just wondering if they made any L98's that were 4 bolt mains? or were they all? or what just need some clearing up. also i have heard a lot of different ratings on max hp/torque/rpm you can run on the on the 2 bolt, and how much on the 4 bolter?

 

All L-98 engines were 2-bolt main.

 

I thought the vettes had 4 bolts?

 

do you guys know how much a 2 bolt can handle vs a 4 bolt i would like to build a 383 and i dont think i should use the 2 bolt.

 

l

 

nice f-body

 

hey thanks i just got it late this year im glad you like it i have no money for mods yet but hey thats what winter is for right? saving up!

 

where are u located

 

good ol' wisconsin. i love where i live because we get snow so i can go snowmobiling but it sucks i have to to my car away. no snow yet though

 

We have found that the 2 bolt blocks are stronger then the straight 4 bolt blocks. I am not afraid to make 450hp on a 2 bolt setup, but I would open up the main oil passages a bit for high rpm use.

 

Nope. I dont know why a vast amount of people seem to think that. Vettes were 2 bolt as well.

 

Is there any differance i the trannys in the 90 vette and the 88 trans-am...I guess what I'm saying is are they interchangeable?

 

A 4 bolt is always going to be stronger than a two bolt..
If you want a 4 bolt main 1 piece rear main seal just look up a salvage yard and ask if they have a gm 350 vortec motor I got my long block for 300 bucks from a wrecked truck since I have plans for a charger and some nos.

 

No. Basically the same but I beleive the tailhousings are different. If you put an f-body tail on a vette 700 it should work. i think the vette tranny is a few inches longer.

 

[context police]On a typical 350.[contex police]

 

My 383 is a 2 bolt. I had it internally balanced and used ARP studs instead of bolts for the mains. And like mentioned above I had everything rework for improved oiling.

 

A 2 bolt will work just fine for you unless your going to be pushing some serious power, but it sounds like your not. If you are dead set on a 4 bolt, do it right and get a 2 bolt onverted to a 4 bolt. Will cost you a little more but its way stronger than a "typical" 4 bolt.

 

oh ok never was sure

 

A splayed 2 bolt main is stronger then a 4 bolt main block. If I were u I would use a vortec block with splayed main caps. Splayed is when the 2 stock bolts are used but then 2 more a drilled in at an angle where the 2 other bolts would be on a 4 bolt.

Jason

 

if you are wanting a 383 stroker, I would suggest using a 4 bolt main block simply because of the longer stroke.

 

A way to make a 2 bolt main block even stronger than a 4 bolt block is to use a "main support". This is a brace that bolts across all 5 main caps, thus tying them all together and sort of creating a 10 bolt main engine. The theory behind this is simple, if one main cap tries to come-off, it has to take all of the others with it at the same time.

 

Uhm, cuz they did. Most any late 1pc vette has a 4 bolt main. It's been published in all the books.

What the vette L98s didnt get was the steel crank. Those however are in a ton of buses, and 3/4ton trucks.

-- Joe

 

Ummm.. Not to start an argument here, but... I am not sure where you've read this stuff??? I have torn apart plenty of L98 Vette motors at the GM dealership I worked at, none were 4 bolt to date.

 

See I don't understand that. Up until recently a local guy around here was stripping and selling vette parts for years. All the 1pc rear L98 blocks had 4 bolt mains. I used to have a list of the casting numbers.

If I recall the camaro performance handbook, chevy smallblock performance are two I can think of.

My block which is casting #14093638 was available in many vettes. has a cast date of 1989, and has 4 bolt mains. (and no, I'm not seeing double!)


If you've seen vettes with 2bolt mains, I'd like to clearify once and for all what justified a 2 vs 4 in a perticular application.. The manual tranny?

-- Joe

 

All the ones I have torn down were with both auto & stick... Also none of our GM books or parts lists show them with a 4 bolt either... Our shop deals with many Vettes. I've probably participate in, or witnessed well over 200 tear downs or more.

 

I'm tempted to drop the pan on the '90 in my shop right now. I dunno.. I think its possible they had *both*, but I know for sure many of them had 4 bolts.

-- Joe

 

Mines a 2 bolt, and it's a late L98. The other vette L98 I had was a 91, THE VERY LAST OF THEM....it was also a 2 bolt.

 

You've had the motor out?

-- Joe

 

Try a search.

There are more than a few novels on the myth of Corvette L98's and 4 bolt mains.

 

What are you talking about Chris? My '92 L98 had 4 bolt mains AND a 5-speed manual AND was an IROC.

 

Damn, I was hoping you wouldnt reply!

 

Actually, the purpose of my reply wasnt sarcasm, it was to enlighten you and others with my Einstein quotes

And for the guise of staying on topic...
No L98s with 4-bolt mains.
No Factory 5.7 liter F-body with a 5 -speed
No 1992 IROCs

 

Please don't bring this up again. We will get tons of posts on how a T5 can't even stand behind a hopped up 305..

-- Joe

 

I think I just realized something... I can't remember now if those were L98 blocks or LT1 blocks..

Actually, the more I think about it, I'm 100% positive it was LT1 motors. The F-body got a 2-bolt lt1, where the y-body got a 4-bolt.

I was confusing L98's with 3/4 ton trucks, which got 4 bolt mains.

-- Joe

 

Nope, not on the 90, but I did do a pan gasket on it.

As for the 91, it was out of the car.

My buddy had an 89, He says his was a 2-bolt as well, I helped him pull that one.

I dont know about the f-body but the vette's were 4-bolt LT1's.

 

All L-98's F-body and Corvette had 2-bolt mains. The LT-1 vette's had 4-bolt mains and the LT-1 F-bodies had 2-bolt mains.

As far as strength is concerned you can put 500 HP through a 2-bolt main block without a problem as long as you keep the RPM under 7000. The caps start to move around when you get the RPM near 7000.