Hello folks,

I'm looking at eventually putting the GTA up for sale,(don't worry, I still have the 84 TA, and some of the funds from sale may have that road worthy) before I do however, I'm gonna tie up some loose ends. Among them a new catback, some minor interior work, possibly get the speedo working as it has a T56 in it. The biggest item is having me unsure of which route to take.

The motor has a fairly fresh bottom end, with a 97 F body LT1 cam in it, maybe 3000 miles on it, the top end however is original save for gaskets. The question here is regarding the heads. Heads have maybe 92K miles on them, valve seals need to be done. In short the whole head assembly will need to be redone. So, here is the question,

Do I just put in new valve seals and keep running it? (doubt I'll cut corners like this)

Rebuild the original L98 heads completely, with some port work, have some fun while in the process of selling it?

Or finally...

I have a set of 906 Vortecs sitting on the bench. Do I have those redone, and bite the bullet on the intake, thus potentially having a 300+ horse car when all is said and done, and really have fun while in the process of selling it?

The heads will be a fairly stock rebuild due to the cam being within the lift limits, could likely just reuse the springs, while using some bigger valves, some minor work on the heads themselves and likely have a better intake.

Costs seem to be the same save for the intake cost on the vortec swap. So, any advice? From what it seems, the Vortecs are an instant 50 horse or so bolt on swap as they are. Seems to be a no brainer, but then I see people saying the original heads ported can do better. So what do I do here?

Machinist said go LSx, I have no intention of doing that swap on a car I intend to sell. Besides the 84 is getting that very swap, only a question of whether I use the 5.3 to get started and swap in a bigger motor later or go 408 right off the bat.

I know opinions are like *******s, everyone has one, but bang for buck intake issue aside, which would be my best bet?

Thanks

 

You will be pissing money away investing into stock heads. It's definitely not worth it and by the time you're done doing it correctly, you could've afforded a decent set of used heads. I sold my last set of iron eagles fresh 0 miles since rebuild with all new hardware and Harland Sharp 1.6 rockers for $700, for reference.

LSx motors are overrated, truthfully. I've had both and you can get identical performance out of both engines provided the right cam and cylinder heads are used.. it's merely easier because the LSX motors have decent stock heads from the factory along with a good fuel injection setup. That comparison goes out the window once you start modifying things with both platforms and that gap closes in quickly.

Pick your poison. Pumping money into stock heads for a SBC is a terrible waste of money, though.

 

I'll keep that option in mind, the main reason I'm even looking at rebuilding the heads is I know for sure the valve seals are shot on the originals. Since it is easiest done out of the car, might as well go through them. I'll keep an eye on the classifieds. Definitely want to keep the TPI setup, make things easy for me. What about getting a set of new heads from SDPC or Summit, blah blah blah. New vortec heads already done up a little. Sell the ones I have for say 100 bucks to some circle track guy.

What you said about the stock heads is why I'm looking around at options. As for the LSx debate....I've heard the same on the performance side, but no arguing the tech being 40 years newer. But that is for another day. If people are indeed selling good heads for that much, I'll certainly consider it.

 

I had this huge debate with myself on which direction I wanted to go a few weeks ago when I was sitting on some extra money. It didn't matter how I spent my money because I spent more on one direction and less on the other for identical performance... and equally as much if I chose to build the LS motor correctly (provided I grabbed a low mileage junkyard motor). For example: if I went with the LS motor I'd need to replace my other UMI motor mounts and need custom headers ($500). On the flipside, my other motor was in great shape but needed a new oil pan to fit in the car (also $500).

If it were me? Save your coin. You'll probably spend $240 or so getting those stock heads freshened up. That's $240 that could go towards another set. You'll never get that money back out of those heads, and that's why I'm saying don't do it. Not saying you need to go spend 2K on a set of race heads, but I'm just against blowing money on stock components when it's realistically plausible to assume you'll end up replacing those parts in the pursuit of power later.

