Well, looks like my car is dying. After having it since I was 17(I'm now 24), its slowly kicking the bucket. Here's the story....142,xxx miles on it.....I take care of it, but since its 17 years old, parts go bad fast. I have a major leak from the front main engine seal, the oil pan gasket is leaking all around, not BAD, but you can see it, and i have a bearing thats bad at the end of the transmission, where the driveshaft goes in....thats leaking transmission fluid, slowly. The rear end pumpkin has also been leaking for quite some time. I also noticed other supposedly oil leaks on other parts of the motor...so its going. In my opinion, its not worth to change all this, as the costs would outweigh the means. Even with the help of mechanic friends, it wouldnt be worth it. What should I do next? I could buy a junkyard engine for $50-150 dollars, send it out to get machined, blasted, honed, etc for another $200, and then gradually keep building it up while i still run this car till it dies while i still keep checking the fluids.......OR.....scrap this car(**sniff sniff**) and get something else. Whats the best thing to do in this scenario? I really wouldnt want to get rid of my thirdgen....too sentimental. But i figure building a 350 or 383 would be cheaper than buying the only other thing I'd want.....a 1997 Yukon GT with a 350 in it ($10-13,000). Any suggestions, ideas? Please share....thankx.

 

anyone?

 

It's really up to you buddy. But if you're aspiring to get an SUV, then maybe the T/A isnt't really for you anyway. Sell it and buy what you really want.

 

The Yukon GT isnt something i have the green for right now anyway...and I think getting the new motor for the TA would be cheaper for now. I Love that car....even if I got the Yukon, I'd still have the TA sitting on the side under a cover...

 

rebuild the T/A. it's the only way to go

 

Don't do it i think we all have gotten rid of cars that we still kick ourselves in the A$$ for,mine was a 1978 T/A with a 421 pontiac t-top power everthing that one still hurts i guess what i am trying to say is you better think about it before you do any thing that you will regret Later

 

Ok....now for suggestions. I could possibly get someone to build me a 383 stroker for an F/I for around 1500 bucks. Thats just the internals and heads....here's where I would need some direction....would a Superram intake with a speed density setup be the best route to go? Also....I'd want to make this a manual car....so i'm thinking T56....what do they run usually, pricewise, and would that be a good 6-speed to handle this motor? If i am to do this buildup, it wont be till late summer. I just want to get an idea what it would cost me right now. I've been looking into the Jeg's catalogs....nice pricey stuff...time to look on ebay also. I'd like to see it put out 500-550 hp at the crank, and run in the low 12's on 93 octane, all motor, yet be able to be driven daily if i wanted to. Gas mileage isnt at the top of my list of concerns. Are my expectations realistic? I know there is ALOT of work involved, and money...my 305 still runs strong...and my plan is to start building this WHILE driving it with the 305 so that hopefully, I'll have the motor done at least when this one goes.

 

Maybe you could just fix the most urgent things first. I'd say the rearend would be more likely to go bad than the motor. You could put up with an oil leak as long as you keep the level up and run heavier oil, but the rearend and tranny will probably go bad before the engine. Replacing the oil pan gasket shouldn't be too hard.

 

I dont know what F/I is...but if you can get a stroker short-block for 1500..I say go for it..my .02

 

F/I is for Fuel Injection. I just got back from my mechanic. He said the main seal isnt hard, the oil pan is fine, the transmission seal is the worst of all..and the rear isnt too bad.....and he said it wouldtn be much to change. I asked him if it was worth putting headers on it....cheap ones....he said he could do it for $155....thats putting them on, the y-pipe, welding everything, and drilling holes for the AIR injection into the headers(the ones i bought and returned dont come with them). So I dont know....not too bad of a price....but i want to get the major stuff done first...so my car doesnt blow up.