i blew my head gasket on my 97 ss. my quote is 1500 for the repair for parts and labor. he said for an additional couple hundred , not an exact number he would do routine tune up like spark plugs and wires timing chain. my other question besides if this price sounds fair is how far apart is he taking the motor down , and if hes already gonna be in there whats a good idea for a mod that wont cost me alot . i would appreciate answers, thanks

 

The plugs part is a sham. He's gonna pull the old plugs with the heads and I'll gaurentee he's gonna install in ones. As far as wires and the timming chain, including labor I'd say $300 is about right for that, as it would take him a few extra hours to pull the water pump, balancer and hub, and the timming cover.

Install a cam, if he changes the timming chain you would be 15 minutes away from a cam swap.

 

hey thanks for the quick reply , any suggestions on a cam? i dont drive it every day but i do use it on the street if that helps

 

Do the head gaskets yourself. $1500 is a lot of money you could put towards performance. It's not that hard. Just do a search on a how to. I'm sure shoebox has it on his site.

 

I definetly do not have the time nor am I mechanically inclined enough to do this on my own. I would love to put 1500 towards something else but its my only option , thanks tho

 

Edelbrock Performer RPM Cam and Lifter Kits
Camshaft, Hydraulic Roller Tappet, Advertised Duration 286/ 286, Lift .525/ .525, Chevy, Small Block LT1, Each


is anyone famliar with this cam? and if it would work well

 

ok ill do it for 1000 lol

Don

 

Then you're into valve springs, rockers, might as well do a valve job, reprogram, etc... Not that that's all bad, but it means more work, more parts, more money. Snowballs fast, doesn't it?

 

Man, for $1500 I hope he's at least gold-plating the heads while they're out...

 

I got a similar quote from several people to do my head gasket on my LT1.

Its been sitting almost a ****ing year because of buying houses and **** like that. I might be able to do it on my own, but I'm worried I'd **** the bitch all to hell.

 

i am doing mine myself and i recomend only useing gm head gaskets that what the guy that doing my heads told me. i am putting a cam and timming chain it only costing me 1100 with cam and head work spings, retaiors, locks, and roller rockers.i am doing the labor myself

 

Good mods to do while the heads are off
Heads/cam/rockers/pushrods/lifters
Headers

Cheap mods to do while the heads are off
Thinner head gaskets Higher compression good for 5-10hp
Pretty much free at this point since you have to replace them anyway.

$1500 is about right for a shop rate to put in new head gaskets.

Plugs and wires are easy, I'd do it myself. He shouldn't charge you much
for that since the heads will be off anyway. It would take all of 20 min to
run new wires and screw in new plugs.

Timing chain is a good idea, but not necessary. How many miles do you have on the car?

 

I'm in the same boat, I've been lurking here and posting once in awhile.
My '96 has been off the road for just over a year as well. I've been
going back and forth between having a garage install a Jasper LT1,
which would be about $5,000 and doing the work
myself. I'm going to do it, using every resource I can from the Haynes
manual and this fine board. I don't think I'll even throw headers on it
now, I just want it running again.
What to do with fuel that has sat in the tank for over a year ? I put
some stybil in the tank but the car was not running at that point.
Sorry to hijack your thread but I read EVERY head gasket thread I can
find and part of putting my Z back on the road includes new water pump,
have radiator boiled out, etc. I got no advance warning, my Z just
puked coolant on the expressway and 20-30 seconds later the
head gasket said "see ya "