I've pulled a couple of high-milage LT1s from the junkyard and they've all been in excellent condition - the bet here is a lot better than with a GEN I SBC. It's a smart budget approach for sure.

Yeah, I was kinda put off by that too. This isn't an unsolveable problem if there's sufficient cash to make it work. Any C4 is a darn nice car, and the LT1 has a ton of potential. With funding, this is a good OPPORTUNITY to upgrade a great car with more power.

 

agreed, you aren't far from Tom Wong, he is a GREAT person to deal with and I recommend using him highly!

he would be able to put a superb package in your car and send you out dyno tuned and running like a champ with a few more ponies then you came in with if you so desire!

Just my opinion but unless you are a wrencher, this will be your wisest choice!

Chris

 

I have repaired a lot of engines and very often they need $50-200 dollars parts and one day labor. You have to explain exactly what happened. Did connecting rod breake block? Was engine knocking? Is it siezed? What? Ask mechanic and write it down. 99% of replaced engines didn't have to be replaced. There is a lot of mechanics who don't know much about engines but they like to replace them and charge big money.
This is what dealer mechanics do:
They remove engine, bring it to machine shop and then install it.

 

383 is a no brainer

 

A 355 and 383 are the same price if we don't add in anything else required to support the additional cubes - this means a VERY MILD 383 is fine...but anything more extreme and we have to think about throttle body upgrades, injector upgrades and better-than-stock heads.

It's kind of a slippery slope...which is why a budget is so critically important!

For example, Golen is a great aftermarket crate provider - compare the two shortblocks at identical pricing for 355 and 383 CID!

http://www.golenengineservice.com/ht...rt_blocks.html

 

Ebay is your friend

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-Co...spagenameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-...spagenameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevy...spagenameZWDVW

 

eBay links are not allowed - please edit before you get the thread locked

No links or reference to eBay sales or any other auction or sales sites, please.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1118158

 

Yup, not allowed to post anything like that. That might actually help someone. You might get banned

 

Or, just a note that a search on LT1 or LT4 on eBay would return the same results. Easy to help within the rules.

 

I would advise that before you rush into anything you thoroughy examine your repair options. If you replace with stock it will be the easiest in the sense that it will be replaced and turn key. If you go the stroker route, your component cost will be similar but you may then have other questions such as tuning etc.

Whatever you do, take the time to make a good decision. Personally, I would attempt to diagnose (or have it diagnosed at a reasonable price if you are not experienced with engines) and make a decision from there.

If you are not technically oriented, you should be realistic about what you are and aren't willing to take on. Believe me, some projects start out fun and turn into nightmares. Years later is when you appreciate or laugh about them.

 

A dual mass that rattles , an old cat converter with loose material in it or a bad flexplate can make give off similar noises. Check into it.
Ex:
Many yrsago I had a cat go bad on a 86 5.0 GT. 2 shops said I needed a motor, stuck a test pipe in it and whaddya know, noise was gone.

 

Shop can say to replace engine if stop light doesn't work!!!

 

 

I picture a similar discussion in 1985 about a '69....

With this kind of attitude, I'm really not sure why you're here.

 

hey, you have got to give the guy ALL the options. He's not doing the work himself, it'll run him $5000-$8000 to get the car back on the road.
$5000 debt, plus another $5k, may simply not be worth it. Maybe the interior is ratty. Maybe the suspension needs work too. How is the body ? You need to access the whole situation. I can see 20 guys telling him to do a stroker.

Maybe he should part it so he can learn about cars, and be prepared for his next corvette.

I just sold a beautiful work van, bad motor, $500. IT would have cost me $4000 to fix it, and all the time. It was simply easier to buy another work van, and not think about it any more.

