i picked up an engine out of a wrecked car. 60k miles with literally zero issues. I tore the engine down and it is extremely clean inside. i was going to swap in new bearings, hone cylinder walls with a ball hone and install new piston rings. Just keep the stock rotating assembly.
or send it to a machine shop for the whole treatment, hot tank, deck, etc...

can anyone weigh in on the pros and cons of each method. Thanks.

 

You don't want to "hone" the cylinder walls. You want to break the glaze, that's it. Don't try to remove any scratches - if they are too deep to get good ring seal after breaking the glaze, you need to go to the next oversize piston/rings (with a shop doing the boring/honing).

If truly "zero issues", the deck shouldn't be an issue, either. If the decks are flat, no need to have them decked.

Complete disassembly and tanking isn't a bad idea, mostly to clean out the coolant passages. Thoroughly clean all passageways, especially the oil passages. New freeze plugs (which should have been removed before being tanked). Do the glaze break after the tanking.

You didn't say what this engine is. What is it? Assuming small block Chevy, replacing the valve seals is usually a good idea while you've got it apart.

 

The engine is an lt1 out of a 4th gen fbody. I had figured on valve stems at the very least on the top end, but i was really figuring on replacing the entire valvetrain and possibly the heads.

 

Why replace the heads?

 

60,000 miles; Perhaps the valve guide seals?

 

LT1 heads are unique to LT1 engines. They are actually very good. If this came from a 4th gen f-body, they should be aluminum.

60k miles is a warm-up run. I doubt they need valve stem seals, but replacing them while it's apart now is easier than doing them later. If severely neglected, they may need valve guides, but that's still easier and less expensive to have a machine shop replace them than to buy all new heads. My 140k '96 LT1 doesn't have any problem with guides or seals, but it's been treated to synthetic oil its whole life.

What are your eventual plans for the engine?

 

^^^^^Excellent advice

 

I was thinking on sending them to lloyd elliot to get them ported and what not along with a cam. I have 1.6 roller rockers and ls7 lifters already. I had planned on swapping the opti, timing set, and water pump while its apart. Im putting together the combo for a street-strip setup for my iroc. Mostly street with some fun at the track a few times a year. I want 350ish hp but i dont want to have to rev it to 6500 to get there. I want It to be fun and reliable.
basically i know the engine doesnt really need a rebuild, but i do not want to have to tear it back out of the car in a month because of something silly and its far easier to be pre emptive with the bearings and stuff.

I was figuring on new rings, bearings, and gaskets and running it that way with the "new" top end.

 

What year is the engine? The '95-'97 Opti was much better than the '93-'94, and typically only need a rotor. Swapping the whole unit out puts you at risk of getting a lesser optical sensor, which is more headache than you really want.

Water pump is a good idea. Have you considered an electrical conversion? Eliminates the problematic shaft seal leakage that gets to the Opti.

The porting job should include a check-out of the guides. I assume new valve springs will be included as well. You should be covered.

350 GFWHP is pretty much stock with headers. 350 RWHP will take a bit more grunt. Easy way to get that and stay below 6500 RPM is with a 383 stroker kit - takes care of your rebuild concerns, too.

You didn't mention oil pump. Should be a given.

 

the engine is a 93 so i went with rhe msd opti. I also have the electric water pump ready to go on. Elliott does all that when he does the port work so im good there. And yeah the oil pump is a given.

thanks for helping me bounce ideas around.