mattbhm

Hey guys, I have a question about an L89 I found on CL.

Before I start, the only reason I'd buy is if it's a great deal, I don't exactly have the money if it's not.

I found an L83 on CL out of a 1984 Corvette, it has 117xxx miles according to the odometer. Supposedly it runs amazingly, compression is very high, oil pressure is at 45 psi at warm idle(???) and he's fairly sure it was rebuilt in those 117k miles but won't guarantee it. It's going to be out of the car, but able to be started and heard to make sure it's running good to us.

It was converted from CFI to Carb. It doesn't come with a carb, just an intake. The intake is an Edelbrock Street Master from the 70-80s?

He's asking $450.



As for what I want in my car, a carb. I'm pretty set on a carb. It's going to be a "total" resto-mod, on a college budget. So even if I really wanted an LS, it's out of the picture. I'd like in the end for it to be a fun weekend warrior. I'd love to be able to "beat" the newer 4/6 cyl Camaros and Mustangs(Without going over the speed limit of course )



Thanks!

8t2 z-chev

I think you mean "L83"if it is an original '84 vette engine-I have had one in my car since '94:these have TRW forged flattop pistons for 9:1 C/R with stock 76 cc '624 heads and a windage tray.The '624 heads ,introduced in 1979,use 1.94/1.50 valves and respond well to a mild porting job but are known to be prone to cracks and warping. The '84 vette oil pan's sump is longer and shallower than standard SBC,but a standard pan fits with minor mods to clear the windage tray bolts and standard oil pickup must be used.Some L83s came with an oil cooler similar to that used on later TPI engines.

mattbhm

I'm tired. I mean L83.

Thanks for the info!

8t2 z-chev

could be a very good engine-if it still has the '624s or similar 76 cc smogger heads,people will recommend swapping those for more performance orientated heads

DonW

I would pass on it. Reason being; to a salvage yard, a 350 from a 80's to early 90's sbc generally cost about the same. About what you would be paying for this one you have your eye on. Better deals for better engines are out there for sure. Look for a good L98 from say 1987-1991 with aluminum heads. This is the last of the classic small block chevy engines before the introduction of LT1 engines. Just my

DonW

I should also mention that your STILL not going to outrun even the 4cyl Camaros made today. GM is squeezing 275 HP out of a 4cyl these days. The Corvette of the 1990's (without getting into Callaways and ZR1) were only punching out 250hp. Its where the peak numbers are made that still makes the L98 favorable to allot of guys. Its all torque down low, and yes you can launch faster than a new 4 or 6 cyl, but keep your eye on the rear view mirror cos he's comin for ya...lol All in all the L98's are FUN. I found a complete set-up from a local salvage yard. it came with a low mileage engine complete with wiring harness, transmission still attached, and the computer to run it for $1300 and it came with a 90 day warranty as most will from a salvage yard. You can get just the engine without an intake (so you can go carb) for around 4-500 bucks. I will be putting a carb on mine too.

mattbhm

Alrighty here I go. On mobile so it may not be great.

From all the research I've done, the aluminum heads on the l98 are almost as in need of a replace as the l83 heads? As for the 4 cyl camaros, whatever I get isn't going to be stock, and I'm guessing that most of the 4 cyls are. After headers, exhaust, cam, carb, heads, I'm guessing it'll be over 275? Could be wrong.

Either way, all I want is to launch faster really. I won't be getting to 100mph on any street anyway.


Thanks for all the info.

Unless I'm not sure what happens, I'll "probably" stay away.

DonW

The reason I say look for the aluminum headed L98 was to help insure it came from a vette. Only the Vettes came with aluminum headed L98's
It really doesnt matter though to be honest. Aluminum or cast iron, the roller set-up in the L98 is just better. For me, I wanted one from a vette to help insure it wasn't dogged out. How many vette owners have you seen out racing in the streets verses Camaro owners? Vettes tend to turn into garage queens IMO. I just stumbled on a low mileage wrecked one fresh in at the salvage yard after about 6 mos of searching for a low mileage one all in tact.
With a stock L98 the heads aren't the restriction. It's the TPI, but you have that checked off on your list with a new intake and going carb. No, they arent the greatest heads but they are the BEST of the BAD 80's-early 90's heads. Next and greatest head creation was the Vortecs. Those are what you want, but wont necessarily need until the stock heads become a restriction. I guess thats all going to depend on what you do to the rest of the motor.

mattbhm

I know it doesn't matter too much, but I'm fairly sure this is out of a corvette as it's still in it as of now. The company selling it is Petris Enterprises, they have a video on their FB of it running. It's always possible it was a swap.

