I have a 96 z that has been sitting for a few years. The car has about 120k on the clock. I know it was sprayed by the owner before me. I picked the car up with about 60k on it. Still has great oil psi. I would like to refresh it but I don't know witch way to go. I'm not looking for anything super crazy. What can I do to freshen up the short block? I would like to put a nice head and cam setup in and get it back on the road. Everything from the motor back in pretty much brand new.

 

Honestly the old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it" applies here. "Freshening up the bottom end" only makes sense if you're going to be adding some (significant) horsepower in the near future outside of what the stock bottom end can take, and most stock bottom ends in good shape with good oil pressure can handle just about any mild to medium heads/cam swap. Fact is the factory did a better job putting together the bottom end then most current engine shops do so it pays to keep building on GM's quality.

If you're still interested in rebuilding though I would use the stock rods, stock crank, maybe a forged piston. Only overbore if necessary.

 

I was thinking the same thing. But I was just making sure. I have to chance the oil pan because the drain plug stripped out. Would it be smart to change the pump wall i am in there? Or just leave it all along and slap a head/cam in it and be good.

 

Like I said I wouldn't change a thing. MAYBE I'd change the oil pump spring out for a higher pressure spring, but changing the entire pump is unnecessary, IMO.

 

becareful with the cam bearings tho... Even tho its got good oil pressure, you can still have worn out cam bearings. I had 160k on an old sbc L98 that i was gonna do a cam swap in but after taking out the stock cam i noticed the front cam bearing had significant wear. Probably from loose timing chain being so old, hard to say. I didnt want to take the chance and put money towards a new motor.

Just something to watch out for.

 

cool thanks for all the info