I have a 88' stock vette. Everything on the car is stock. I changed tires and rims out (which I kept) I am looking to upgrade it a bit to get some more acceleration and some performance out of it.

I am not really looking to go all out. But to be able to do some upgrades so I can open it up every now and then. I have had a few people tell me I should swap the 350 in it out and go with a 440. Is this possible?

I'm look to see what for the money is more efficient way to go about it redo the 350 in it or swap it out with another engine and get more for less. I will being doing tanny when I do the engine as well.

Should I keep the stock engine and rebuild it and bore it out? The stock engine has 70k miles on it.

My budget for this car I would say is 5k for engine tranny and sooner or later I would like to get a paint job on it. If I am not mistaking I believe stock this car can go 0-60 in 6 sec. Can I improve this to be able to do 0-6] in 4 seconds? Or is it just not worth it?

Can is add a turbo as well?

This car has the 35 anniversary package on it. Does anyone know where I can find some original parts for it? I have the white leather seats which I would like to restore and change the bottoms on the seats they don't work for the lumber.

Is it wise to keep it as stock as possible will it be worth money in the future?

I appreciate all your help in helping me with my vette thank you.

 

Turbocharging the mostly stock engine is going to be the best bang for the buck.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Congrats on your 88- that is a great year and the 35th Anniversary is a great look. First thing is to figure out your goals and budget for what you want.

You are a bit all over the place; "engine swaps, engine rebuild, transmission swaps, turbo chargers, future paint jobs..." You mentioned that your budge it 5k? Is that 5K today or over a period of years? A paint job will eat every bit of 5k with no performance upgrades.

Now, if you want something pretty easy, inexpensive that will give you a great "bang for the buck" consider some exhaust work. I suggest that you cut out your "pre cats" and swap your OEM Cat with a new, hi perf model and leave your stock mufflers. You will hear a big difference and feel the increased power immediately. This should be about $300 and will get you started.

 

First I would like to say Thank you very much!! I am happy to own one.

The 5k is only for tranny and engine work. It will be over time. Which does not include the paint job. I know just the paint job will cost a lot of money. I will be doing the paint job after all is said under the hood. I have been thinking to start with the headers and exhaust. Instead of 1 pipe I wanna do 2 and are going to do the hi-perf cats.

I mentioned about the engine swap and all because I don't know what would give more in the long run. If I keep the stock engine bore it out when overhauling it with better cam and do the tranny i am looking at about 6k but I don't believe performance wise (horse power and torque) I will get a lot out of it.


Do you also know anywhere I might be able to get parts? I need sit controls and I don't know where to get them. Thanks again

 

Boring the engine is poor $/HP. You're looking at a mild % increase in displacement and power for a lot of money and labor.

One big thing is to not buy anything you might just upgrade later. If you do ever plan to go the turbo route, a dual exhaust with high flow cats might be a poor investment now.

 

JoeNova is right. So is BillS. You need a cohesive plan.

70k is very low mile, in my book. Unless it's been poorly cared for, I'd either do a "top end" on that thing or a turbo and run the wee out of it.

 

The dual exhaust wouldn't be good if I put a turbo on it? Maybe I ask why this would be?

 

I am just not sure where to start lol I don't want to throw away money but trying to make the most out of the money I will be putting in to it.

 

If you do a full dual exhaust all of the way up to the manifolds, tying into both of those with a single turbo is going to be a headache, and you'd be better off with a single that splits into dual tips at the rear.

Also if you go turbo, you can run completely stock head and not need to ever upgrade them. You could even do stock cam with higher ratio rockers and better springs.

The route you take could determine all of your parts selections, so it's best to choose first.

 

That makes a lot of sense now I really appreciate your in depth explaining. So all I really have to do is change the cat out for a hi-perf cat and put a turbo on it. It already splits . Thank you once again. I believe that is the route I will go!!

 

You didn’t really describe your capabilities and experience at swaps and rebuilds. If you are highly capable with a garage or shop to do the pull and install, engine swaps can be no big deal. The market is flooded with all kinds of half-arsed and unfinished project cars that go for pennies on the dollar. If your goal is to really just to drive and enjoy it, the relatively quick in-and-out suggestions thrown out are a better route and particularly for a low mileage running and driving Vette.

 

My opinion is a turbo is all custom built and if you don't have the skills to do all the work it will be too expensive to pay someone to build it. For an easier power adder look at a blower kit from blower works or procharger. The kit is already designed and will bolt in and achieve your goals.

 

If there was a dual exhaust could you do twin turbo? What are your thoughts

 

I have torn engines down before I just haven't had experience on the performance side of it. This isn't a area I want to mess up. It's one thing to tear a engine apart and change out a head gasket or a piston. It's another thing when your talking performance

 

As far as breaking it down and putting it back together it is no different stock or performance. The difference comes with how carefully you check everything... as in measure everything 3x and and read up on properly gaping things and tolerances. The time is the big change. It is at the end of the day still just an engine. My best advice is to search for projects similar to what your goals are, read them. Read about every aspect of assembly, research individual components and how they reacted with different builds and then lay out a combination based on what worked and why. That could be these heads with that intake and this cam. It doesn't have to be exactly what was done but use it as a guide and don't stray away too far. There are also plenty of builders I'm sure you could pick their brains on and see what they think as far as combinations.

