My true love.my 91 vette.Her L 98 engine needs to be replaced.I don't race ,just cruise around and enjoy.Retired and on limited income ,She allways brought a smile to my late wife's face.Which engine would be best,"crate""re-built,where do i find crate L 98 ?? TOTOJIM

 

Here is one crate engine http://www.sdpc2000.com/catalog/1578...rip-Engine.htm

 

My next engine and trans is coming from these folks; www.jasperengines.com 36month/75,000 mile transferable warranty. They have a lot to choose from too. Good Luck

 

There is no crate L98 per se, you will need to buy a crate motor and put the intake system you have on it. If the cam is different you will also need to have a custom chip made for it.

ZZ4 engines are the closest to the L98, I would get them from Scoggin-Dickey or Summit.

 

A little more info on what exactly is wrong with your current motor might help.

Jasper seems to have a replacement for $2k but read the fine print on your core exchange. "The heads must be remanufacturable or there will be a $1200 charge for new Edelbrock heads. "

Getting a used motor from some place like car-part.com is another option but you're always taking a chance with junk yard motors.

Jeff

 

I'm with cashmo and want to know specifically what the motor needs.

If it's just tired and there has not been any catastrophic failure, it could be that a simple ring and valve job is all that is needed. These engines rebuild well and is one of the few cars these days on which the pan comes off with the engine still in the frame which allows for a very economical in frame overhaul.

Let us know,

 

if you are a limited dime, you are probably better offf having a local shop do a rebuild on your own engine. a crate motor will cost more than having your own engine rebuilt.

 

 

I just had the motor rebuilt in my 89. I had a vibration that was driving me crazy. I bought the car from an older lady that had the motor rebuilt at 70,000 miles. (They ripped her). It turned out to be the DM flywheel was not in tune with crank. Don't know what they did.
An engine builder near me that built a motor for me previously said that he would rebuild my motor and kick the compression up to 10-1, and find a high torque cam. He further said that the engine would still pass Calif. smog.
He built it as a roller motor like it was. Balanced the crank with a new DM Flywheel that I bought. All new parts, harmonic balancer, new oil pump, etc. He rebuilt the heads. He is a performance engine builder.
I already had put new injectors in. The car sailed through smog.
He quoted me $2,100.00 and that was the finished bill. The car was fun before, but it is really fun now. No vibration. It is not an LT1, or Lt4, however they don't want to blink.
Don't know what your situation is with smog, but in Calif. it is a PITA.
I considered crate motors, but this was the better way for me!
Find a good engine builder!

 

If you have time. Do it yourself. Go get David Vizzards book and follow it.
When I was a kid we pulled many engines in my garge with low cost come-along.
Block work valve job and balancing is all you have to send out.
You might can even get by with just head work and a new timing chain set.
My 200k mile 87 is still running strong.

JS

 

As many have pointed out you have many options, but first you have to establish your budget and then go from there.

I think just about everyone but Bill Gates is on a budget. Do you have access to help (cheap or free labor). You can possible save a lot of money if your capable of doing the R&R (Remove/Replace) yourself. If not then labor costs are going to be the same as R&R on your eng or crate eng. Then your only factoring in the cost difference between rebuilding your engine vs. cost of crate engine. Good luck

 

Like the fine folks above said, what precisely is wrong with your current engine? Burning oil? Low oil pressure? Leaks? Knocking? Fist sized hole in the block?

The L98 is quite simple to rebuild. If you don't race and just like to cruise, they're quite economical to rebuild. Unless the block is cracked or damaged, it can be rebored if necessary and fitted with new pistons and rings, new bearings, new cam, and refurbished heads, and be as good as new.

What it costs is directly proportionate to how much work you can or want to do yourself.

If you want to pull your engine on Friday and be cruising again on Monday, a crate engine is the logical choice. If you have some time and just want to put it back like it left Bowling Green, rebuild what you have.

 

It sounds like most everyone is assuming that the engine will need reboring or will have to be pulled out of the chassis. That is not necessarily so. Again we are awaiting his reply as to why it needs work, but it is QUITE possible that the cylinders are still good enough to simply rering while the engine is still in the chassis.

