alright, i currently have a LB9 305 TPI. I am soon wanting to goto a 350 and push the HP range to as high as i can possibly get it. I can most likely get a used L98 for so cheap its not funny.

Scoggin-Dickey has a 350 with a new cam and Vortech TPI with 358HP, 420 lbs of torque. My question is can i get this out of an L98 with the same cam and same vortec heads, and Vortec TPI base?


this is the cam info i think
Duration @ .050" I/E: 218/228
Lift I/E: 0.525"/0.525"

here are the engines i'm looking at and the prices/descriptions-
?? 350 Chevrolet long block core. Roller block. Engine fire. Intake is melted into lifter gallery. NO WARRANTY. TMU 89- $100

86 350 Chevrolet long Block, No intake, leaking head bolt. Engine ran fine. CORE ENGINE, NO WARRANTY
TMU 86- $250

which of those engine might me the best to work with, i'm gonna rebuild it, put new vortec heads, new vortec tpi baseplate, new cam.

my other question, will my current LB9 accessories fit on the L98?

thnaks in advance,

shane

 

d00d you can, with a hot cam kit you can get 360HP out of a regular L98, just with Vortec heads, a Vortec TPI baseplate, plus a hot cam.



But still between those two engines which is in the best condition to do a complete rebuild and make it like a new L98?

I'm not the best mechanic but i can put heads on an engine, i can rebuild and engine, and i can cam in an engine. If not my step-father is an ex-mechanic and the guy down the street can help me out also.

But if there is something about these engines that would make me have to like do some drilling besides just putting new parts in please, please, please tell me. What kinda work would have to be done to these engines?

 

The cam is the LT-4 Hot Cam with 1.6 rockers.

The power rating is flywheel gross with no accessories (like water pump, alternator) powered by the engine, 58mm TB, aftermarket runners (modification required to get them to fit on the Vortec base), 1-3/4" primary long-tube headers. A wee bit over 300 HP net, probably. Installed in the car, you're looking at about 275 RWHP, maybe.

There's nothing special about the L31 shortblock that would keep an L98 from doing the same thing. However, by the time you buy the L98 and rebuild the shortblock and buy all the Vortec TPI kit stuff, you'll probably have as much money in it as you would if you just bought their Vortec TPI crate engine.

Did anyone mention PROM tuning?

The accessories will all fit fine (except the EGR valve - you'll need their kit for that).

 

the thing is d00d, that is that its almost a grand less money than the actuall crate engine, plus i get to build the engine by scratch.

Also which of the two engine that were listed below sound like a better deal? the one for $100 or the one for $250. Both have problems but everyhting i'm buying will replace i think all of them problems.


i mean even with the $250 long block core, my tootal with all that power come to $2005.50 w/o shipping. i'm planning on buying these things little by little as i go on. That way i dont have to worry about spending a large amunt of money at once, and that way i can build it by myself.

the most expensive thing out of this upgrade is the actuall vortech heads/vortech tpi manifold/rollers/rocker arms/gaskets and it was only $1270.

I'm prolly gonna buy that $250 engine before it gets bought by someon else then slowly start to build onto it.
Order of buying everyhting-
-engine block
-rebuild kit
-vortech heads/vortech tpi manifold/rollers/rocker arms/gaskets kit
-hot cam
-other stuff


its only gonna take me 9 weeks to get enouhg money for this engine combo. i was thinking about getting new wheels and stuff first but i'd like more show then go, for a little while. Wouldn't you?

 

"Vortec"

"Vortec"

"Vortec"

No "h"...

 

alright, what is PROM tuning, the website says that the entire stock computer has to have no modifacations. No adjustments to achieve max horsepower.

Also all i want is about 360HP out of the crank, that'll give me 300HP at the rear wheels since all i use is sythetic oild in my car. Synthetic engine oil, sythetic tranny, sythetic rear end. that'll help me a whole bunch.

 

sorry, i cant edit my messages too sinc ei'm on probation fro a stupid mistake.

 

well I would definetly NOT got for the first one...more work than you will expect due to that fire. The second one I'm a little iffy on because of the no warranty deal. Just keep looking for deals, you'll find them when you start looking in the right areas....trust me thats how I found my black 1988 IROC-Z 350TPI, T-tops, power everything, yadda yadda yadda for 500 bucks.......

 

well i wa spretty sure that the first one was not a good choice. But why not the second one? what scares you about the block. I'm not the kinda guy who can get this block bored so if this is gonna need to be done then please tlel me now. But if i can just replace the Pistons, all bearing, and gaskets/o rings, then this might be the best choice for me. If not then what do you recommend for me to get a used 350 that can suport what i'm trying to do to it. I'm not wating to spend over $600 on a block. So i dunno.

shane

 

Look at choice #2. It may not be a roller cam block, if that matters to you. You were talking about the hot cam, you would have to go the retro fit kit for the 86 model block.

