well im gonan be saving up for some serious power soon and was wondering what u guys think are some good options. keeping in mind that i dont have any car knowledge or tools to do my own rebuild

1.) Dump the l98 350 out of my car. Buy the 1300 dollar gm goodwrench factory motor from sdpc parts. Throw in a zz9 cam and get those or my l98 heads worked alot(about 2500)

2.) Do same mods above and save up for a real nice pair of heads

3. Go with the 350 ho motor and zz9 came(about 3k)

4.) Suggestions!

I want a 12.99 second car if possible. Im not dumb niether . I have a stealthram already, and im getting some 3.45(i believe) installed in the rear. Also have the worked tranny. Thanks guys

 

I dont see why you would want to replace your l98 with the 1300 dollar goodwrench, just to void the warranty with swapping the cam and heads when you can just buy the warrantied 350ho for near that, it's not even worth the hassle of messing with it. Not to mention, doesnt the 350ho come complete almost (as opposed to block and heads only)?

-Ben

 

Well basically what i was getting at is i want a fresh motor to mod. Mine has about 120k on it and i dont really want to mod a motor with that many miles. The 350ho is a good motor ive heard but i need something compatiable with the stealthram without having to buy a different base. I may also use the tpi intake for emmissions and such so i dont really want to buy the whole vortec setup. Can anyone give an estimate on how much rebuilding my l98 would cost? I mean i would rather do that and get the heads worked alot and put in the zz9 cam. and maybe some 1.6 roller rockers. how much would a rebuild cost on average?

 

The caprice 350 is about 1500 dollars and is setup for newer heads and a roller cam.

 

If you go with a roller cam, use the Superram cam (the 74219) since you have the intake allready. With the gears and a good set of ported vette l98 heads running close to 10:1 you should see real low 12's

 

Thats what I was thinking (Caprice 350). Thats what I bought, the only thing is, if you're gonna swap the heads and cam anyways, why spend 1500 for the shortblock, you know? The only reason I did it was to have something to drive for a while since my 305 crapped out on me, till I get a better set of heads. But as far as an engine goes, the Caprice 350 WOULD be a good replacement, as you stated its a roller block with new style heads.

 

Were is this motor at? Is it on sdpc2000? I ant seem to find it the only one is the 4k lt1 350 caprice. Also whats the average rebuild on an l98?

 

O never mind sory guys found it :-). SOunds like a deal. Anyone have any more info on it considering there site is kinda limited on the info. Also what kind of heads are on that motor and are they good enough to get me into the high 12s with some owrk?

 

The heads on it are the 193's (swirl port design). They are basically a 350 version of the 305 TBI heads. They dont flow very well as is. You'd be better off swapping in a set. Thats why I said it would be silly to spend that kind of money on a motor in which your just going to swap the heads anyways. I doubt your going to see 12's with these heads.

 

Rebuild your L98. Get new heads and a cam. You'll be set.

 

If you do a lot of the work yourself (ie pulling motor, removing all accessories, intake, manifold, heads, etc) down to the block or even more I'm sure you can get your motor rebuilt for under $1k. Add another $1k for heads and a couple hundred for cam/kit you'd be looking at around probly $2500 and you'd have what you wanted, not some Caprice 350 with not-so-well-flowing heads and cam as where you'd have to add all your stuff anyhow, or even have $3k in the HO 350, either way you'd be better off IMO.

 

I have that caprice 350 crate engine and I regret buying it. it is slow as a mother f. The heads suck and the cam has about a .398 lift to it. Now Im saving up for some serious HP. spend an extra 500 bucks and get the 350 ZZ4 short block if you have the money and add a set of good heads along with your all set. just be ready to do some prom tuning

 

I would rebuild your motor that you have and get a good set of heads. Machine work would be about $300 for hottank, mag, bore .030" and hone, new cam bearings, add $100-$150 for balancing of the rotating assembly is you choose to do so (I would reccomend it), $200 for Eagle 5140 forged I beam rods, $200 for Eagle cast steel crank (you can build a 383 since you're replacing the crank and it doesn't cost any extra), $100 for a set of Speed Pro hyper pistons, $80 for a set of moly rings, $40 for main/rod bearings, that does the shortblock for about $1k. For the heads, I would get a set of AFR's if money allows, but if not Dart Iron Eagles work well and Pro Toplines. If money is really tight a set of Vortec's modified for higher lift are a good choice. AFR's are about $1300 new, Iron Eagles $900 new, Pro Toplines (Aluminum) $900 new, and Vortec's $640 new. All these heads can be bought off Ebay or the classifieds for much less in new or like new condition. Throw in an XE268 cam a Weiand Stealth intake manifold and you're looking at over 400 hp (with vortecs, 450 with AFR's).

 

Yea i like the sound of that:-). Anyone know any *** machine shops around the chicagoland south suberbs (joliet, orland?)Also, how do some of u guys get ur motors rebuilt? Do u pull it take off everything and bring it there? or do u jsut ring ur car in and have them do it all? How much would that cost(prolly too much!)How hard u guys suspect a motor pull would be with minor experience. Thanks for all the help. Ps. If someone knows a better route ie. cheaper. Chime in thanks

 

When I need machine work done I strip everything down and only take the parts that need machining to the shop (ie block, heads, etc.). I live next to Indy, so I can't help you out with machine shops. If you took your car to a shop to have everything done (pull motor, rebuild to your specs and reinstall) it will cost a LOT, probably a few grand just in labor not to mention parts and machining costs. Rebuilding a motor isn't that hard, you just need some garage space, tools and time. There aren't that many specialty tools you need either and if you don't want to ge them you can usually have the machine shop do that stuff for you (checking clearances, file fitting rings, etc.). I've always built/rebuilt my own motors, that way you know exactly what was done and you can say "Yeah, I built that motor with my own hands", how many people can say that? I would also pick up a couple books about building motors if you go through with this project. A good one is Building the Small Block Chevy by SA Design.

 

I was just stating the caprice 350 is a better deal than a goodwrench 350. They both have sucky cams and heads. However the Caprice version is a roller block and thus has more potential.
Myself I would go with a L98 short block.

 

Anyone know a site were u can purchase the l98 long block new? for a decent price

 

I looked around for a L98 long block back in the day and I was told that it was discontinued by GM. Not sure how true this is but it what I heard. I couldnt find one anywhere.

 

Pretty sure the L98 long block is discontinued. Why would you want it anyhow? You would have to replace the heads and the cam, and at that point you should have just got the caprice 350.
The L98 short block is about $1,100.

 

yea sorry thats what i meant the short block. anyone know were to buy it from? also, any other short blocks that may be a bit cheaper but could still handle some trick flows and a zz9 cam?thanks for all the replys i appreicate it!