Need A Engine Is It Time For Swap?
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Joined: Sep 2017
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From: Edgewood Maryland
Need A Engine Is It Time For Swap?
Hello Corvette Peeps!
Long story short. I have a 95 Corvette with sentimental value perfect body on her & rebuilt trans with less then 3k miles although has extremely bad rod knock.
I will not be doing the work myself since i have a newborn and a job that always has me on the clock it seems when not at home spending time with the baby.
My question is with labor and parts what would you expect to pay for
1 - Rebuild Stock
2 - Rebuild 383
3 - Jasper Engine
4 - Ls Swap
5 - Any other recommendation that would be cost and performance effective.
Also what would your go to recommendation be under my circumstances? Since i know most of you have more experience then myself.
I do not mind spending the money if needed on any of these within reason. My goal is 500hp while being reliable although i will tame down my expectation of horsepower to be MORE RELIABLE since i do not want to breakdown or throw $$$ at this constantly.
Long story short. I have a 95 Corvette with sentimental value perfect body on her & rebuilt trans with less then 3k miles although has extremely bad rod knock.
I will not be doing the work myself since i have a newborn and a job that always has me on the clock it seems when not at home spending time with the baby.
My question is with labor and parts what would you expect to pay for
1 - Rebuild Stock
2 - Rebuild 383
3 - Jasper Engine
4 - Ls Swap
5 - Any other recommendation that would be cost and performance effective.
Also what would your go to recommendation be under my circumstances? Since i know most of you have more experience then myself.
I do not mind spending the money if needed on any of these within reason. My goal is 500hp while being reliable although i will tame down my expectation of horsepower to be MORE RELIABLE since i do not want to breakdown or throw $$$ at this constantly.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,876
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From: Sligo PA
Hello Corvette Peeps!
Long story short. I have a 95 Corvette with sentimental value perfect body on her & rebuilt trans with less then 3k miles although has extremely bad rod knock.
I will not be doing the work myself since i have a newborn and a job that always has me on the clock it seems when not at home spending time with the baby.
My question is with labor and parts what would you expect to pay for
1 - Rebuild Stock
2 - Rebuild 383
3 - Jasper Engine
4 - Ls Swap
5 - Any other recommendation that would be cost and performance effective.
Also what would your go to recommendation be under my circumstances? Since i know most of you have more experience then myself.
I do not mind spending the money if needed on any of these within reason. My goal is 500hp while being reliable although i will tame down my expectation of horsepower to be MORE RELIABLE since i do not want to breakdown or throw $$$ at this constantly.
Long story short. I have a 95 Corvette with sentimental value perfect body on her & rebuilt trans with less then 3k miles although has extremely bad rod knock.
I will not be doing the work myself since i have a newborn and a job that always has me on the clock it seems when not at home spending time with the baby.
My question is with labor and parts what would you expect to pay for
1 - Rebuild Stock
2 - Rebuild 383
3 - Jasper Engine
4 - Ls Swap
5 - Any other recommendation that would be cost and performance effective.
Also what would your go to recommendation be under my circumstances? Since i know most of you have more experience then myself.
I do not mind spending the money if needed on any of these within reason. My goal is 500hp while being reliable although i will tame down my expectation of horsepower to be MORE RELIABLE since i do not want to breakdown or throw $$$ at this constantly.
For the money and the power level you can't go wrong with an LS swap. You can take a good running used LS engine, swap a cam, intake and headers and make very good reliable power. Way less expensive than building a 383 and you get more power for the dollar.
I'm sure others will chime in and disagree with me. But if you buy a good used LS and get the parts you need and then sell off the old parts you don't you may come close to breaking even. For example, I pulled two LS engines and a transmission myself from a wreaking yard and sold what I didn't need. I made money LS swapping my car. You can't do that by building a small block.
Last edited by Phobos84; Apr 21, 2024 at 07:14 AM.
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I'm going to have an LQ4 6.0L with a new stand alone wiring harness and a 0411 PCM for sale soon if you're interested. I also have a 2wd 4L80e to go with it but you said you have a new trans. It would make 500 hp with a few parts. The intake that comes on it won't clear your hood so you would need either an LS6 or FAST intake. This is a similar setup to what I have in my 84.
For the money and the power level you can't go wrong with an LS swap. You can take a good running used LS engine, swap a cam, intake and headers and make very good reliable power. Way less expensive than building a 383 and you get more power for the dollar.
I'm sure others will chime in and disagree with me. But if you buy a good used LS and get the parts you need and then sell off the old parts you don't you may come close to breaking even. For example, I pulled two LS engines and a transmission myself from a wreaking yard and sold what I didn't need. I made money LS swapping my car. You can't do that by building a small block.