 

Well, the stock computer will like some tuning. There is one small problem, you have MAF and not SD. Off the bat MAF is more forgiving of hot setups then SD systems but its hard to tune given the fact that things are in terms of the LV8 constant rather then in terms of manifold pressure. Dont know much about the MAF systems but from what I hear they look tricky to tune. Of coarse youll also need to modify your tpi intake to get some of the 'tuned' out of the tuned port so you can feed the engine above 4000 rpm. Youll also need a good exaust as well.

 

Well i really dont need to tune anything according top their website to get the posted horsepower ratings. The only thing is that the max RPM is very low. Therefore i get a very nice rear end with some good low ratio gears. That way RPM wont matter the least bit.



shane

 

I got my place to hold be a '99 ZZ4 short block, only thing wrong with it is it burns oil. They are selling it for $450. I can get me a rebuild and be cack in business in no time. It will almost work right then.

description they gave me is
'99 350 ZZ4 short block 4-bolt main, roller, LT4 rods, ran, but has the defective piston rings/pistons (burns oil), $450, we installed the motor in '99 and removed it in '01, had 45k on it.


thats a very nice deal if you ask me. Dont you think so? Sounds like e very good deal, just noticed the cam it comes with.

tell me what you think if these deals.

shane

 

well is it a good deal or what?

 

How do you KNOW it has a defective piston ring? I mean other than the oil consumption. Did someone you know to be credible tell you it has bad rings?

I only mention this because oil consumption can be due other things. Hate to see you drop some coin, beit a small amount or not, and then have more trouble later on down the road.

BTW, 450 for a complete engine, to me, oil consumption or not, is a good deal...

 

well all this is from the guys at Trans Am Creation USA, http://www.tacreationsusa.com . So i'm very sure that they are credible. I have done very good business with these people and service is great. They dont over charge, prices are just right. only thing about them is all they sell is Junkyard parts, nothing new. They are a F-body junkyard. They have every camaro part, and every firebird part. They are located way down in the most southern tip of florida. a 3.75 hour drive from jacksonville(according to yahoo maps). I'm gonna get that ZZ4 and they are holding it for me for about 4 weeks so i can round up all that money from my job.

 

Have you thought about a convertor? If your gonna get into the .500" cam lift area your gonna need a convertor.

 

what kinda converter? whats the converter for. The heads and intake are made for this cam. I dunno about the engine being made for it but it should take them. Please tell me.

 

Dyno Don is makeing 306RWHP at the moment with the Vortec heads and with a ZZ4 cam which has less duration than the one you are looking at. We a new prom he expects that to go up. So 375HP at the flywheel is very attainable if done correctly.
Don will be refreshing my TPI L98 and will be installing the ZZ4 cam. I expect to be in the same HP range.

 

The torque converter provides a fluid-mechanical coupling between the engine and transmission. The stock one probably wont stall high enough for your new setup. Basically the rpms the engine starts off at are too low and itll bog down since its out of its power band. Probably want to look at an aftermarket torque converter with at least 2200 or higher rpm stall.

 

oh that kinda converter, ok yeah i was thinking about getting one of those when i get the new rear end. What kinda rear end would you guys recoomend, i want one with a good enough ration that it will take full advantage of this engines torque. With all that torque it means that the engine is having it easy with the current ratio. The thing is that the engine has such a low max RPM that most differentials wont exactly work, will they? Is that taken care of in the tranny then? If it is how about a differential from a 4th gen?

I have a ring and pinion gear set in another window. Its on thirdgenresource. Its made by SLP, which actuall ration would be better for my car,
3.42
3.73
4.10

They said thats its best to lower the ration(which will make the number higher) is this true. I always thought the lower the number the better. Well anyways which one would be better for my new engine setup.

I'm getting ready to quit my current job and go work at pepboys becuase my current job sucks ***. I have my application just gotta turn it in and have an interview. Simple and easy. I get paid the same too $7/hour.


alright gotta go,

shane

 

With TPI, I would go with the 3.42 gear ratio. You will not have a high RPM motor but plenty of torque. Allen

 

i'm a little confused as to which is better, the lower numbers or the higher number? Cause there are way better ratios then 3.42

 

The numerically higher the number, the lower the gear ratio. Higher numbers mean more torque multiplication but too low a ratio is bad as well. If you intend to drive the car on the street alot then the 3.42's would probably be the best all around compromise. Still gives a decent ratio while keeping the rpms reasonable on the highway. If you jsut drive it for fun and youve modified the intake to alow the engine to rev a bit then 3.73's would work as well.