Hows it goin? My car has had 3 rebuilds total on the L98. 1 rebuild while the PO owned it and 2 under my possession. I don't know the exact cubic inches of my motor but would like to and want to remove one of the heads to see the overbore stamped on the pistons if any. Since I haven't been able to drive my GTA much, I've only put about 600-700 miles on the "new" motor but less than 1000 so does this mean I'll still have to replace the head gasket with a new one? Thanks in advance

Phoenix

 

Probably won't run right without one; I'd say, put one in.

 

Yes. Head gaskets tend to stick anyways when you remove them. You'll probably need to gently remove the old one, clean, and put a new one down. Don't forget if you're still using the normal OEM head bolts they stretch when torque'd and you'll need a new set of those too. Intake gasket will probably stick also. You'll also need to drain some anti-freeze (which you could add back once done if you're careful).

 

umm

your current rebuild has 700 miles and you want to open it up..............why? And, why has it been rebuilt twice by you?

The simplest method is to check your receipts as it was only 700 miles ago or speak with the shop that did the work. Something just doesn't smell right with this story

 

Yep, the reason being that I want to find out if my L98 is still a true 350 or possibly a 353 or 355 which I was told on these boards I can find out by looking for a overbore stamp on the pistons.

The rebuild was done by a shop who thought they knew about rebuilding TPI motors but apparently didn't since my motor seized up 3 months later (bent piston rod). I ended up taking it back to get it repaired but was stuck with another $2400 bill and a re-rebuild.

This was a few years back and my car has been running good ever since after the 2nd rebuild. The receipts don't show much other than the amount paid and what was replaced. Long story short, the shop was a POS and don't really want to go back as the owner disliked me after that incident.

As for removing the head, I think I'll skip on looking for a overbore stamp for now until I have money to buy replacement gaskets and bolts. Really it was just out of curiosity to see what my cubic inches are but I guess it'll cost some money to do just that . Thanks guys.

Phoenix

 

you had a bent connecting rod???? What were you doing, were you racing at the track every weekend? Were you spraying nitrous?

Are you sure it wasn't a pushrod? If a connecting rod, then they must have bored the engine .030 but it really doesn't matter if it's a 355 or 350, you don't get a lot from the 5 CID. I've never seen a work order that didn't outline what was done at a machine shop.

And you've only put 700 miles on the vehicle over the past 2 years????

Are you doing those 700 miles 1/4 mile at a time?

 

Simply put I just had a s****y experience with a POS shop that took me for a sucker. It was my first time getting a rebuild done on my car and made about $4500 off of me but like I said earlier this was 3 years ago.
It really is a pretty long story so check this thread out: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...roblem-my.html if you want to know what happened. As for the couple of hundred miles that I put on the car, I mostly drove it to work and back (about 6.5 miles both ways) every week since February of last year as well as some occasional trips to my friend's and around the city. I lost my job last year also which means no money for new tags which = not bieng able to drive my car much . You do realize this thread is about removing a head right ?

Phoenix

 

If it runs fine leave it alone. Pulling the heads off (yes, you will probably have to pull off both heads unless you can get the same exact gasket) just to see if it's a virgin bore or .030/.040" sounds very unpractical.

 

yup, and I feel for you and the job situation. This economy stinks. I know a guy who had to leave the country to get a job in his profession.

yes, I know the thread is about removing a head for no other reason than to discover the bore size and that has been addressed not only by me but by others as well.

 

Yeah its been pretty tough out there, the only way I'd leave the country for a job is if I knew it was a good paying one . Cool I'll leave the heads alone in that case. Sorry if I came off as a smart a** in my previous post, its all just out of curiosity and nothing else (hence the question marks on my engine details). Is there any other way to find out my actual cubes? Thanks.

Phoenix

 

find a shop that has a video camera type of bore scope, i would guess the charge to take a look wouldn't be too much, maybe $50.00 or so.
with only about 700 miles on the motor, the markings on the pistons may still be easily readable, but you can run some sea foam thru it to help to be sure.

 

I guess its not going to be as 'easy' as I thought it would be. Looks like its going to cost some kind of money just to find out my cubes. I don't know if I want to continue trying to find out at the moment and leave it at "3??" c.i.d. . I'll most likely find out when I do a head swap in the future.

Phoenix