These cars have several things going for them when it comes to rebuild time. To begin with, they are fuel injected which in most cases GREATLY minimizes cylinder wear due to the fact that you don't have a choked carburetor introducing raw gas during cold starts which washes the oil from the cylinder walls.

Secondly, the C4 is one of the few cars built in the last 30 years or so in which the pan will come off easily without pulling the engine.

I am not saying that this engine would be a good candidate for an in frame overhaul because we don't yet know what's wrong with it. At the same time we can't assume that it will need reboring or will need to come out of the chassis.

Original poster, what is wrong with the engine?

Have a great day,

 

I went with the ZZ4 crate engine in mine because it was the most similar quick to replace and got a good deal on it from Jim Pace GM Performance parts. I had it truck frieght shipped to my door.

http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp?P...D&ProdID=22962

The one from SDPC (see earlier post) seems cheaper right now.

Details: Imagine an aluminum head small block that makes 355 horsepower. What if it had a street roller camshaft, 4-bolt main block, 1053 forged steel crankshaft, high silicon pistons and strong PM connecting rods ? We imagined it, and then engineered, developed, tested and built it. The ZZ4 is the evolution of our popular ZZ series of small blocks that power thousands of street rods, hot street cars, circle track racers and drag racers.
With over 400 Ft-Lbs of torque, the ZZ4 is the best way to put an aluminum head, roller cam, high performance small block between your favorite fenders.
The aluminum angle plug cylinder heads have screw in rocker studs, 1.94" intake and 1.50" exhaust valves and 58cc combustion chambers that yield a crisp and responsive 10 to 1 compression ratio. Also included are our lightweight valve spring retainers that weigh half as much as our previous design. The valve seats are radiused and we have included valve stem seals to help keep the oil where it belongs. To compliment the cylinder head design, we've incorporated a steel roller tappet camshaft with .474" intake and .510" exhaust valve lift. The combination makes 355 horsepower at 5250 rpm and has that great sounding muscle car idle, with just enough lope to let people know this is no station wagon engine.
Also included with the ZZ4 is an HEI distributor with an ignition timing advance curve developed for performance, a dual plane aluminum intake manifold that accepts your spread bore or square bore carburetor, an 8" high-rpm harmonic balancer, 12.75" automatic trans flex plate and a cast iron water pump. It even has the spark plugs in it! The ZZ4 is currently our most popular crate engine, and you can see why. With a long history of successes in circle track and drag racing as well as street rods and other performance applications, the ZZ4 may just be the bullet for your next project. The ZZ4 is not intended for marine use, and should only be used in 1973 and earlier pre-emissions street vehicles or any year off road vehicle. Technical Notes: Carb, plug wires, starter, oil filter and oil filter adapter, and exhaust manifolds not included.

 

Diabolical Dave in Columbia MO has a no profit offer on Corvette engine rebuilds. Check it out at:

http://www.diabolicalperformance.com/noprofitoffer.html

 

Diabolical Dave just completed a 406 emissions compliant engine for me. It is going into the car next week. very nice guy to work with.

Unless you are handy with engine changes, there are lots of wiring/sensors/leaks and generally stuff that is hard to get at and a nuisance to find and fix that you will confront. Sometimes it is very nice to drop the car off, write the check and drive away a few days later. A simple rebuild can also save a lot of money, but the ZZ4 is a very nice alternative. Plus you have a hellava nice core if you ever decide to get crazy.

 

You know what I don't understand is why someone posts something on Monday and gets some good replies but as of Wednesday he hasn't replied back. Several replies point out the need for additional information but the original poster is nowhere to be found By the time he gets back this post will be buried on page 2 or 3 and he won't be able to find it.

 

 

well his loss, but I'm sure others have gained from the good info above

 

i dont understand where he has gone - but you guys are helping me a ton!

I have blown a head gasket in my L98 for the second time in 7 months - and this time i was driving it so i know it wasnt abused (i bought it with the gasket blown)

Living in Phx, it seems to me i should be able to find a good engine builder to knock this out for me, but everything i see is 4000 and up. Anyone know any AZ shops?