engine swapping for more horses

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Feb 4, 2004 | 02:04 AM

skid52273

Thread Starter

6th Gear

Joined: Feb 2004

Posts: 6

Likes: 0

From: virginia beach VA

engine swapping for more horses

Um, Im new to this type of thing. I ve built trucks all my life, and recently have acquired and 82 vette. It a project, not in the best shape, but its a hobby.. Anyway, it has a stock engine(5.7l) but not sure if its an "L" engine or not. My question is this.. what could possibly be the most horsepower I could get into my vette without tearing it up? Street legal(ahem) please, and Im open to upgrading the current engine, or swapping a smal block or even a big block that would wire up relatively easily.. Thanks
:cheers:

Feb 4, 2004 | 11:56 AM

marshrat99

Melting Slicks

Joined: Aug 2003

Posts: 2,135

Likes: 2

From: Dayton Oh

Re: engine swapping for more horses (skid52273)

You can find lots of info on this Forum if you do a SEARCH. You'll find opinions all across the board. Some will say replace it with a crate motor such as a ZZ4. Others will say build what you've got. The bottom line is how much money you're wanting to spend. Whether building or buying a 350, you should expect to have a decent daily driver with 350+ HP. For my 79, I went the build route on creating a rock solid 350HP small block and ended up spending about as much as a crate motor. However by building, I learned so much and had a great time. If I had to do it over again, I'd build again. If you'd like some info as far as parts, vendors and prices, then email me and I'll be glad to send you a spreadsheet of what I did. Essentially, I started with a bare block, bored it .030 over and put on everything new. :cheers:

Feb 4, 2004 | 12:07 PM

stingry

Drifting

Joined: Mar 2003

Posts: 1,608

Likes: 3

From: Canberra AUSTRALIA

St. Jude Donor '05-'06

Re: engine swapping for more horses (marshrat99)

I did what he did.

Takes more time. But pretty fun. And fully documented.

The good part is most 350s in Vettes are 4Bolt and can take a lot of punishment.

Feb 4, 2004 | 12:57 PM

stingraymax

Racer

Joined: Aug 2003

Posts: 463

Likes: 17

From: Belgium /

Re: engine swapping for more horses (stingry)

Check AR Racing
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33615

Feb 4, 2004 | 01:37 PM

vettedan

Drifting

Joined: Aug 2000

Posts: 1,758

Likes: 4

From: Medford, Or

Re: engine swapping for more horses (skid52273)

I went with the modern engine swap route. I currently have a '95 LT1/4L60E engine/tranny combination in my '76. Theres no smog and I running duel exhaust (no CATS). The C3 vette cruises down the highway at 70 MPH @ around 1800 RPM. I get awesome gas mileage and still run a decent 1/4 mile 13.6 @102 MPH.
The next project will be an LS1 or a new C6 (LS2) engine.
Dan

Feb 4, 2004 | 01:43 PM

comp

Team Owner

Joined: Sep 2003

Posts: 88,393

Likes: 2

From: eville in

Re: engine swapping for more horses (vettedan)

LS2 with a mild turbo..... mmmmmmmmm what a nice dream :D :D

Feb 4, 2004 | 10:38 PM

bertmeister

Pro

Joined: Feb 2003

Posts: 582

Likes: 0

From: Ashaway RI

Re: engine swapping for more horses (stingry)

Quote:

The good part is most 350s in Vettes are 4Bolt and can take a lot of punishment.

Is this true about the 4 bolt mains? I didn't think that was the case after the early 70's.
:confused:

Feb 5, 2004 | 02:10 AM

ACECO

Drifting

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 1,634

Likes: 4

From: Northern NJ

St. Jude Donor '04 & '05

Re: engine swapping for more horses (bertmeister)

Quote:

The good part is most 350s in Vettes are 4Bolt and can take a lot of punishment.
Is this true about the 4 bolt mains? I didn't think that was the case after the early 70's.
:confused:

My understanding is that from at least 75 on, (and maybe before) the L-48's were 2 bolt but the L-82's are 4 bolt. Not 100% sure about this, but I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. :yesnod:

:seeya