so my car got totaled and i bought my self a 96 z28 with the insurance money. the car needed minor body work on the front end, and ran fairly well for the first week. anyway, the guy i bought it from told me it overheated on him once or twice and a shop told him the radiator was restricting flow. i didnt think much of it. easy fix right? HA!

long story short i replaced the radiator and it over heated again. then i thought the thermostat might be broke. i took the elbow off the pump and there was no thermostat at all. so i put one in. still overheated the next day. so i took the car to a shop and learned that i had a blown head gasket.

now i have two options. keep in mind that my tax return gives me about 1500 to work with (soon as i get it). option 1 is to replace the gasket and "bandaid" the car. option 2 is to longblock it with a rebuilt lt1 for 1300. was wondering if anyone can offer any advice on this. ill be doing the labor my self as the shops here in dallas charge an arm and a leg. (was quoted 4200 to have an engine installed). which rout should i take? if i replace the engine, what size lift should i use and where can i rent one? are there any good how-to's for either job?

thanks a bunch!

 

Just replace the head gasket and change the oil. Hopefully it didn't do too much damage.

Start small, and if you have to, THEN do the rebuild.

 

well, the car has 162k miles on it and the previous owner liked to race with it a lot. im expecting a fair amount of wear. one of the other problems is the starter is having a hard time turning the engine. not sure if that's related to the gasket, but when i try to cold start the car i can hear the gear catch but but it seems like there is too much resistance to turn the motor. its a new starter too. the old one broke a week after i bought the car. go figure. i had the same problem with the old starter too so i know its not a starter problem.

my biggest concern tho, is that i cant really afford to be doing major repair work on this car, and with this tax return, i can only do one or the other. i cant go the gasket rout and find out the car still wont start and then have to replace the engine anyway or tear it back apart. thats why i figure it might be best to do the swap and have a warranty rather than gamble with the head.
i found a basic removal guide at http://www.michiganspeed.com/enginepull/index.html that looks fairly straight forward, and i was told about a site called alldatadiy.com that should have more thorough instructions. i agree that normally starting small is best, but as ive mentioned, ive only got one shot to get this right. im really leaning on pulling the engine.

 

talk to craby on here...he just recently found a brand new LT1 shortblock for 1199...its a 4 bolt main so it will handle more power.

or you can try to find a used motor...but who knows how that one was treated? if i were you...i'd tear the motor out...take it to a machine shop...have them see what is good and whats not...and then do a standard rebuild on it. that way you know what you have to work with instead of gambling on something used. however...i may have a spare shortblock for sale soon

 

i found a local company that rebuilds engines that quoted me about $1300 to fully machine and rebuild the engine ive got. they're called City Motor Supply, and seem pretty reputable. a 4 bolt main would be nice tho. they also sell high performance engines, which i may look into a few years down the road, but as of right now this is my only car and i need to get it running as fast as possible with as little pain and money as i can get away with. dont get me wrong, i hate going the cheap rout. i find that i spend less money in the long run if i put a little more down upfront. i want to do this right the first time.

not having much luck finding lifts for rent. id hate to have to spend $200+ on something ill only use once or twice, and have no place to keep it. any advice on where to rent one and what size to get?

 

not a clue on where to get one...

 

Hi,
If it was me in this situation you find yourself in, with the problems you've mentioned and the budget you have. From other cars I've had, I'd presume the water pump was away and thats why it was overheating - considering you've replaced the radiator and thermostat, and it has around 162k miles.
I'd aim to replace the cylinder head gaskets and get the heads skimmed if required and replace the water pump while I was in there, then put it back together and I'd expect it to be running good.
I'm not sure about the starter problem, I would check the battery for its power output being right. I did have a similar problem with a celica I owned and this was due to it not being driven frequently but in that case I swapped out the starter and never had any probs after that.
Hope you get it sorted out soon.

 

the pump is only about 4 months old according to the seller. he replaced it after the first time it overheated on him.

 

the heads have probably warped being as you said its overheated a couple times. so you'd have to get those planed otherwise you will end up with the same problem

 

agree with whammer. if your changing the gaskets and the heads are warped or cracked you will be wasting time and $. if your buying time just do the heads and save for the big heart transplant. on the other hand tpis sells a lift plate so you can pull just the motor out the top side. 50$ im going to give it a go next spring when im ready with the new motor. i have a fork lift but dont want to chance doing any damage to the car lifting it and like you dont have access to a lift to rent (tokeland is in the boonies) and dont want to pay out the a-- to git done at the shop.