Engine Rebuild/Upgrade?

Beetleboi -Greg- · February 02, 2008, 04:55:31 AM

Hey, I was afraid to attach this to somebody else's post. So I just made my own. An engine rebuild is in my future plans. Should I start saving up for upgrade parts? How big can you make the engine with a stock carb?

6T5 square · February 02, 2008, 07:37:32 PM

A piece of advice- get the rest of your car to 100% first. A faster motor will just get you extra headaches.

Beetleboi -Greg- · February 02, 2008, 08:10:09 PM

I know. I'm just thinking ahead. Of what I would like to do in the future.

lovebus (jack) · February 02, 2008, 10:41:21 PM

Heed the philosopher of great wisdom advice. Fix what you have and forget the rebuild unless absolutely needed.

jthw8 · February 02, 2008, 11:33:43 PM

Quote from: 6d4vdub (jack) on February 02, 2008, 10:41:21 PM
Heed the philosopher of great wisdom advice. Fix what you have and forget the rebuild unless absolutely needed.

Truer words were never spoken. Unless you have deep pockets and a need to spend money then the old "if it aint broke dont fix it" rule always applies.

As far as the general question of a bigger motor there is another old addage which applies well. Speed costs, how fast do you want to go? If you think you can do it right without a few thousand dollars think again. Good motor work is not cheap. And a stock carb wont take you far, it should be one of the first items of your upgrade list.

Beetleboi -Greg- · February 03, 2008, 01:43:37 AM

Sigh. I think I'm just going to keep it stock for a while. I have duelcarbaphobia. So how long should I wait for a rebuild if the engine smokes blue when cold. I think Jack you said it isn't that serious. When will it become serious?

jthw8 · February 03, 2008, 08:02:31 AM

You dont necessarily have to go with duals on an upgrade. There are larger single carbs which can be used but they limit the levels of upgrade and wont perform as well as duals.

Blue smoke on startup sounds like valve guides. Even if they got worse you could probably get away with just rebuilding the heads not the whole motor.

lovebus (jack) · February 03, 2008, 08:35:08 AM

Quote from: jthw8 on February 02, 2008, 11:33:43 PM
T
As far as the general question of a bigger motor there is another old addage which applies well. Speed costs, how fast do you want to go?

I call it Cubic dollors.

njgt-1 · February 03, 2008, 08:51:03 AM

Greg,

I've done enough of em and all I can say is get it running the best you can and forget about any thing "High Performance" unless you have deep pockets. Its a tough learning curve for a newbie when things don't go right.

Beetleboi -Greg- · February 04, 2008, 10:21:21 PM

Quote from: jthw8 on February 03, 2008, 08:02:31 AM

Blue smoke on startup sounds like valve guides. Even if they got worse you could probably get away with just rebuilding the heads not the whole motor.

Mechanic said the heads were replaced. Compression checks the heads right? I've been wanting to get around to getting a compression tester.

jthw8 · February 05, 2008, 08:24:31 AM

Quote from: Beetleboi on February 04, 2008, 10:21:21 PM
Mechanic said the heads were replaced. Compression checks the heads right? I've been wanting to get around to getting a compression tester.

Compression tells alot of things. It tells if the valves are sealing properly, if the rings on the pistons are still good.

But valve guides are just that they are guides, inside the head that the valves "ride" in. They wear out over time and if they do then the oil can get past them and into the combustion chambers.

Common problem on chevy V8s, very typical to see some smoke on startup with those because the wear is just enough that when the motor sits some oil drips down into the combustion chamber then waits for you to start the car and makes a little smoke.

Not a guarantee thats your problem, but overall if its not smoking constantly I would say you are ok for now. Keep an eye on it.

Beetleboi -Greg- · February 05, 2008, 09:36:52 PM

Hey thanks Jim. Once I get my compression tester I will post the results on here. I can't imagine them being over 20 bucks... though I could be wrong.

jthw8 · February 05, 2008, 09:41:01 PM

you can usually find a cheap one at pep boys or autozone.

For that matter did you check with autozone to see if they have a loaner? they loan tools out for free.

Beetleboi -Greg- · February 05, 2008, 09:43:22 PM

I heard about that Jim. They take your credit card number right? Just incase you decided to not bring it back.

*DON'T TELL THIS TO JACK*

jthw8 · February 05, 2008, 09:45:23 PM

yeah, if you dont bring it back then they charge you for it.

Here you go...Harbor Freight $8.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92697