[Larryz71z]

My 71 Z's engine is in bad shape. Supposedly, it was rebuilt about 30,000 miles ago; but, that turned out to be a lie. She painted it and put new brakes on it and made it look nice, but the motor needs $3,000.00 worth of work or it's gonna be shot. Iv'e found a 78 for sale and am thinking I should put that engine in my car ( headers, 5-speed, it even has S.U.'s on it; which I'm a little leery of). What problems am I facing in putting this motor into my 71? I'm told this is a good idea and is easy to do; then again, I was told the engine had been rebuilt. Thanks for any help.
Larry

 

[fantaz]

Can't give engine swapping advice, but don't let the SU's scare you. They are very simple and reliable!

 

[escanlon]

I'm no mechanic, but $3k for a repair on an ENGINE. Heck, I'm sure you could BUY a completely rebuilt engine even with the core charge cheaper than that from Motorsports. Actually $1800 + Core + Freight. Heck, if you used AIR FREIGHT, you would still be looking at less than 3k even if you ate the core.

ZBarn is another place that I'm sure would sell you a working engine that with a bit of work would be up to new.

Heck Larry, if you believe that $3k engine repair estimate, can I interest you in some beachfront property in Nevada?

 

[GrahamBCZ]

Just a bit of hard work and a few bleeding knuckle

Everything should swap over no problem! If the 280 has SUs than you dont have to worry about any of the plumbing and electrical that you would have to if you were using the FI system. You'll get a bigger engine and a 5 speed too. The only problem you may have is the shifter through the tranny tunnel but that's easy to over come.

 

[johnh240]

Just to throw a different wrench in here. Do you completely trust the person that quoted a $3000 engine job? Or was this to make a high perf engine? Perhaps you might be getting bent over about that quote. What is wrong with current engine? Perhaps the engine WAS rebuilt 30k ago, and only needs some minor work now? Just playing devils advocate here, but maybe another estimate/ opinion would be in order. These engines may have some recurring problems, but not many. They have always been considered pretty bulletproof and can run for a loooonnnngg time with leaky valves, burning a bit of oil etc. The 280 woud be a good swap but want to make sure it is a good one. Perhaps just a few bucks more for some semblance of a guarantee that compression is good across anyway.

 

[bugdown]

John,
I agree with everyone here, 3000 is a bunch of money for engine repairs. I just had my big block chevy rebuilt for 1500 and that's a much biger dollar engine. I would definitely get a second opinion on your engine repair.