What have I done?

New to the board, I'm soo happy I found it...I'm in a rough spot so let me explain:

I bought this car from an lady, her husband died (police officer) and had an 87 iroc that was modded, but hasn't been started or moved since he died. The way she talked it has been a while, which was something I didn't consider. It has a 150hp nos system (I think) Accel Ram (not sure), 58mm throttle body, afr heads (found the number 190, so 190cc?) Found boxes of several camshafts/cranks so ?

Problem is I have had this car for a week, and it is leaking everywhere, running ultra rough, smoke....carbon....

I am no EXPERT mechanic, I have never really done a full engine build, just a few camshafts and intake manifolds.

Here is the shape of the car now:
I had an exhaust leak, pulled out the headers (pass and drivers side bigtime pain)

My alternator gave out, pulled old one off to replace.

I have leaks from rearmain, timing chain cover. Dipstick...its bad Quart a day.

Here is what I am thinking:

Either A.) Pull the motor, go through it, replace cam and crank for peace of mind. (thinking full roller cam) Put it back together and drive it (This fuel injection thing is really giving me chills, I don't know much about it)

Or B.) Pull the motor sell the fuel injection stuff, put my own crank cam and bolt on a carb. How much NA power is possible to be streeted as a semi daily driver?

You guys gotta help, I'm taking the bus to and from work!

why don't you just replace the timing cover,gasket and seal,and dipstick for now?better to be driving than takin the bus,i always say!
get it running(not leaking!)for now,then a tune up,then worry about modding it after you'v ehad time to plan it out.
just my opinion,of course.Eric

Do you need to pass emissions, do you know what emissions systems the engine will need to pass a visual inspection?

emissions

No, I get around emissions even though I'm in that area. The places you can get inspections they don't even look just write it and hand it.

Sounds like it needs some TLC. First off, you need to decide what you want to do and what you can afford to do. A rebuild will cost lots of time and money. A patchwork of small jobs will take a while also but should be less impact on your wallet. If it were me, I would take it a step at a time, get familiar with the car and the parts installed. EFI seems intimidating at first but its really just different parts doing the same thing as a carb. TGO is a great resource and you will find a wealth of knopwledge here and plenty who can help you along. Good luck and welcome to TGO!

I can get around just fine without a car, I just want it to run right (NY is not the best place to run around with a car anyway) I really just got it for back and forth to work in the summers.

Bus is a lot cheaper

need suggestions, what to do?

deleted my message for some reason. Can't edit cause i'm on probby!

Need suggestions, what to do?

I say pull the motor, go to carb (IF YOU ARE SURE EMISSIONS ARE NO PROB)

sell the injectors, intake, ecm (maybe you will get lucky and have a F.A.S.T or D.F.I unit) and take that money and go all out on the motor.

Keep the heads, afr are good street heads.

more suggestions

Your oil leaks are no huge problem, they can be overcome with a jack, 2x4 piece of wood, and a weekend.

Undo the motor mounts, take off the distributor cap, jack the engine up by the balancer, then put 2x4 pieces of wood between the motor mount shell clamps so you can put your jack away. Then drop the oil pan far enough to take off the old gasket, then replace the timing chain cover gasket and the cover itself (if it's warped now). Put the gaskets back on, bolt it all back up, now you have no oil leaks. (BTW, get the more expensive 1 piece rubber oil pan gasket, it seals much much better)

Sounds like the car runs pretty well and the guy knew what he was doing.... he bought 190cc AFR heads after all.

There's really no point in taking the motor out to rebuild it unless it's burning oil, not just leaking it. Most people are afraid of TPI, but if you go to the TPI board here you'll get to know it, and find that burning new PROMs for it can be pretty fun (or so I hear).

But if you like the simplicity of a carb, then just rip the wiring harness, and whole TPI setup out, sell it, get a new intake and holley carb or something.

I'm really getting worried here, I started taking stuff off, and I found out that I need more tools!

I'm past the point of no return here! I can't get to the exhaust collectors it is far too tight of a fit for me to get any type of tool into.

I doni't know how the guy got them bolted up, but it was obviously the 8th wonder of the world.

/boggle

I sure do need tool help here to I only have basic tool set and I am seeing all kinds of odd sizes, tight fits, strange star sockets and stuff that I haven't ever messed with!

what exactly are you doing right now? lol

I got the headers all undone, got the accessories off, all the electrical junk pulled from battery and grounds (uh oh) alternator, throttle body, and about half the intake off.

I'm kinda stuck now since I don't have the tools

1987 smalllblock chevy have a 1 piece rear mainseal. To replace it you must drop the transmission, remove flywheel to gain access

The block is a 1972 block (I was told)

I don't know what I can do now, I'm so frustrated...maybe I wasn't born to wrench.

Was the smog pump missing?


















Was there a bolt in the upper one of the 2 holes on the pass side front of the block, down low, right next to the crank pulley?























Look inside that bolt hole with a flashlight and tell me what you see.

Man you are gonna have to take some pics so we can see what you are doing exactly. It seems like you have too much going on at once. Take your time and work on one thing at a time. If you don't mind the bus then whats the rush. Do it right! Figure out what you have first then plan your attack.

No smog stuff, just headers, must have been a custom job because they are done pretty crappy!

OK; so when you looked into that hole, did you see the crankcase? Because if you do, you will. You'll see the fuel pump rod if it has one (probably not since it's TPI, but you never know); and if th erod is not there, you'll be able to look right in and see the rods and crankshafts.

If there's no bolt in it, the motor will spew oil mercilessly; especially at high RPMs.

It's not impossible that that one missing bolt is the entire oil leak that the motor has; or at least, the bulk of it.

Looked just fine to me! I need to get a digital camera bad!

I don't know what to do about tools, any sites sell good tools?

/sigh this is intimidating

The guy didn't know much about wiring, I have been finding electrical tape over every connection

just looked at the title and it is NOT an 87 Iroc it is an 85 Z28 with decals

I pulled the seal from the exhaust manifold, it is melted.

I guess the motor sat for so long the seals wore out?

I didn't get anything done today, what should I buy guys? this thread is going to continue day by day until I finish hoepfully I will get it done

I didn't get anything done today, what should I buy guys? this thread is going to continue day by day until I finish hoepfully I will get it done