For the money and the power level you can't go wrong with an LS swap. You can take a good running used LS engine, swap a cam, intake and headers and make very good reliable power. Way less expensive than building a 383 and you get more power for the dollar.
I'm sure others will chime in and disagree with me. But if you buy a good used LS and get the parts you need and then sell off the old parts you don't you may come close to breaking even. For example, I pulled two LS engines and a transmission myself from a wreaking yard and sold what I didn't need. I made money LS swapping my car. You can't do that by building a small block.
Doing an LS in an 84 is a much easier job than doing it in a 90-96 car. You have less electronics to deal with in the 84-89. And the electronics in the later cars are not easy to bypass.
If he is already looking at farming out this work to a shop, I doubt he has the know how (no offense intended) to get started and the bigger issue is having the space to tear down and do a swap.
The reason the price is high, nobody wants to do the work. Working on a 30 year old car has its own problems of plastic breaking, rusted/fused together bolts, parts that have to be sourced rather than bought at a dealership that a normal shop doesn’t want to get involved with.
@chagger32 I would take serious consideration at talking to Chad over at Golen. You can have a 383 long block done for around 7k and you would actually get something out of it. No need to go big on a cam, make it still drivable at parking lot speeds. He might be able to point you to a local shop to help with install as well.
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Joined: Sep 2017
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From: Edgewood Maryland
I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say bad idea.
Doing an LS in an 84 is a much easier job than doing it in a 90-96 car. You have less electronics to deal with in the 84-89. And the electronics in the later cars are not easy to bypass.
If he is already looking at farming out this work to a shop, I doubt he has the know how (no offense intended) to get started and the bigger issue is having the space to tear down and do a swap.
The reason the price is high, nobody wants to do the work. Working on a 30 year old car has its own problems of plastic breaking, rusted/fused together bolts, parts that have to be sourced rather than bought at a dealership that a normal shop doesn’t want to get involved with.
@chagger32 I would take serious consideration at talking to Chad over at Golen. You can have a 383 long block done for around 7k and you would actually get something out of it. No need to go big on a cam, make it still drivable at parking lot speeds. He might be able to point you to a local shop to help with install as well.
Doing an LS in an 84 is a much easier job than doing it in a 90-96 car. You have less electronics to deal with in the 84-89. And the electronics in the later cars are not easy to bypass.
If he is already looking at farming out this work to a shop, I doubt he has the know how (no offense intended) to get started and the bigger issue is having the space to tear down and do a swap.
The reason the price is high, nobody wants to do the work. Working on a 30 year old car has its own problems of plastic breaking, rusted/fused together bolts, parts that have to be sourced rather than bought at a dealership that a normal shop doesn’t want to get involved with.
@chagger32 I would take serious consideration at talking to Chad over at Golen. You can have a 383 long block done for around 7k and you would actually get something out of it. No need to go big on a cam, make it still drivable at parking lot speeds. He might be able to point you to a local shop to help with install as well.
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 810
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From: Alva Florida
I agree that in an 84 ~ yes. a 1995 ~ no. Much more complicated. Make a list. Exhaust, a/c , all the sensors, power steering lines, computer controls ect. It would never again be a "perfect" car.
I would just get a long block from jegs or summit, and swap it out. have the heads cleaned up at a local machine shop and call it a day. With young kids and a busy job, you don't need all the headaches involved.
That is of course, my opinion. I love LSX engines, but unless this is a toy that can sit for a long time, you will get in the deep end pretty quick.
I would just get a long block from jegs or summit, and swap it out. have the heads cleaned up at a local machine shop and call it a day. With young kids and a busy job, you don't need all the headaches involved.
That is of course, my opinion. I love LSX engines, but unless this is a toy that can sit for a long time, you will get in the deep end pretty quick.
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Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
From: Edgewood Maryland
I agree that in an 84 ~ yes. a 1995 ~ no. Much more complicated. Make a list. Exhaust, a/c , all the sensors, power steering lines, computer controls ect. It would never again be a "perfect" car.
I would just get a long block from jegs or summit, and swap it out. have the heads cleaned up at a local machine shop and call it a day. With young kids and a busy job, you don't need all the headaches involved.
That is of course, my opinion. I love LSX engines, but unless this is a toy that can sit for a long time, you will get in the deep end pretty quick.
I would just get a long block from jegs or summit, and swap it out. have the heads cleaned up at a local machine shop and call it a day. With young kids and a busy job, you don't need all the headaches involved.
That is of course, my opinion. I love LSX engines, but unless this is a toy that can sit for a long time, you will get in the deep end pretty quick.
Thank you for you're advice. Unfortunately jeggs and summit is backlogged for over a year with people still not receiving the engine even though the site says 2 months. I think this is the way I am going to go just refuse to drop 9k said and done for a stock block with labor.