need of paint over one just the opposite....painting is a piece of cake compared to replacing the bird cage, though replacing the frame is no big deal.