But in the end, what would be cheaper? Buying an L98 for $450(Not sure if that's reasonable) and buying an intake/whatever else it needs to be converted to carb(could just be intake?) or Buying this and getting a set of good 305 heads? Or are they not really any better than stock? If the intake is all you need, then I know that will be cheaper. But I don't think it will be easy to find a low mileage L98 for $450.


Just out of curiosity, I have a mechanical Rochester Quadrajet on my 305 right now, is that one you would put on something like this, or just got 600-750cfm holley?


Thanks for the info!

Camaro86IrocZ

iTrader: (1)

Keep the QJet.. Better carb and cheaper cause you already own it. Might want to read Cliff Ruggels book on it and dial it in for your new app.

Check your local Craigslist, I got my 44k LE9 for $100 bones just to move the car in and out of the garage till I get my Ls swap stuff together..

mattbhm

I was hoping that was the case!

I check CL 5+ times a day(Call it what you will. ) and I haven't seen a deal that looks this good before. Literally everything checks out, and even if I didn't trust his word, he'll check it while I'm there too. Compression, Oil Pressure, Sounds great, idles smooth, everything! Already carbed so I just rebuild mine and throw it on there, new cam, heads, headers, etc!

But I may wait. It all depends on life and it's always possible it's sold already.

DonW

I guess for what all you are planning to do to it it won't really matter if you start with an L98 or that one, cos it ain't gonna be an L98 when your done with it anyways lol. I'm not tech savvy enough without looking up the different compression ratios from the one your looking at compared to an L98 but may want to look at that too. I know the L98 is fairly high for a street eng. As far as carbs go you will get allot of different opinions. Some guys hate the rochesters while others swear by them. I don't really have an opinion or experience with any other carb other than my Holley 600. It runs really well after a proper tune and gets good mileage for a Holley, but I would think it is hard to beat an original well tuned qjet

mattbhm

Unless it's wrong to do that to one?

As for comp, I'm taking their word that it's what it should be. If I was getting it it, I could check it, but they did say it's much better than they think a 117k mile l83 would have.

Camaro86IrocZ

iTrader: (1)

My take on it is this, If your 305 is running well, then I'd stop there and not be to worried about beating a 4 or 6 cylinder newer car. Just drive it, smile and wave as they pass and enjoy it until you have the funds to do it right.. There are plenty of 350's out there, just wait till your funds are available. no reason to finance a $450 motor that may or may not be what you really want... Remember tho you can sell your current motor to recoup some coins after the swap.. but 305's can take longer to sell in some areas.. If your going to spend $$$ get the common upgrades such at headers cat back exhaust ect.. that will swap over. What ever you decide, were not talking about too much coin to make it hurt all that bad..

mattbhm

That's a problem. It like a smoke bomb going off behind the car when started or when pressing the gas, low compression, stalls with any kind of hill(automatic trans too). Part of the stalling is that the brakes are messed up, the rest isn't. Don't think that's not the first thing I thought of. I'm 17, if I could have it running, albeit slow, I would. But I've been looking and after a slight rebuild I'll be getting close to the $450 mark. My friend who gave it to me said it was majorly abused by his brother, and it supposedly has 150-250k+ miles on it. It's been rebuild already once.

ASE doc

[QUOTE=DonW;6034893]I should also mention that your STILL not going to outrun even the 4cyl Camaros made today. GM is squeezing 275 HP out of a 4cyl these days. The Corvette of the 1990's (without getting into Callaways and ZR1) were only punching out 250hp.

What does a new 4 cyl Camaro have to do with building a small block chevy? That's a ridiculous comparison. And BTW, my built TPI 355 runs just about side by side with the LS3 SS Camaro and will eat the 4 cyl or V6 for lunch.

As far as the L83 goes, unless you're restoring a CFI vette, the L83 has no special value. Anything that makes it special can easily be outdone with aftermarket parts. No engine platform has better AM support than the SBC.

As far as heads go, unless you're building a lopo cruiser or getting factory heads super cheap, no factory head is a good choice. Take you pick, Trickflow, AFR, Edelbrock, Brodix, RHS, Word products, Dart, etc. These companies all produce heads in a wide range of price and port sizes that vastly outperform the best factory castings. Yes you have to pay for the power you make, but it's not that hard or even that expensive to get there.

The thing to remember about factory offerings is that they are developed based on many constraints. Budget and federal laws being at the top of the list. These constraints limit the performance potential of any OE product. In the aftermarket, these constraints are replaced with all out competition for the best performing product. That's why any factory product can easily be improved upon by the aftermarket.

The 620hp streetable SBC is easy today, thanks to the aftermarket.

mattbhm

[QUOTE=ASE doc;6034980]Whole 4/6 cyl thing was because I said in the end I'd like to be able to beat them. They always seem to think they're so cool when I'm in the Honda Civic.


That's why I'm asking if it's a great deal. I know generic truck SBC 350s for for less, but really how much less for 100k miles that sounds and runs great?