Don't take it as me knocking on the LS motors.. they're very good, reliable engines that offer a lot on the table. In your case, you need to ask how far you want to take this car, and what are you comfortable spending. That's really where you determine how to throw down your money, and which platform will be better for you. My point was: they both have their ups and downs, but both are very capable of being solid foundations for your car. Also keep in mind that technology is vastly updated on the standard 23 degree SBC aftermarket components. The old technology and the new parts available have very little in common outside of the basic framework/idealogy on which they were designed upon.

The last thing you want is to sit there and say "Man, I sure wish I had that extra $___ because I never knew I'd be doing this kind of project and I'm not getting that money back".

 

If you're going to sell it, sell it, and move on.

ANYTHING in the way of "modding" you do to it, you will NOT get back n the sale price. I.e. spend $2500 on putting a T-56 in it, you'll get back MAYBE $500; re-do the interior for $600, you'll get back MAYBE $200; put $1000 worth of Vortec head stuff in it and get NOTHING WHATSOEVER; and so forth.

If you're going to sell it, make sure the driver's door says "I'm a good solid car" and that it starts and drives, and nothing smells bad; past that, don't **** away your hard-earned $$$$ by giving them away to someone who probably won't even care, or worse, wants an UNMOLESTED car that's just a good old well-maintained specimen that hasn't been abused any kind of way.

ABOVE ALL, don't waste a bunch of money on "modding" the motor. That means, no aftermarket heads, no Vortecs, no "port work", no LSx, no NOTHING. OTOH if it blows a puff of smoke when it starts, that goes in the "smell" category; FIX IT, do it right, but nothing fancy. Just fix it and move on. $50 in valve guide seal materials may well = $1000 on the sale price. Don't even pull em off if they're not broken, just make the car behave not like some old high-mile POS.

Otherwise, you will spend $$$$$$$$$$$$, and get back MAYBE $, if you're REAL lucky. Probably not even that. Might even LOWER the value of the car by "modding" it.

 

between the gaskets, the work done on the heads, labor (if applicable), fluids, etc... I'd personally just list a car like that stating it has known issues and make the price reflect accordingly assuming he's decided to sell the car for sure. Leave that project for someone else that wants to go down that road "tuning it up".

 

I'm with sofakingdom on this. While I get it that someone's likely to lowball you or freak out over the smoke on startup, if it were me and mine, I'd throw valvestem seals on it and get rid of it. (And I'd do those in car). That and a good wash is all I'd give it before it goes. Save your money for the car your keeping, you'll be glad you did.

 

If you can get her to do it, go for it.......

 

Alright, alright...

First, the LSx swap is completely out for the GTA, I know as far as selling goes, that would be the worst thing in the world to do. I'm doing that swap on the other car.

Second, I only have maybe 3700 in the car including the purchase cost. Picked it up for 1800 with all the suspension and what not already built. Rebuilt the bottom end, due to a cracked crankshaft, replaced the cam as well. I did the T56 swap because I already had a whole swap laying around and knew if I went with the LSx in the other car I'd have to do more than a few changes to it.

The interior is clean except for the headliner which fell apart, and the ever present cracked dash pad, and the console which was cracked on the bottom. I had someone tell me, if I did the what was left of the remaining needs, and boosted the power to over 300 in the process he'd give me 10 grand on the spot for it. So really, considering the shape of the car and what it had under it, and what I paid for it initially, I can justify going a lil further to finish it.

I was just wondering which heads would be worth my time/money, and I do all the work myself save for machine work. So its not like I'm throwing thousands at a mechanic. Sounds like I may be better off looking for a set of aftermarket used heads like mentioned above.

 

Id just sell it as is. Valve seals just arent a big deal.

 

use heads area gamble, so many poeple out there pasing ovv the same cracked heads someone sucked them into buying used.

thick high mile oil and dont cold start it for anyone, no puff of smoke, kick it down the road.........

 

Unless it's a safety issue, leave it be. I put new hubs on my truck when I sold it because I felt that was a safety issue. But something like valve seals are so firmly in the slight nuisance category and not in the long term reliability concern category that I wouldnt even worry about it.