I HAVE A 5.0/305 4BBL ohv IN MY '86 COUPE. I HAVE THE INFAMOUS BLUE SMOKE IN THE FIRST START UP IN THE MORNINGS WHICH I KNOW IS MY VALVE GUIDE/SEALS. LATELY I HAVE BEEN SEEING MORE OF THE SMOKE AS I DRIVE HOWEVER MY CAR RUNS FINE, HAS GREAT PICKUP AND POWER. SHOULD I JUST PLAN ON REPLACING OR REBUILDING THE SHORT BLOCK OR DO I REPLACE THE WHOLE ENGINE. I AM A TRUE LAYMAN WHEN IT COMES TO THIS. THE LAST 2 EXPERIENCES I HAD WITH CHANGING ENGINES IN OTHER BRAND CARS DID NOT GO WELL AND I AM VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THIS. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT I GOT MY CARFAX REPORT THE OTHER DAY AND FOUND THAT THE 93,000 MILES ON THE O.D. IS REALLY 193,000. SINCE I THINK THIS IS THE ORIGINAL ENGINE IS IT TIME FOR A REBUILD OR WHAT? THANKE FOR THE HELP. SORRY FOR SHOUTING BUT I AM DESPERATE.



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86 Camaro Black SS Coupe, T Tops, Flowmaster, Custom Paint, Dunlop Road Kings S/R tires, Wheel Country Directional Chrome Wheels, New Leather seats, new carpet and headliner, complete front end suspension rebuild, new Valve seals, and more mods to come
http://www.angelfire.com/sports/niterider/86camaro.html

 

Don't yell
The start-up smoke isn't a big deal.
Oil consumption is a better way to guess the engine health. How much oil is is using?


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkim bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

Why don't you get the heads rebuilt first?. You already know they need repair... maybe that would fix the constant blue smoke too. If not... put them on the new engine.


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1986 Trans Am
carbed 350 - .30 over with 9.75:1 comp.
+- 315hp/390ft lbs.
700-R4 with 2500 stall
3.27 (ick!) gear
SLP 1 3/4" headers w/MAC catback and cat.
96 5 stars
SFC's, braces, arms, and a bunch more expensive stuff
no timeslips yet

 

The head castings for that motor, the infamous 416 casting, are a dime a dozen. The easiest & least down-time thing to do would be to go to the boneyard and buy a set from the buzzard, get them worked, maybe port them, and swap them out at your leisure. It would be very worthwhile to put a better cam such as a Comp XE256H or XE262H if you're bold in it, or at the very least a timing set.

If the bottom end (oil pan & rear seal) doesn't leak oil too bad, and the oil pressure is OK, then the short block is in good enough shape to risk freshening up the top half.

I notice you're from Glenwood... I lived in Glenwood for a time, in the orphanage back off of Hwy 1 on Glenwood-Dyer Rd....

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

RB83L69: I LIVE AROUND THE CORNER FROM THE GLENWOOD SCHOOL BEHIND THE BOWLING ALLEY OFF OF HWY 1. BUT I WISH I WAS IN CA. LIKE YOU.

EVERYONE ELSE; THANKS FOR THE ADVICE. I THINK I WILL PULL THE HEADS AT THE BONE YARD, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT IS ABOUT 80 DEGREES OUTSIDE. SEEMS THE CHEAPEST AND SMARTEST WAY TO GO.

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86 Camaro Black SS Coupe, T Tops, Flowmaster, Custom Paint, Dunlop Road Kings S/R tires, Wheel Country Directional Chrome Wheels, New Leather seats, new carpet and headliner, complete front end suspension rebuild, new Valve seals, and more mods to come
http://www.angelfire.com/sports/niterider/86camaro.html