Hello everyone, I am new to thirdgen and this is my first post so please excuse my noob-ness, but i have a very important question!

I know someone that is willing to sell me their 87 firebird for $500, however it needs a new engine. The person selling it to me said that I could find a rebuilt engine for around 600 dollars, having the broken engine as a core trade (along with the money) for the new one. Is this true? And if so, where could i find such an engine. I live in Vancouver Canada, and have no idea where to even start looking for one!

I really want this car, its been my dream to own a firebird since i was young!

Also, what engines will fit? only Chevy 350/355's?

Any information will help!

THANKS!

 

First, what's wrong with the current motor?

Second, a lot of people swap a number of different types of motors into their 3rd gens. I recently swapped my 305 for a 400 motor. I'm still finishing the swap but with a hoist and some help, it's easy to do.

As far as the $600, I dunno. My rotating assembly alone was more than that USD. My block was a couple hundred and that was AFTER someone had bored it .060 over and had 4 bolt mains added.

It really comes down to what you have, whats the problem and what you want to put in it.

 

In Toronto Ont a rebuilt 305 or 350 is around $1000-$1250 for a basic rebuild. Thats assuming your core is ok. Dont know how much it would be in BC but im guessing its the same.

 

Any small block chevy will swap in, so that means alot of possibilities - just depends on what you want and can afford. Money is really variable, depending on your patience, ability to hunt something down, etc. I found a 350 for $600 and that was complete carb to pan, but it's no race motor. Like mentioned, find out what's wrong with the engine it has - maybe a cheap fix, maybe not - but worth checking into.

 

Does anyone on this forum do rebuilds and willing to ship to BC?

 

what size engine ios it? if i were you i would call up some local junk yards and find a 350 from a chevy or gm truck or van. i would just buy the block and heads you could prolly get it for like 250. then swap your intake over and the simple stuff. put a new oil pump in while the motor is out though you might regret not doing that but yea you could honestly put any chevy motor into that car. 350-400 block casting is pretty much the exact same. 454- up is pretty much the same thing just internals and bore size is what makes the displacment bigger or smaller.

 

Well thank you everyone for your reply's! My final questions are, should i purchase this car? It has zero rust, paint and interior is perfect and its 400 $ the only thing is the engine dilemma. How much would it cost for ME to rebuild the engine? Is rebuilding an engine pricey?

 

Welcome aboard!

how comfortable are you with doing engine work? how much mechanical work have you done before? If the body's in good shape, that's a really good price. 350s are plentiful and therefore relatively inexpensive (compared to some other engines out there). If you do the assembly work yourself, you can save a lot of money. Is this going to be your primary vehicle? If this is your first time doing an engine swap, you will have bugs to work out and it may have reliability issues until then.

engine rebuilding prices can range wildly depending on what you're trying to get out of the motor. Lots of power costs lots of money, but you can build a reliable setup with decent output on a budget. Grab some car magazines and do some reading; you can get a lot of good ideas from what people have done before. There are also a lot of knowledgeable people on the board here who have been where you are before. Read as much as you can, can't hurt.

 

Thanks for the reply! To answer your question I have done zero mechanical work, however I excel at science and math. I recently graduated high school and need a car to get around. I thought this would be a great car to have seeing as its cheap and bad-***. As for the rebuild i would be strictly rebuilding it to work. I am not going to be racing it, and will most likely never take it past 120 km/h. whats the price range for this kind of rebuild?

 

I would expect to pay a minimum of $800-$1000 usd for a budget rebuilt long block with any kind of warranty. A shop down the road from me that I've had experience with (there are others that will ship):

http://www.cmengines.com/

Add another $200-300 for all the little stuff: ignition stuff, gaskets, hoses, belts, fluids, fasteners, etc.

How reliable is the rest of the car? How long has it been sitting? The engine is the easy part. Is the battery good? Brakes? Steering components? Shocks/struts? Transmission? Without it running you have no way to check any of this.

Two summers ago I bought a sweet little 305 berlinetta for my daughter that ran like a top and I still put over $500 into it to fix all the little stuff-tires, shocks, brakes, window sweeps (thanks 1A), etc. WITHOUT touching the motor. It's just a fact of life for an older car like this.

Not trying to discourage as it would probably be a fun project, but are you prepared to put as much money into it as you would likely spend to have something that is already running? Be realistic and double any estimate of $ to get it good to go.

AND I'd definitely pull the carpet back for a rust check before doing anything, especially up there.

 

naf's got a good point. a fixer-upper will nickel and dime you along the way. You definitely want to take your time and do things right while making sure everything operates correctly. I made the mistake of rushing through a motor swap on my daily driver and was constantly going back to fix things I should have taken my time with the first time.
Luckily this time around, the TA's not my #1 car. I can take things slowly and go through all the different parts of the car to make sure its in working condition. A new motor means nothing if the brake system's in bad shape from sitting around....
However, if you've got the time and you've got some money, that's still a great price on a car

 

You will pay $1200can. for the engine rebuild and probably $600-$800can. to get it installed, and about $300 for fluids, and whatever belts and hoses that maybe worn.

 

You will be upto $3000 total investment with the car, its ok if the car is in really nice shape, and you should get a 1 year warranty with that rebuilt engine. Its worth it if the rest of the car is in mint shape or close to it. Otherwise with $3000 you should be able to find an f body in decent shape and already runnung.

 

well i would be willing to build it for you its just i would want to no what is wrong with it? first befor i make a commitment. tbi? carb? tpi? what kinda tranny? auto? manual? if i need a part are you gonna pay for it? idk lots of questions just so ya no i am a very honest person not gonna jip ya i am also one of jehovahs witnesses so i will not steal or lie to you so let meno