I have a '97 Z28 that leaks oil bad. I haven't driven the car in 3 years. I really want to get her running strong again now that I have the money to work it. I realize that maybe all I need to do is replace seals but I think I want to have the engine rebuilt. It has 100,000 mi. Right now I have $3k to start with. Any suggestions?

 

Well you can see where the oil is coming from, my guess is front/rear seal, valve covers, or intake manifold. Need to know general area of the leak. If you can do a quick and cheap fix to get her running while you save more to get aGM performance parts new LT1 or even another aftermarket LT1 that is modded to your needs.

You could also buy the block assembly with new pistons and lower half and then clean and reuse the upper half of the motor and put in new gaskets and seals.

Another idea would be a used LT1 to get her running and then slowly build the one you remove to meet your needs.

Just a couple of thoughts.

 

I had some what of the same prob but no where near as bad as you. Just recently I noticed oil on the water pump and my opti. The engine only has about 12,000 miles on the rebuild so I just need to tighten up some screws on my intake and that might take care of that. By the way you make it sound you have a major leak and if it's down low then you more than likely have a bad main engine seal like nuttyprofessor suggested. I checked out what a basic rebuild and install at local shop and they were going to charge me about $2500. But again that was a basic rebuild. If your looking for more performance then that's a different story.