Long story short. Helped a couple friends move to FL, and we had a big wreck on the drive down, and my friend's 96 ZQ8 S-10 was totaled. Stripped the nitrous kit and other aftermarket stuff off of it, and left it for the insurance.

Well, he ends up buying a 95 Z28, A4, 2.73's for a daily driver. Well, a-hole he bought it from put heavy oil in it; drove it a couple days and KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

He knows how to rebuild motors, and knows of machine shops (hell, he JUST redid the 383 whose main bearings went).

He is tossing the nitrous kit on the car, and wants to rebuild it fairly strong, but is very much on a budget. So far we figured some Eagle ESP 5.7" forged rods and some sort of forged piston; he is look for used if possible. Have the stock crank turned, bore her out .030 over, and new bearing all around.

Top end; here is where it is getting tricky. He obviously can't afford any head work. BUT, he would hate to have to motor out and keep a stock freaking cam in there; ugh!! Of course he is getting the PCM reprogrammed, so that's taken care of. But cam/springs/rocker selection is iffy here.

With a smaller cam, like a Hot Crap or CC305, he could probably get away with stock rocker arms, and just toss on some better springs and be done with it. Wouldn't have to rev her out too high, and would be a happy motor. BUT, small cams just aren't as fun; he's been in my car, and knows what he likes. I'm sure he also wants something off the shelf he can buy used, so for instance, I'm worried a 306 would be too big for him. Reving her out to 7k isn't an issue with a forged bottom end even on a moderate spray (most likely a 175 wet shot through the intake), but are the 2.73's gonna just destroy him down low, and how bad would the cam surge be with an auto, stock stall, and that gearing, even with a good program. I couldn't say, since all of the cars I've been in with decent cams either have much higher stalls than stock or are manuals w/ different rear gears.

Simply put, I'm trying to help him sort out his best bang for the buck in terms of performance and driveability. He wants something that will kick some *** for sure, but not totally break the bank. Maybe he really should go with a CC305 (again, something common he can find used), run stock rockers, and call it a day? What does everyone else think?

 

well, i'll try and offer what little info i can...

as far as the machine work to the block and prep work, theres not much to skimp on there. as for the bottom end, when going forged, you're looking at spending some pretty decent change regardless of which brand you go with. you could try something like a Summit or JEGS rebuild kit with forged parts. that might be a little cheaper??

the cam choice and top end will be difficult with a budget. i know what you mean about having everything out of the car and not wanting to put anything stock back in. i would see about POSSIBLY doing some home port/polishing to the heads/intake unless you just absolutely dont feel comfortable with it. i would prolly go with a Comp Cam camshaft with specs to your liking. i would get some 1.6s of some sort. you can usually find some Mag brands (Summit/JEGS) pretty cheap.

last but not least, i would ABSOLUTELY change out the gears. i dont care how much motor/spray you have, with that small of a gear, it just flat out will not accelerate like it would with a set of 3.73/4.10s. you can add a stall that will help, and if he's worried about the rear (and it understandably sounds like he would be considering the $$ issue), that might be a good way to go. BUT, it wont be an optimal set up w/o some gears, period.


hope that helps some! feel free to ask any other Qs....




jon

 

Skip the Eagle h-beams and go with Scat 4340 6" i-beams... that'll save you ~$250. I've put some serious ponies through these rods... make no mistake about it, they're tough. Remove the casting flash, polish the beams and they are good to go.

Forged pistons.... SRP, Diamond or Probe. They're all gonna set you back ~$450. Or you could go with a TRW... but they're oh so heavy.
Speed Pro file-fit rings.

Take the $250 you saved on the rods and buy a set of Harland Sharp roller rockers... you'll still have a $50 left over. Cam... just depends on how hard you want to turn the engine. With tuning the 306 is livable... of course this is always a matter of perspective, everyone's a little different.
Gears.. definitely. I'd go 4.10 and a converter.
Pay to have basic work done to the heads or do it yourself. Leave the ports alone and work the bowl area under the valves. Some common sense and Vizard's book on small block heads will get you some decent results. Just take your time... use fine-cut stuff and be careful. Have a 3-angle valve job done afterwards.

-Mindgame

 

I dont know how much of a budget it is, but here is what I am in the process of right now

For the crank I went with a used ZZ4 forged crank...200 bucks

Eagle 6" rods forged...350ish

SRP Forged pistons....300ish

Custom grind cam, lifters, pushrods....600 bucks

Nothing you can really do to skimp at the machine shop....you get what you pay for.

I found a set of ARE heads on here for a grand, brand new.

Rockers will run ya 250ish.

It all depends on how much time he has to find good deals. I figure with the deals I found on here, and thru friends with the hook up I saved about a grand. But doing it and doing it right are two different worlds. How fast do you want to spend???

Q

 

as far as the short block minus the crank and rods i would suggest a summit rebuild kit. it costs $539. and comes with forged pistons, rings, main bearings, cam bearings, rod bearings, full gasket set, freeze plugs, assy. lube, and plasti-gauge. for the money you cant go wrong and throw in some H-beam rods and a nice crank or just stick with the stock crank and you got yourself a nice 355 bottom end. Personally i plan on going with that kit for my upcoming rebuild.

for the valvetrain go i would go with a 305 cam and some gold rockers, new springs and regrind on the valves. OR since he wants to juice it just do the hotcam kit. for less than 500 bucks you get rockers, cam, springs, retainers, and shims.

for the heads im sure that you can find skarodom (or however you spell his name) to do them. He does proting right?

All in all he could spend,

Summit kit - $539.00
Rods (im not sure but about)- $350.00
Hotcam Kit - $500.00
Machine work - $500.00 <--- I wouldnt skimp here


good luck to your buddy.

 

If you've got the money, go with a forged crank and steel rods, but that aint quite budget. And frankly, for most setups, it's not needed. You can build quite a healthy motor with the stock crank and stock rods (polish the beams and use good rod bolts).