ok im pretty much stock with exhaust and intake. i want something new, i dont want nos, ( my engine is tired). and i have a 6spd. Are gears the best thing to do besides a cam? and new heads? what gears so i have stock ...i want like 4.10's where can i find some

 

Nos is the best bang for the buck but since your engine is "tired" and probably wont stand up to more than a 75 shot. Without digging in the motor like you said heads/cam package, I agree that changing the gears would be a good idea for better acceleration. Doesn't make your gas mileage go down alot though? I know your speedometer has to be recalibrated when you have the gear change. What year do you have?

 

2.59 gears in your year I believe. Im pretty sure thats the automatic. If I am wrong please correct me. I'm still looking for your year with a manual. One site says its a 3.73 but I don't think thats right. Do you have the D36 or D44?**Just wondering for personal information**

 

I have a 94, im not sure if i have dana 44 or dana 36's..i want something i can use all the time so i dont think nos is my option. i would like to getheads and cam and injectors since i want her to be like new again..but im still looking for more info

 

Unless it's been changed.

6sp = Dana44
auto= Dana36

They'd help out a lot, but if the engine is "tired" you may just want to save up for either a rebuild or a crate engine.

 

Stock gears for the 94 M6 are 3.45's. Get the 4.10's, they're a great upgrade.

 

ok i'll be the idiot to ask...

i have a 94 auto......what does dana36 mean????

sorry, just a rookie here

 

What exactly do you consider a rebuild? Are you saying bearings, pistions, heads, and a new cam would be a rebuild? Thanks. Just wondering how far you actually have to go to make the engine thats got over 100,000 miles on it stand up to some new power.

 

Gears will make your car 'feel' faster.

My suggestion is wake up the top end of your motor. 1.6 rr. new springs and pushrods. ASP underdrive Pulley. will really help the LT1 breath and pull hard to redline.

If you're looking to spend a bit more, Do a heads and cam. Use your LT1 heads and go with bigger valves and have them ported by a reputed shoppe with a cam to match. that will really change the way ur motor feels.

 

well my engine isnt Tired really its just got 144,000 on it, i just want either a newer vette or a rebuild to ensure i wont get stuck somewhere not close to home.

 

It's decision time. Your engine has a lot of miles on it. If money is an issue then focus on the engine because if you blow it it will be expensive. I would say a good shop that specializes in Vettes will charge you around $5K to make that engine fresh. Add another $5K to add heads, cam and headers. Add another $2K for some decent gears. You may not want the gears after you puff up the engine.

If you are capable of doing the work yourself cut the prices in half.

Just remember with 144k miles the engine is the weak link.

Opinions are like elbows and I usually have two!

 

thats exactly it, i want it to be fresh again. what do i do and ask for

 

With a 6 speed I would do a LT4 Hotcam kit, port your heads, and do a 3 angle valve job. That will give a fresh top end and quite a bit more power.
Go to www.summitracing.com and look up the kit. Most everything else is shopwork and can be done locally in the larger cities. Maybe $2500 investment.

 

I'll do the gears for you if that's the route you want to go Derek. I'm not sure exactly what the price would be, but we've done a bunch of them here at the shop. I'll dig through some invoices tomorrow and get you a price if you'd like.

How do you know the engine is tired, other than the miles? A compression test might be a good idea to see if the engine really is wounded. Or bring it by the shop and we'll dyno it. If it's not down on power, I don't think you have much to worry about as far as the motor being tired. It might need some valve seals or something, but the stock bottom end, at stock power levels, should last basically forever.

If you're not looking to do anything crazy; I think long tube headers, rockers, and gears would give you a pretty good boost. Those mods should put you pretty close to 300 RWHP, and if you throw a cam into the mix 330+ isn't really out of the question. The cam swap is pretty expensive from a labor stand point though, so you might want to wait on that. Regardless, we can do all that stuff for you if you want.

Even considering the miles, my vote is still for the bottle though, lol.

To make the engine 'new again' you'd need to pull it out, bore/hone it, buy some new pistons, rings, bearings, and gaskets. However, at that point, it gets really hard to not throw performance parts at it. Once your in that far, it's really not that much more expensive to build a 355, 383, or even a 396.

The single largest gain you can realize (other than a power adder like nitrous) is by swapping out the heads. If you were to change the heads, the cam, and the associated valve train components the entire top side of the motor would be brand new, which kind of sounds like what you are looking for. However, there are risks to building a monster top end on a bottom end that has only seen stock power levels for the last 144,000 miles.

If reliability is key, and you don't have the money to get into the motor, I think the combo of headers, rockers, and gears that I listed above is probably your best bet.

Good luck!

 

There's two different rear differentials, the Dana36 being the smaller of the two. It can't take as much torque, but it's also lighter. If your going to go mod mad it should be upgraded, if not, don't worry about it.

 

By the way, there are no dumb questions here. We all started out with our first vette at one time or another

I have a 95 auto just like yours we refer to them as 95A4 because it's an auto trans with 4 speeds.

As Brian mentioned the auto trans cars came with the lighter weight less robust Dana 33 rear end. It's no problem however at all unless you are going to modify your engine for an additional 100 horse power

 

neat ur always comming in at the right time helping me out and giving the best advice, ur never out of the question for things being done to my car, if i need things done im comming to ur shop, i want heads and maybe a cam, and a newer fresh engine rebuild, ill get it done and maybe then ill throw a bottle on it, then ill need a tune from you guys...im heading ur way really soon

 

Make your car more fun to drive while you are at it. Add a Hurst or a B&M short shifter. You will thank me for it. My vote, by the way, is for long tube headers and a rear gear. Save some more money up and then do heads cam. Save some more money up and then put in stroker short block under those heads.

 

The advice is free man, no worries.

I didn't mean to imply that you had to come to the shop to get anything done. Do it yourself, do it with some friends, have a shop do it, whatever. Just do it. Modding your car successfully is one of the most rewarding experiences there is, in my opinion. There's nothing like selecting the parts, saving the cash, buying the parts, and then feeling the results after the install. It's really satisfying. Much more so than someone who drops off their car and their check book and then just asks for XXX horse power.

Have fun with it man, that's what the car was made for.