sb66

hey everyone

I am trying to look ahead a little for my 85 which is currently stock. I wanted to try to maybe wake it up a little without getting too intrusive (at least at the start). to lay the basics - it is and most likely will be a street car - before I am dead I would like to take it on a track but get the kids out of college first. So my driving at wot does not happen much. it is a 4+3 - if that matters.

I guess the thing that brought this on a little more quickly was that the intake appears to be weeping in front and in back - it is by 2 bolts and not very much - but will need addressed. I have looked at a post of someone doing this and it appears as though a lot of stuff is coming off. I also think that a valve seal or 2 or all of them may not be doing their job - when I changed plugs earlier they looked a little sloppy. So I will probably be in there as well.

So I thought there may be a couple of sensible modifications I could do that will not break the bank and help the car along the way. ie - fuel pressure reg. new injectors, bypass tb, remove emissions(sorry ecologically minded), remove a frisbee, porting(?) if I find extra money headers and exhaust (also I guess that means a new smaller starter) . . . .I am sure there is a smart approach

That is why I am looking to the masters of the c4 and hoping you can point me in the right direction.(?). Any sensible sequence of modifications or changes to the base would be greatly appreciated.

thanks very much

Sean

billschroeder5842

Here is my two cents in order of bang for the buck on a L98. Other opinions will have as much weight as mine, so decide carefully.

1. remove the "frisbee". No cost on that one. Small (small) pick up)
2. Modify your air filter box. A dremel and 30 minutes and again no cost. (Mostly an imagined pick up, but may help with future mods)
3.Tune up. Nothing better than a fresh set of plugs, check the fuel pressure and adjust the timing to 10 degrees.
4. Exhaust mods. Start by cutting out the pre cats and swapping the factory for a "hi perf" cat. Leave the stock mufflers. You WILL feel this one. Best money spent IMHO.
5. Rear end gear. Find a 3.42 and you will have fun.

As you mentioned budget and tuition, things like heads, intakes, cam, headers...etc will all make a difference but get you into bigger bucks and requiring some tuning as your ECM is now trying to read specs it was not designed for.

Good luck

sb66

thanks
the timing can be advanced that much? wow - since the intake will be out should anything be done to that? the thermostat or that bypass with the tb? I read some of those were inexpensive and might be helpful?
I wish I knew more about the budget - at this time - I am waiting to see what school he picks which will have a big impact.
thanks

Bfenty

You could do a fuel pressure regulator and new injectors-depending on how old the injectors you have are, they could probably stand to be replaced. Call Jon at fuelinjectorconnection.com, he does good work and is used be just about everyone on this forum.

Deleting the emissions system, from what I understand, does not do much in terms of horsepower, but it DOES clean up the engine bay. That's really useful if you're going to be in there doing much work, as it's a lot easier to take things off/put them on. Also, it takes out a few potential failure points. I've had two cars identical to yours, one with and one without the emissions, and I noticed no difference between them in terms of horsepower. If I were you, I'd still delete the system-but know you're doing it to clean up your bay and not for performance.

sb66

understood - it does get in the way

playsdixie

all good advice for you so far.....my timing, like a lot of others here is set to 8 degrees...the 85 has iron heads....get a pair of aluminum heads with roller rockers....remove the smog crap including the air pump....open up the air as suggested and install set of headers to blow all that extra air out....that'll wake up your engine....you can get better fuel injectors at Jon at Fic , but you'll need a adjustable fuel pressure regulator to bump up the pressure.....with those mods, you probably could up your TB size.....lots of help for what you are going to do here....good luck...

sb66

I am not sure how much of that will fit into what I am anticipating as a meager budget getting started -

The headers were on my radar if I can find a little extra $ in time, but won't I also have to do the whole system and a starter as well?

sb66

since I will have the intake off is there any work that should/could be done to it before putting it back together?

sb66

what (pardon my stupidity) will the different gearing do - ?

Bfenty

sb66

sounds good thanks!

Bfenty

Salvor6

Here are the few low-cost mods I did to really wake up my L-98. First get a new distributor cap and rotor. Put the MSD Blaster coil in there. The stock coil is 40,000 volts. The MSD coil is 50,000 volts. That's a whopping 25% increase! Get the MSD control module to go with it. It works at a higher amperage rate. MSD says with this coil you can gap the plugs at .070". Get the 9mm silicone plug wires. I couldn't believe the increase in power after doing those few simple things. It is really noticeable. It's also cheap.

Bfenty

Bfenty

cv67

Your stock HEI is plenty
Most your power gains will come from within
Intake porting, heads, cam the usual. Most the external stuff is a waste of money. Guess guys call them "full bolt ons" lol whatever that is. (moving a sensor, sticker, shift ****, air filter, magic spark plugs and wires etc)

If you can DIY port, get used intake runners, headers this doesnt have to cost a fortune.
Talk to a good tuner first tell them what you want to do first. Wongs Performance & a few guys here are good at it.
Set of freshly rebuilt and ported 113s in teh parts section for $800
Reasonable FT cam, 256-262 type is fine

If youre not after a hero time slip you can make a nice increase for not a ton. Ought to knock a solid second off your 1/4 youll feel that.

sb66

how difficult is the intake porting? or is that something better left to a pro? like I had mentioned above, I have to remove the intake and other parts to replace gaskets for an apparent leak by 2 bolts on the intake and it also looks like a may have valve stem seals also - I figured that if there was anything else while everything was apart and was on the budget minded side of things I wanted to check with those who know.
I know my progress will be slow and hopefully methodical - without much $ I want to be as smart as I can and hopefully not make too many mistakes along the way.

I understand more so now that the '85 has its shortcomings - much like every car has improvements that could be made - so I try to keep my expectations realistic and reasonable - I can only do small bites at a time.

I really appreciate all of the feedback and that everyone is willing to offer constructive advice - it is why I like the board so much

just happy to have a vette

Sean

Bfenty

sb66

thanks - do you know how difficult it is to port the intake? is that a diy or send it in type of job?

thanks

Sean

sb66

this will most likely be very incremental - I had aspirations of doing a few mild things but as with everyone - things pop up so that is why I wanted to try the plan ahead so I can get an idea of sequencing the process a bit. The smaller diy things I want to try -make sure compression is good, fix any leaky seals, tune up, fuel pressure, etc. that why I turned to the pros - you guys.
things like heads, headers, true dual exhaust, brakes, suspension will hopefully come in time - the what and when - cart before the horse type of things - I do not know enough about - I do not want to put something on only to have to change it 6 months later if I can help it

I wish the 15 minute post did not get eaten I would have liked to read what your thoughts were -

again thanks I really appreciate the feedback with all of this