After 160K+miles I figure its time to freshen up the bottom end of my 1992 Trans Am. The car still pulls 14.1's at 101 pretty much stock but I'd like to swap it for piece of mind. The stock GM lower end has held up for this long to quite a beating so I figure why not stick with it. I was looking at rebuild shops, but I can't picture a mom and pop rebuild lasting another 160K. Anyway $1,100 seems like a decent deal. Planning on sticking a ZZ4 cam in and porting the heads while I am at it. Should I go with the steel head gaskets for more compression?What does everybody think? I know the ZZ4 partial engine is another good deal, but it is quite a bit more money to spend on a daily driver.

http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...id=514&pid=620

 

I'd say ask all the local racers where they go for engine work. And thats where i would go. Sometimes family businesses take more care than large engine shops. Especially considering you aren't going to be building an all out engine costing 10k.
JP

 

But who has better quality control than GM? Do you think I could save alot of money by going to a rebuild? I like the idea of a new engine, and the fact that the car won't be off the road more than a weekend.

 

how about Honda? haha, just kidding. think about it, on the assembly line, speed is key, also GM doesn't necessarily use the highest quality bearing and such, because of cost. And i doubt they are balanced as well as someone who take their time with it. Also a shops clearences will probally be tighter. Doesn't mean they aren't good, but sometimes you can get unluckly, maybe the guy tightening the rod bolt had and bad day and didn't torque the bolts correctly. $1,100 isn't bad for a short block it will probally cost around the same amout to have your block bored, honed, new pistons, and the whole deal. If you are doing the assembly you can save money, otherwise perhaps that shortblock is right for you. Also when you have the engine apart at the shop you can get higher compression pistons, bigger cam, for almost the same price as stock replacment parts.
JP