Here goes I have a 90' Formula 350 L98 700r4 ws6. I got the car with a thrown rod, the guy just had the car sitting in his garage for the last 10 yrs that way. I have 3 directions I can go, all 3 will need a rebuild. 1st option rebuild the L98, 2nd my father inlaw has a 3970010 350 4 bolt main with the 010 020 stamping sitting in his barn I can just have. 3rd a friend has a 96' caprice 9c1 cop car with lt1 4l60e he is parting out/scrapping, this would include the eng trans cpu and wiring, but he wants the 700r4 I have in trade.
Not sure what direction to go in, not looking to make a race car, the body and interior are in great shape, i'm sure its from sitting on jack stands for 10 yrs. Do I rebuild the L98 to keep it all original I know I wont know how bad the block is untill I pull it and check it, there is a hole in the oil pan on the pas side last piston I believe it is #7.
Thanks in advance, I am sure whichever direction I go I will be able to find all of the info on here to help get it done.

 

Most likely you can kiss the L98 block goodbye. Hole in the oil pan doesn't bode well for the rest of the block.

The 010 block was as common as dirt, and often poorly cast or machined. Free is a good price - don't spend any money on it until you've had a machine shop thoroughly check it out (cracks, alignment, cylinder wall thickness, starter mount bolt holes, etc.). Most likely the L98 heads are okay, but have them checked out first. If they're good, and the block is salvageable, then the L98 heads on the 010 block isn't too bad of a choice. You'll be downgrading from roller lifters to flat tappet, so you'll need flat tappet length pushrods.

The LT1 sounds like a good option to me. A little more work, but better returns than the L98.

 

4-bolt 10/20 ( high nickel and tin ) blocks are rare and coveted, so if the shop says it's cracked, insist they re-magnaflux it with you watching. If they refuse, take your block to another shop.

 

By the time you get the answer you're looking for, you'll have spent about 4x what the block is worth.

You're better off with a later 80's or 90's block than any mythical, poorly cast, poorly machined block.

 

there are many things coveted by older guys that aren't as good as they remember them being. not just certain blocks, but also "camel hump" heads, Duntov cams, "Rock Crusher"s, et cetera.

 

Thanks for the input five7kid, I think I was leanning towards the lt1 swap, just wanted to get some opinions on the three. I just didnt want to get rid of the trans if I would end up needing it later. All the wiring threads I read on here talked about 92-95, is the 96 caprice the same or did they change in 96? One other thing about the lt1 trans, the guy said it is a 4l80e, did the 9c1 police get that one as a heavy duty upgrade, or he is just mistaken about it being a 4l60e? If it is a 4l80e is that one ok to use? I will just keep the other engines incase I need them for a later build.

 

The '96s got the new OBD2, which is more hassle than help. Best to run '95 electronics. There was some change made to the 4L60E in mid-'95, to the PWM TCC.
The LT1's opti-spark distributor was improved for '95, and that gave better reliability than the '92-'94 versions. Most of the difference was in the venting, but if I recall correctly, they also shortened the drive pin.

 

Unless you're planning a heads/cam/big-power LT1, the '96 electronics won't be a problem.

 

Ah, the good ol' days. I'll take my LS1/4L60E, or LS1/T56, to any of those. And I grew up with all that "good stuff".