jiglesias93

Ok, so I want to do an engine swap with my 84. What engine could I get that Woul bolt right in and cost less than $1000

Greg MFn Z

I'm gonna take a gander and say none, none that would be an upgrade anyway.

383vett

Any wrecking yard $1000 small block Chevy from '53 and up should fit.

Greg MFn Z

He is right. Just remember tho that ends when the LS series starts.

ex-x-fire

Are you doing a swap for more HP or just to get it running?

jiglesias93

Ita really to get it running but more hp wouldn hurt

ex-x-fire

I'd get a 400sbc (if you can find one), port the cfi intake, & a mild torquer cam. Theres a guy around here called Tom400cfi that did that.

Crepitus

Vortec truck motor. adapt your xfire or a carb setup and a flywheel to fit your clutch and a 1pc rms crank. Might need to make a little more room for the ballancer. A cheep set of headers and maby a cam w/springs...

96GS#007

$1000 will at best get you a barely functional replacement to which you'll need to bolt the Crossfire parts....intake, throttle bodies, sensors, etc. Also keep in mind that you cannot bolt in any SBC. Your '84 has a 2 piece rear main seal. If you go to a 1-piece design you'll need a compatible flywheel or flexplate.

Frankly, if the car is not running, I'd part it out and buy something else unless there is a deep rooted emotional attachment. You'll be way ahead in the long run.

coupeguy2001

I have an 86 350 with a new cam and timing gears and lifters were refaced.
Asking $500
It is a Summit racing TPI cam. supposed to be smog legal.
Heads were all taken apart and valves lapped and valve seals replaced.
New head gaskets,
Comes with corvette pan and timing cover, harmonic balancer.
flat top pistons with 4 valve reliefs.

for $1800 I have a 4 bolt main 350 with a comp cams 268 cam, Firebird TPI heads, 2 piece chrome timing cover,
bored, honed, hot tanked, cam bearings, crank turned .010 under, On my run stand, ready to go, filled with mobil 1.
9.5 compression ratio. 64cc heads.

ex-x-fire

I get a kick out those guys who want to part out a vette just because it needs some engine work, the engines in these cars are very reasonble to fix. Check out what it cost to have a Porsche engine rebuilt.

96GS#007

If he wants more than the stock ~205hp and he wants dependability, it's going to cost a couple thousand dollars...and he'll be lucky to be at 250hp. Why put $2k into a car that's only worth $3k after it's done...and still gets passed by a V6 Camry when going up hill?

I'll bet this one needs paint, an interior, and suspension work as well. Should he drop another $10k into the car since it's cheaper and easier than a P-car?

Cars are disposable. Unless there is an emotional attachment, when they reach the end of their useful life, you dispose of them....aka junk them or part them.

3D87C4

Where are you located? My '87 engine is still available.

jiglesias93

Orlando fl

And yes it needs body work and interior work. The suspension is find

3D87C4

Bummer, too far...

mtwoolford

if your going to swap out a pre 86 engine you probably have a crankshaft designed for a two piece rear main seal ; if you install an 86 or later you will have to also use a flywheel or flex plate for a one piece rear seal crankshaft.

wilcar

Any Chevy small block from 53??? First small block came out in the fall of 54 in the 55 models! Not too many 265, 283, or 327's laying around in the yards these days(why would one use them anyway) and the 350's are everywhere. 350 260 HP engines are around $1600. Just throw a mild cam in it and make close to 300 HP if you use a carb. Not sure why everyone thinks that the 84's are not worth fixing up, later model C4's are a dime a dozen these days too. 84's are simple and do not have a lot of problem laden electronics that the later models do.

93 ragtop

Actually it ends where the Lt series starts. (corvettes at least) The motor mounts are different, balance is different, intake, etc.

But what is wrong with your motor?

96GS#007

Good grief. The point was being made the he's not limited to a narrow band of engines like those of us with an LT1 or LT4 (or LT5 for that matter) that was an engine series that was only around for ~5 years. The OP has ~45 years of used parts/engines to choose from (although the 1 piece RMS engine will require some work as a couple of us have pointed out).

His budget is $1000. So explain how the $1600 engine + cam swap cost fits into this budget?

Regarding why not fix up...The view isn't limited to the '84s. Unless it's a toy (aka a money pit), there's an emotional attachment, or money for a newer car isn't available, disposal is the best financial choice. If the car is as described...doesn't run, needs paint, needs an interior...what next? $4k for paint? $3k for the interior? Then (with the engine) he has $8k + the purchase price in a car worth $5k, when he could have bought something that needs no work and was likely well maintained.

War Vet

To the OP, where I work as a retail parts pro I can get a wide variety of used engines for fairly cheap. The last sbc I sold "350" was about 495 dollars. PM me if you would like me to try and score one for you.