Too long version, figure out what you want to do, ask tons of questions.

 

Can you weld?

 

Yes I can. I am not the best but I can weld. And have one

 

I too have a 1988 C4 and have had it for about 22 years or so. They are fun cars but the 1988's are a very unique car even in the C4 world.
The ABS system is a one-year only system with lines that are unique to the 1988 C4. I have the same basic car minus the 35th anniversary stuff. With the L98 breathing freely through a aftermarket Cat back system and an aftermarket catalytic converter I get over 30 mpg on the highways.

On my C4 I replaced the catalytic and put on a set of Allen's Stainless Exhaust "Chambered Pipes" and the engine sounds great and very beefy. The net gain of the new catalytic and the Cat back exhaust system was less than 14 HP according to my GTECH Pro. I also have a set of Allen's Chambered exhaust on my C3 attached directly to the headers. I love the sound, it is louder than normal out behind the Corvette but not inside the Corvette. On the C4 I have no drone either which is common with a lot of aftermarket exhaust systems.

If you are on a limited budget then I would find a nice C5 or C6 which has more potential for making horsepower. The C4 is a beautiful Corvette and I love mine, it is smooth, reliable and fun to drive. Making HP on the L98 is not an easy thing to do as the primary limitation is the long runners for building torque. Your intake and fuel injection system are close to maxed out height wise with the C4's hood. There have been people who have put a turbo or supercharger on these engines and made more HP but likely spent more than the Corvette is worth.

I do understand your desire for speed and more HP, this is why I have a 1968 C3 with a 427 and 4 speed. Anytime I want to scare the poop out of myself I simply drive the C3 as it is more than capable of scaring me to death. On my C3 I wanted more power so I built a L88 engine but using cast iron heads. The compression is the killer and I went a bit overboard designing what I built. The stock L98 was designed for 87 octane fuel. My C3 wants 106 octane (after Hot) and that is an expensive limiter for using it. I hate to say it but my 427 is too much for normal day to day driving.

Now I have a car that can't be driven on wet roads or taken out if there is even a chance of rain. They don't make performance tires in the 15" standard size that get good traction. At a Quarter mile drag strip I would not stop spinning until I hit the 1/8th mile mark. I even warmed up the tires real well before hand but was unable to get traction. When I do actually get traction then things start to break as they were not designed for that much power.

Enjoy your Corvette and use it regularly, that is what they were made for. I went overboard and now that limits how often I can use the C3 Corvette. The L98 C4 was designed to run a 250-300 hp engine that gets good performance while getting decent fuel economy. The C4 Corvette is the best for working on the engine out of all my vehicles. I like the clam-shell hood and the interior design so I put a good stereo in it with new speakers and the systems sounds awesome.

The best thing to do when you have a new-to-you Corvette is to drive the Corvette and get to "know" the Corvette. I spent more than a year debugging my C4 after purchasing it. Once you know the car you will know what needs help to keep it safe and enjoyable!

Best regards,
Chris
If you are looking to fix your Seats there is a Guy named Al Knock who has a business in Texas making new seat covers and convertible tops as well as numerous other Corvette parts. He is on the web and they do incredible work!

 

Well I agree, your post is kinda all over the place. I need to know if theres an end goal other than a 4.x 0-60 time and what you can do yourself.

An 88 35th anniversary edition will probably never be worth a whole lot, they made too many. I'd go to the regular corvette suppliers like Ecklers/MidAmerica/CorvetteAmerica/etc. for the specific stuff for the lumbar controls and seat refurbishment. I did try a local shop once for the seats and wasn't really happy, so you'd have to find someone who can do it local, or just buy all the foam and leather yourself and take it to them.

At 70K, its reasonably low mileage, so I'd at least think about taking that motor out and saving it. Otherwise, I'd bore to a 383 or 396, a set of AFR 195 heads, and then a series of choices must be made for the intake and cam that will affect the choices you make for the transmission and rear axle, but are themselves affected by whether you go with FI. Choices must also be made for the pistons and the Compression ratio you want to run, that won't be the same for the two routes.

I don't go for forced induction myself, but it is doable. I would not pay someone to put a turbo or TT on it and redo that exhaust though. If you cannot do it all yourself, don't bother there. A S/C is a little easier and you can keep the TPI intake system if you choose.

But cannot recommend the same parts for an NA vs FI build, so that choice must be made. NA build would warrant a new intake system like Miniram, HSR, or a used Superram. Camshaft choice can work for either FI or NA, but I would pick a cam set up for one or the other. I think your entire 5K budget will go to the engine either way and may need to be increased.

Transmission I assume is a 700r4? So that will need rebuilding to handle the torque, and a higher stall TC than what came in 88, which was a dinky 15-1600rpm. You'll want 2000-2200 minimum for a street car, I run 2400, and any higher will not feel right just tooling around. If you're going to race it, then higher may be warranted.

And at these power levels, if you race, you will destroy the D36 axle. So that must be changed to a D44 with 3.07s for a torque monster and you can go lower for a high RPM winder.