Watch out for '84 bashers! ( I think they're just jealous!) The '84 has that special feel of involvement that other 'vette's are lacking! (I love that seat and that cockpit!)

I'm quite confident that my '84 can keep up just fine with any stock TPI car. I've been on the track with even later cars, and they can't get away from me in the corners, that's for sure! This thing handles!! (I don't race.)

The key for the '84 (unless you want to spend a bucket of money) is the intake manifold. I have ported and shortened the intake runners, with partial siamesing of the runners. My heads are '993, also ported and cleaned up. 0.040 overbore with flat-top pistons. Stock exhaust manifolds, port matched. My CF Injectors have never been touched. (I need to meet CA smog requirements. The car runs CLEAN!)

 

from a cost effectiveness point of view N2O is going to get you the most power for the least $$$$

 

4.8 or 5.3?

 

Thats not my quote.....


Cost effective??? Where did I say that?

thats kingtals quote

 

sorry...i think what I said sounds a little abrasive ...I am not trying to be

 

Absolutey spot on!

every time I get into a fine automobile....,all my car buddies are quick to point out that I could have had an 84 cross fire !!!! ****......

I forgot I was envious!

 

I love 84 Vettes actually!

Cmon guys....

hoping to pull s dizwiz on your asses!

GO BLUES!!!!!

 

I thought you got a step by step guide in post #12?

Help us help you. Goals and budget.

 

The WIZARD knows of what he speaks! The whole vid is good, but note @ 8:20.

 

If you don't want to do an LS swap then.... Carb it, cam it, vortec heads/intake, long tubes, straight through exhaust and enjoy your low to mid 300rwhp.

 

The first issue is the age of the engine block. It will never seal up properly and nobody knows how to properly deal with them.
Even if you spent 10k you would only have a leaky motor for a couple thousand miles (for most people this is about 1-2 years because they know they cant depend on the car and drive it much)
before something catastrophic sets you back to $0 and the machine shop you handed 3k of that 10k to says "not our fault its been 2 years" even though you only put 1200 miles on it.
And the other 7k in parts is trashed from an oil related failure.

Ask me how I know all this

Anyways. My recommendation to go with an LS style engine wasn't necessarily to make more power. Some of the LS variants handle 1000rwhp but I digress-
The main reason to using a 02-04 LS engine is that you can actually drive the car. Even if you just put the stock LS engine with a cam/spring upgrade, it would still provide
1. reliable transportation (tight piston-wall, tight bearings, super thin oils, this motor will last almost forever as long as you DON'T open it up and NEVER let a machine shop touch it)
2. no oil leaks (updated seals, reduced blow-by, superior metallurgy)
3. affordable parts (same or lower cost than the 84' parts) including computer hardware/wiring ($35 harness and $50 computers are typical)
4. Just the right year range for technology:
A. its "old" enough to be simple: the wiring, tuning software, injection platform, are all "basic" and easy to deal with (no special rules or tools)
B. its still "new" superior to anything produced before 2001: "Sequential EFI, injector phasing, coil on plug, transmission control, torque management, advanced head and piston design, advanced seals. You get everything the new engines have (2015~) without all the accompanying electronics headaches and fuel system BS (direct injection) they have to deal with.

And then on top of that you can have the power too if you want. Turbo 5.3L I see 600-800rwhp even 1000rwhp from an L33 is typical
Fastest LS world record with a stock bottom end is a 04' L33 going 7 seconds iirc

 

It's a SBC 350. Intake, heads, cam, headers, MSD 6al ignition. After that you will need more cubic inches. You mentioned chip, possibly you can convert it to a 4 barrel holley carb.

 

I'm asking. I'd REALLY like to hear your explanation for this one. You DO realize how many thousands of people successfully reman old engines....don't you? And with out leaks?

 

Don't waste money on an MSD ignition. No power there.

You can get the same or more power with a ported stock intake as you can with a basic dual plane and a "holley 4 bbl"

It sucks watching people who've never had a CFI car, give "advice".

 

If you like the 1984 Corvette then keep it and enjoy it for all it is.

You don't have to do anything to it and it will always be a "Corvette". It is the first year of it's kind and a very cool innovative car at that. I will always remember the hype when they first released the gorgeous new look with the clam shell hood.

Power is nice but there will always be somebody out there with a faster car, there are few cars that can do what your 1984 C4 can do in it's stock form. That car is a beautiful example of a Corvette and I would be proud to own one.

My first Corvette was /is a 1968 C3 made in October of 1967. I fell in love at first sight and I bought it right out of a Barn in Irvington, Virginia. Sure it is a 1968 and when I bought it I soon learned that the (True Corvette") Enthusiast's all hated or really disliked the 1968 Corvette. I took it to Corvettes@Carlisle and there was little excitement around a good looking 1968 Corvette with a Big Block. This is where I found out that out of all the years of Corvettes that this was the one that you did not want in your collection. I liked the car and it "fits me" perfectly well, I love the car and I still own it despite multiple offers to buy it after people witnessed what it was capable of. To heck with those who don't like my 1968 Corvette. Like your C4 it was the first of it design and it had of issues with some of the systems. The body gaps were made wider for the 1968 model year Corvette as they were perfecting the body assembly.

