Flmac02Z

Hey,

I'm planning a rebuild on my '96 Z28's LT1 that has 85,000 miles on it. It also has coolant mysteriously leaking...
Anyways, I am just aiming to get my car back running the way it's supposed to so I can make trips home from college (7 hr drive) with peace of mind and with a car that is wicked.

We're working on the engine out of the car at my buddies shop in a room he has for working on engines...
Would these two kits pretty much cover everthing i'll need to replace in order to do a proper rebuild?
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...50+4294870280+
http://greenwoodchevy.com/parts/12480002.html

Anything else I might need or suggestions on a better top end would be helpful.
BTW: my budget is snugly within $1600.

Thanks,
~Kevin

jclark311

I was looking at the same kit a while back, you are still going to need to get your rotating assembly balanced for those pistons, probably cost you 150 to 300, and why go with a hotcam? Check the specs, it isnt that much different than stock. You can buy springs and a better cam, and roller rockers for about the same price.

Flmac02Z

I'm definitely open to doing that, any suggestions on something that would be good for my HW drive? I'm trying to get decent cruising mileage but I'm willing to sacrifice for more power...

~Kevin

96capricemgr

A mysterious coolant leak is not going to be fixed by messing with a perfectly good rotating assembly and likely putting some lower than stock quality parts in their place.

In your situation as long as you have exhausted all other option I would be looking at head gaskets but those are FAR from a full rebuild.

Pull the heads and inspect them VERY closely as well as the block as best you can still assembled. Inspect the used head gaskets very closely as well to see if you can see where the leak was. If there is still used oil in the motor send a sample out for analysis $20 can tell you if coolant is making it's way into the oil in which case then you can consider tearing into the shortblock but in that case you would be looking for a cracked block though there are other ways coolant can get into the oil like head bolts leaking.

I REALLY think you are jumping the gun and making a mistake planning a full rebuild at this point.
I would agree with the others that say keep researching cams too, the HOT cam works it is just not as wonderful as it's reputation would lead you to believe and the actual cam is a small part of the price of a cam swap so might as well get the right one. The springs in the HOT kit are also quite marginal for the LT1's heavier valves, it will control them for a LITTLE WHILE but not on the long term.

Flmac02Z

I've been meaning to do a rebuild for awhile now for multiple reasons, not just for this problem...I don't want to just fix the coolant problem and leave the rest of the engine under suspicion for other problems that may be lurking...plus this gives me peace of mind that I know all the work was done properly and i'm not waiting for something stupid to go that would leave me stranded hours between homes.
Wouldn't planning for an engine rebuild and starting to take the engine apart help find problems with it? I'd figure that i'd be able to examine majority of the engine pretty closely.
I understand everyone's opinion of the Hot cam which is why I am open to any other suggestions to aid me in choosing my setup. Links would be really helpful.
Also, what did you mean when you said replacing with lower quality parts than oem? Which kit were you talking about in regards to lower quality parts?

Thanks

~Kevin