Thanks!

8t2 z-chev

I'd buy it -will be a big improvement over a tired 305

mattbhm

I believe he sold it.. Sad for me.

But I guess it means more chances to find something better!

When I actually have the cash in hand, where do you guys recommend looking besides CL? Like just junkyards? I have a pull-a-part but I hear most of the time they're not very good.

mattbhm

Something else just came up on CL! It's a complete 350(Missing carb) from who knows what that someone just pulled out of his garage. Supposedly he has no idea what it is, it was just wrapped up in plastic. Asking $150.

Although it's kind of a risk as I could get it and find out that it's very worn or even the block is cracked. Or I could get it and find out it was rebuild right before being put away. They both look like they were freshly painted before being stored.


Beats me.

mattbhm

Wow 3 posts in a row. Sorry.

But I emailed him, he said he'll send some pictures over the weekend and the casting #s.

mattbhm

And they both ended up being 305's.. Snap.

Off to find another.

mattbhm

Alright, so I'm looking at yet another SBC 350.


So I found one on CL, for $800 with a trans. I have a trans already so it would be just the 350 which I'm trying to get a price on.

He says he bought it from someone and that someone said it had only 43k miles never rebuilt(I believe never rebuilt, but 43k miles either way), if it was never rebuilt is there anyway to tell if it has that low of miles?

He said he has no way of proving it. I'd love a SBC with so low miles, but if I spend 500 on it, and it's not running, that'd be sad haha.

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

The best way to check it out would be to pull a head and see if there's a ridge at the top of the bores, and/or if you can see any crosshatching from a hone job. Personally, I won't buy a motor anymore unless I can pull at least one head to inspect it (unless I'm planning on boring it anyways).

mattbhm

Yeah, my father was telling me about how a ridge will form with excessive use/beating of the engine.

But say there's absolutely no ridge, is that an almost sure indicator? I used to think that was something that happened in severely beat/200k+ mile engines.

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

On a motor with 47K, especially if it was fuel injected, there shouldn't be a lip and the cross hatching should still be visible if it was taken care of. I've pulled apart a fuel injected motor where, since it was taken care of (ie, proper oil changes and such), you could still see the crosshatching at 140K miles. I'm sure others have similar stories with even higher mileages.

With carbureted motors it's a little different story though. In large part to fuel wash, among other things.

mattbhm

It was always carbureted.

By "In a large part to fuel wash, among other things" do you mean there may be a lip and no cross hatching at 47k, or that may be no lip and have cross hatching at 200k?


Thanks so far.

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

It's possible that a lip could exist, along with the cross hatching being worn off at 47K. Since it was carbureted, it will boil down to how well tuned the carburetor was and how well the motor was maintained. For instance, if the motor was running rich most of the time, it's possible for the excess fuel to "wash" the oil from the cylinder bores, which in turn creates more friction (wear/heat). This tends to not happen as often with fuel injection. Additionally if the oil was not changed frequently, you would have additional bore wear (not to mention bearing wear, valve train wear, etc).

Long story short, if there's no lip at the top of the bores, and you can still see the crosshatching in the bores, then chances are the motor is in relatively good shape and is probably worth purchasing. If the engine is on a stand or what not and you can pull a rod cap and main cap to check journal\bearing wear, even better.

mattbhm

Thanks much!!!

It's not on a stand, but if he gets back to me on whether or not it has a lip or cross hatching I'll probably risk it and grab it! If he'll let us pull a head when we get there, that's fine, but it's a little ride so I'd rather it if he could before we make the trip. Only like 40-60 mins but in a truck that doesn't have AC I'd rather not take it for no reason!


Thanks again.

mattbhm

Just asked him for casting #s. It's a 305.

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

D'oh!

mattbhm

Guess what!

The guy with the 84 Corvette Engine just got back to me. He said the only reason why he hadn't until now is because they got busy.

He said he pulled the oil pan to use on another project and it looks like the engine was very freshly overhauled. I said we'll take it if he can hold it until next weekend.

Crossing my fingers.

asgard815

good luck

Camaro86IrocZ

iTrader: (1)

My $.02.. If the oil pan is off, it may be easier just to check for a ridge at the bottom of the bore/cylinder travel instead of going thru all the effort to pull a head to see the same ridge at the top.

mattbhm

Thanks haha.

All that pulling heads off was for the last one I almost got, this l83 I trust is good from his description. And of course we'll look for a ridge like you said.

mattbhm

Going to pick it up tomorrow morning.

Thanks for all the help guys.

mattbhm

Picked it up earlier today! Looks great!

He threw in a reman water pump, quadrajet and a recently rebuilt delco dist.

He also said we'll we're done close to him in a few weeks, he'll give us a nice reman/low mile alternator.