I just bought an 89 Iroc a couple days ago and it just started knocking. It has 193000 miles on it, So i knew i was going to have to rebuild. I am on a budget and wanna know how to get the most out of this engine without spending thousands of dollars. By the way, it is stock 5.7 tpi with the auto tranny.

Thanks in advance.

 

depends. what do you want it to do? how far into the engine are you prepared to go?

 

Doing most of the work in my garage is my main objective. And when I am done, I want something I could drive everyday if i had to. Oh and I dont wanna a stock mustang showing me up? lol

 

You will need to rebuild the bottom end. Depending on whats wrong that can be decently cheap or pretty expensive. Getting more power obviously comes from the heads and cam.

I'd find out whats knocking and see what the bottom end needs. Do a compression test and see how bad the rings are. When the bottom end is solid get a valve job and since the cam has that many miles on it, get a slightly bigger cam. Throw it back in, put a decent set of headers and a good exhaust on it and you will be more than happy.

Then of course you should start to tune it to get the most from that cam...

 

It hopefully isnt anything major the car doesnt smoke; when started or when you get on it. It has great oil pressure. I believe someone has been in the engine before. The valve covers and intake are all powder coated and looks good. I am hoping bearings are the problem and the rings, pistons pushrods are all ok. Know more when i get into it. By the way what would be a good cam Thanks?