As our family grew we bought a second Corvette, this time a 1988 C4 coupe with the automatic. The C4 is a great Corvette, I love the hood and even the dashboard. I like cruising in my C4 and getting 30 mpg out of a car that performs quite well. The handling is superb if it is set up properly and you have good tires. The C4 is a great example of the Corvette and I am proud to own one.

It is YOUR Corvette, do with it as you please. I have saved EVERYTHING that I removed from both of my Corvettes so that they could be restored if they wanted to. These 2 Corvettes are mine right now but 100 years from now where will they be? On the road I hope burning dinosaur juice on some highway here in this great country! I see them as only mine for a period of time and somebody else will be driving it later on. Yes I could sell my C3 and buy a new C7, I don't want to see the C3 leave me as I LIKE the car and I still enjoy driving it. It still has the working Fiber Optics and the factory Transistorized ignition and the great "Astro-Ventilation" that works great when you have the window down with a top on the car. The 1968 Corvette was loaded with new technology and the new radical body style. It is the "Rodney Dangerfield" of the Corvette World, "It gets No respect".


I hope you enjoy your Corvette!
Best Regards,
Chris

P.S. My 52 year old 427 engine blockdoes not leak ANY oil. My 31 year old L98 does not leak any oil either. Why would someone assume that all old engines leak oil? Faulty assumption for sure....

 

 

First, all engines leak oil. Actually their gaskets gradually seep. It is an unpreventable, eventual occurrence. Every new car will needs its valve cover gasket changed at 80k to 150k, most models. etc...

To say that "my engine doesn't leak" is impossible. Since all gaskets gradually seep and will weep. Old engines, new engines...
So what we really need to look at, is the rate of oil leakage. How long until a drip is forming and from where.

-The time it takes to present with an oil leak is 3 to 6 times slower in LS variants because of the seal design.

it doesn't matter what kind of gasket you use for sbc, nothing can rival the style of seals for updated LS engines.

One reason sbc owners rarely notice/care is because they rarely drive the car, mileage is minimal. "I Just rebuilt the engine and it has 800 miles, and it doesn't leak oil" Well sure. But try again after 10 years 100,000 miles and lets see if rear main isn't done well before that. Even LS engines have rear main material hardening typical after 15 years. The difference will be somewhere between the two, LS engine will go farther and tolerate more abuse before the main starts to leak.
Another aspect of sbc oil leakage is the engines that are designed before 1998 have poor girdle/pan construction. It wasn't until the LS style engine that the oil pan and main hardware added reinforcement to the engine, and the main girdle system became a relevant part of seal stability at the front and rear of the V8 engine. Advances in technology also allowed for tighter clearances and superior balancing of factory rotating assembly, which further reduces the flexure of crankshaft at relevant rpm ranges, which of course enhanced seal longevity.
Finally the pcv systems of LS style engines are also relevant to oil seal maintenance and long life. Superior crankcase ventilation and superior seals work together to form an oil control system. Reduced pressure in the crankcase means less seal seepage over time, for it is crankcase pressure which typically pushes outwards on oil seals and creates oil leaks faster. The superior PCV of LS engines allows the seals to last longer because it maintains a more negative pressure when OEM equipment is used (or simulated, ask me how) more relevant to the application (daily drivers, reliable cars).

 

Having had both... late model L31 350 and and 03 and 07 6.0l... they all leak about the same. They all needed intake gaskets at the same mileage and the 350 needed a rebuild at 208k while the 6.0s have 270k and 230k respectively. That being said the 350 towed more than the other two ever did and got the everloving **** beaten out of it. The cause of death was a bent valve cracking the top of the piston. It wasn't through and I probably could have bent the valve straight and got another 30k out of it. My guess is not having an oil change for 60k miles is probably what did it in. It was faster than the two 6.0 trucks by a country mile even with 7-1/3 cylinders. Now it's got a hot 383 I built in it and you can feel the thing coming from a mile away.

My real world experience is that while it sounds better on paper, the vehicle sized oil spots in my driveway would beg to differ. The 07 leaks powersteering fluid and nothing else. The 03 leaked oil from 70k miles on. The 00 started around 181k. Once they got the vortec and 1 piece setup figured out, they really didn't leak much at all.

 

1. none of those engines are pre-87, 2-piece rear main which was the main focus. Sorry if I was unclear
2. leaks vary with maintenance quality and as use varies. Regardless of which engine leaks 'faster' the maintenance is easier and typically reduced for newer engines.

I agree the 1-piece rear seal design was a step in the right direction. But saying lets stop there and that there is no significant comparison between that and the 02+ engines without a sizable sample population (say, 10,000 engines with mileage statistically viable) there is no way to tell if you got the long end of the statistical distribution.

 

Also fair. The company bought a 16 with the 6.0 and that leaked the day it was brought home. The oil cooler hookup was cast... er... effed up we'll say. I think they fixed it finally. No one in the family has kept one long enough for me to make that conclusion.... 4 year lease for everyone but us sadly. If I were to wager a guess, it's more the materials drying out than anything. Most of it was the valve covers. The rear main drips some. Both have had the same maintenance schedule otherwise. The leaky 03 actually feels like it makes more power then the lowermileage 07...

Long story short.. nothing lasts forever.