Last night I was coming home and hit an ice patch with my 91 formula. As a result, I ended up in a grassy median that was snow covered and muddy. After rocking the car back and forth for a while, I was able to get it out and on the road again. The car did not suffer any body damage, the only thing that happened to it is that the center plastic cap on one of my wheels flew out.
As I started driving the car home, I heard a knock coming from the engine. I think that it is a connecting rod. The car also lacks in power quite a bit too.
Prior to this it ran perfectly. I did not exceed 4000rpm while I was trying to get the car out, so I think that this might have been a pre-existing condition that was just waiting to break.
My question is what should I expect to pay at a shop to have the engine rebuild. It is a 305TPI 5speed. I am not interested in doing anything crazy with the car. Just want to bring it back to factory stock condition. This car is my daily driver and I need to get it fixed.
The car never overheated, and has not lost any oil. In fact the oil level is as it should be, and so is the antifreeze level. The oil looks nice and clean, and I basically drove the car home and parked it to minimize any damage that might have happened.
Please, any help and suggestions would be much appreciated. The car has 123000 miles, which is not that much, but the previous owner used to drag race it.
I just want to get my baby back in its original shape, and I don't have the means or know how to rebuild the engine myself.

 

I think internal engine damage is unlikely in this case since you've got no leaks. Get under there and see what's banged up. An exhaust pipe banging into something solid can make a heluva racket.

 

It sounds like internal engine noise to me. I looked under the car and I see nothing out of the ordinary. The knocks is coming from inside the engine, and it is also the power loss that concerns me and makes me suspect that it is a detached connecting rod.

 

You may want to look into getting a crate. Nothing fancy, just a new engine.
If it was drag raced, it has a good possibility of having a lot of internal wear.
I know mine is tired, trans needs rebuilt too. I have another trans though.
Just waiting for them to blow. We'll see if they go on the track or the street.

 

I wish I could afford a crate engine, but have no idea what a 305 crate from GM would cost? I am not sure that I can afford it. I have about $2000 to $2400 that I can spend on the entire repair.

 

I saw an 80k mile 305TPI longblock for sale for $200 in the TGO classifieds the other day. Just find a good, running 305 long block and be done with it. They're everywhere and no one wants them.

Here is the thread, still for sale.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...9-305-tpi.html

 

Before you shell out the cash for a new engine I think you might want to remove the valve covers and make sure you didn't bend a pushrod or lose one of your rocker arms. That would explain your lack of power and the noise you're hearing from the engine compartment.

 

So here it is:
I think that I have finally found a reputable shop to rebuild my engine. They are towing the car tomorrow, and will make sure that the engine noise I am hearing is not something like a bent push rod or something like that. However, I do believe that it might be a connecting rod knock. It seems like there are two noises. One coming from the right rear of the top portion of the engine, the other coming from the lower end near the front of the block.
This shop is charging me $3200 for a complete rebuild, with new pistons and everything. They are giving me a 2 year warranty, which is more than any re-manufactured long block I could find. So here is my questions:
Since I am shelling this kind of money to bring my baby back to life (and keep it numbers matching car), are there some simple internal modifications that can be done to free up a little more power from the engine? In other words, what can be done to get a little bit more power from the engine without driving up the cost a lot more? I am looking in the way of replacing components that perform better than stock, but don't cost a lot more than stock, since I think that most of my expense here is labor.
All of your recommendations are greatly appreciated. I am not looking to make 300 horses out of this engine, I just want to do a little better than stock prior to adding any bolt ons.