 

wow so much advice! i love it, thank you!

here are some more deets. first of all, heres what happened, from my perspective. keep in mind, my mechanic skills are limited to things that go on the outside of the engine.

i was driving to work, 4th or 5th gear, about 45 mph. engine started running a little bumpy, and my first thought was that maybe a cylinder wasnt firing. accompanying this was a lack of power that got progressively worse, and the engine started getting less and less smooth, or more bumpy/hiccupy/whatever. if i gave it throttle there would be a very loud knocking sound from the engine bay and little to no acceleration. (i remembered that the night before, it felt like this but very briefly, and then seemed to be normal again.) anyway, within about a half mile this problem went from running a little rough to the car dying, barely restarting a couple times (as i was trying to get it off a busy road) and then not starting at all. the "threw a rod" diagnosis i mentioned is just kind of hearsay, and i dont know if thats what happened.

the car/drivetrain/engine have about 90k on them. ecu has about 4k on it. i know enough to have had all my fluids changed when i got it, and had just done an oil and oil filter change myself (wix filter, mobil 1 full synthetic 0w-30). oil pressure and temperature remained normal throughout this event. afterwards, i checked my oil and it was clean and at the full level.

the shop ive taken it to once before (for a brake power booster) is mahjor murray, but they are booked out 3 weeks, so no diagnosis has occurred. i didnt want to take a chance on a new shop, and pacific corvette mostly works on pre-'82 vettes (they referred me to mahjor murray).

i have to ask my banker for more money, and havent dont that yet, but i was hoping to get around 5k, although not sure how that would work.

i didnt really like this car at first (previous car was a 2000 mercedes benz c-class kompressor, which i loved/hated), but its really grown on me, and i would like to keep it now.

it seems like a waste to do major engine work and NOT end up with more power!

im not into drag racing though, and would like to (laugh if you want) retain street driveability and a/c etc.

the car badly needs new shocks all around, and that WAS going to be my next project until this happened. but that i can do myself. the leaf spring setup seems kind of wonky to me, but i hadnt gotten around to asking for advice on that, and ill probably make another thread for it (or just research old threads) when the time comes.

the body is in decent shape, has rock chips up front, and a door ding i have been putting off getting repaired, but is otherwise good. weather stripping is shot. has new targa top. interior isnt great, drivers seat has some leather damage, but mostly its the fit and finish that i find extremely dissatisfying. everything works though, except for the cd player, which doesnt concern me.

thank you for referring me to tjwong, i just messaged him! and thank you to billa for offering to help me out!! thats crazy nice!!

so, as soon as i can, ill get a diagnosis, and then have to decide whether to rebuild or replace. i would like to keep my risk pretty low, because lately (with this vette and with the mercedes before this) ive had TERRIBLE car luck. if that means only mild power upgrades then that is fine with me! even with the stock motor, traction is enough of a problem already! if i could get 30-50 extra hp or ft/lb, that would be pretty sweet, maybe get close to running with my brothers c5 and 20lb boost talon.

 

If the engine didn't seize and the engine just has a loud knock, more likely than not, you do NOT have block damage. You would have a spun bearing situation.

If it is a spun bearing and ur on a tight budget, you could just refresh the bottom end and have the affected rod resized with a new bearing. If budget allows, resize all rods. You should replace all of the rod and main bearings while in there. The crank would have to be removed and resized. You will sacrifice balance tho.

Determine first whether you have oiling issues and why the rod spun in the first place (ran low on oil or oil pump failure).

I had a rod spin in a gen I 350 long time ago. I popped the cylinder head off, removed and resized the rod, cleaned the crank journal, new bearing and off I went without any problems. I think the fix cost me about 200.00 in all ( I did the work).

 

It could be something as simple as an ignition problem or an injector malfunctioning. When they misfire bad youll hear the dual mas flywheel rattle. Cant tell anything from here though.

Hope you get it sorted out but to be honest many C4s are money pits just like your Mercedes. If you are in love with the car go ahead and pour $ into it otherwise dump it and move on, get a better one. Youll thank yourelf later. Plenty of well maintained ones out there for little $$ rightnow

 

Sounds more like an ignition or fuel problem. Talk to Tom (TJWong) and he will do you right.

 

I'm not a C4 expert, nor a good long distance diagnnostician...BUT,
the symptoms you describe sound exactly like what my LT1 camaro sounded like when it had optispark problems. Low power, ran on less than 8 cyl...and knocked like crazy.
preacherman