Hi all,
My 1986 Convertible was at one point a barn find. We picked it up for next to nothing and about all it had was a (barely) running engine. The interior was destroyed, the suspension and brakes were virtually nonexistent, and it was missing part of it's exhaust. Cosmetically it was missing a left headlight, it needed a front bumper and was chipping paint all over the place. Long story short, the car has been in my family for quite some time now. It started off as a project between my father and I, and now that I am "of age" to work on it myself, I have been slowly but surely restoring it on a very modest budget. Many people told me it would have been smarter if I sold the car off and bought one in better condition for less money than it would cost to restore mine, but I loved her too much to let her go.
My restoration has come a long way over this winter.
I've dumped quite a bit of my money and time into my car, and it is near complete. The interior is almost entirely new, with nice new door panels, seats, carpets and I even tracked down the little Indy 500 badge that goes next to my heater controls.
The exterior has new emblems, fresh paint, a new top, a new bumper and mask, and lights that flip up and down like factory new.
The car also has fresh suspension and brake parts to top it off.
That leads me to the point of this blog post.
The one thing the car needs, however, is an engine.
The L98 that is in my car has seen much better days. It burns oil, suffers from vapor lock and is just not what it once was.
After having several tests performed on the car and adding a new distributor, alternator, fan and other parts, it is apparent that the motor is simply at the end of its life.
I decided that instead of yanking it and rebuilding it over the course of a few months, I would like to keep driving it.
With that said, I plan on buying another small block, preferably an L98 out of a 'Vette, trans-am or camaro and rebuilding it. I would like to build it with a little bit more performance than stock, but all on a pretty cost-effective budget.
I am a young kid, and this will be the first multiple piston engine I've ever built. So I'm turning to you guys, the Corvette faithful, to help me out here.
What would you recommend in an L98 that will perform well, but not kill my pocket?
I'm looking to spend no more than $2k.
Also, will I need ECM tuning and will my 700R be able to handle the new motor?
Thanks!

 

Have the stock engine rebuild with a Comp 08-501-8 or equal in flat tappet. just getting an engine rebuilt for this will be a challenge. A slight cam increase based on what compliments the under 4000 RPM power of the TPI would be a great start for a street driven vehicle.

 

where are you located?

 

Luckily under all that TPI stuff is still just a 2 bolt Gen 1 Chevy 350. If you keep your eyes peeled on Craigs List you may luck up and find what you need cheap enough. It will be tough rebuilding yours for $2K especially if you start boring it out and then comes new pistons. Of course you will get bitten with the "While I am in there" syndrome so its new cam, heads, or maybe a stoker.

Assembly isnt too bad. Just make sure you have all the tools and tech spec's. A Factory Service Manual will have a ton of info you will need. Check out plenty of YouTube vids and assembly literature. We are all here to help as well if you get hung up on anything.

Another thought. Assuming you are still in school, does yours have an automotive class? I had a bunch of work done to one of my vehicles by a Vo-Tech college and saved a bunch of money because they had all the machine shop stuff on site. Just an idea if its available to you.

Anyway, congrats on what you are doing. The '86 Pacer is one of those cars that needs to be saved. Not exactly rare or worth a bunch more money but one of the cool C4s. Keep up the good work, you will be very happy when its done!

Welcome to the forum and the madness that is our world!

 

What makes an L98 an L98 is basically just the T.P.I. Below that is basically just a regular SBC. Are the bolts that hold down your valve covers run down the center/top, or are there 4 around the outer rim? I think in 86, part way through the year GM switch from cast iron "624" heads to aluminum ones.

I know it wouldn't be as much fun as assembling a new engine from a bare block up, but it's hard to beat the GM long block from Jegs or Summit for around $1500. There's a couple recent threads where members have installed them. It comes with a pretty mild cam in it, but you could swap it out for a little hotter one and still use your TPI unit.

 

It is a convertible so it has aluminum heads. That's good!
Give Jason a call at www.vette2vette.com and he should be able to fix you up with a good engine or even a good short block.
Your post does not say where you live so shipping might get expensive if you are not near his area (central IL).
Some time in the 90s I pulled a C3 engine, bored it out and added hi-po goodies to it. It actually cost me more than if I had purchased a stout crate motor. Sure was fun doing it though.
I like the idea of using the local tech center in your school district. The kids will love working on a Corvette and the instructors will make sure they do it right.
Good luck and keep us posted

 

Here is some good info from Forum member Vader86 on the L98.
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/vader86/

 

Post some pics of your project so we can track your progress.

 

Way to save one congrads.

 

Congrats on your restoration so far, the below link is a rebuild I did on my 87 L98 with part numbers and costs. I did beef up my rebuild and port my intake, plenum, and went with Large Tube runners, if you keep your stock top end, you should be able to do something similar for the budget you quoted.


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...and-costs.html

Best of Luck....'

 

Burns oil? It's far more likely that it's leaking.

Why do you think it suffers from vapor lock? That is not possible on this engine because of the circulating fuel system.

How many miles are on the engine? Small block Chevys can EASILY go 100K miles without any problems at all and there are people on the forum with over 200K miles on their cars. My engine is apart right now and there is absolutely no ridge at the top of the cylinders -- 118K miles.

 

When I bought my 85 many years ago, I got the seller to come down quite a bit on his price due to it appearing to be burning oil. Which it was, but I tightened the intake base to the heads because most of the bolts had worked loose which is a common problem, and the smoking pretty much quit.

 

Thanks everyone for the help,
I apologize for not responding sooner. I am from South Jersey.
My engine has approx 315,xxx on it. I believe it is burning oil due to either bad seals or a leak, but the block appears relatively clean after each run.
I am considering ordering a crate motor like a few of you suggested.
However, if I purchase one and do a cam swap, will it require any computer tuning? That is my "gray area" so to speak. I can turn a wrench as good as the next guy, but I have not the slightest idea how or where to get my computer tuned.
I will take some pics of my progress and upload them. Here are a few of my car from Corvettes on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ. (White w/Black Top & 1988 Rims)

 

Would something like this be easier?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet+Perf...67353/10002/-1

 

Check out this thread: Engine pulling time!

He put one of those in his 85. I'm sure if you P.M. him, he'd fill you in on how it is going/went.

Only thing, I think you will have a 1 piece rear main seal engine, and the GM crate motor is a 2 piece, so you would need a new flex plate. (not very expensive)

 

MBianco - here's an engine available nearby in South East Pennsylvania in the Parts for Sale section and the asking price is $700.00 obo. The best parts are that it has aluminum heads, it is from a 1990 Corvette so it will drop right in and he has an engine hoist and can load it for you. It has 92k and sounds pretty good. With the money saved you can invest in some parts.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-p...-flywheel.html

 

Thanks so much! I just caught this.
I'll contact him immediately and see if we can work out a deal to bring that baby home.

 

Hey everyone,
I ended up buying that 1990 L98 that was posted as a link on here. It is not complete, as it is missing a few items that I plan on swapping from my engine on to this one.
A few questions - since this new engine is a roller cam, and mine is still flat tap, is there anything I need to convert?
Also, what sort of cam upgrades should I consider?
Thanks!

 

Mr. M, welcome to the club. As an old fart here, it's great to see some new blood ready to get their hands dirty. You are in for an experience that will last a lifetime. Sometime you'll be telling your kids " I had this '86 back in the day…"Ask a lot of questions, and remember SEARCH is your friend. I am in the process of putting together an L98 ( from an '86) into my '78 SA. At 63 yrs old I am still learning a lot. I too am afraid of the tuning, but check out http://www.larryselectricsite.com. Just one tip I've gotten off these forums. I am sure there are a few others. I'll be following your progress, so lets have a lot of details and pix of your engine build.

 

Here is my new 350 before I put her on the stand. She's a dirty girl, I cleaned her up nicely.