New Engine, need opinions/advice

[Grey_Knight]

OK guys, I know I have been asking a lot of questions lately, and I thank you all for the help. This project is going well, but I still hit the wall sometimes. My latest "wall" is dealing with the new engine. I have spent the last 2 weeks reading forums, blogs, reviews, etc, as to what my engine should be.

 

Heres my problem, it had a stock L28E in it. I could buy a rebuilt L28E for about $600, while the average rebuild kit is between $6-700, so it seems more cost effective to just buy the rebuilt one. Second, if I want to increase performance and power I could go L28ET for about $2800. Thats for a rebuilt one shipped to my house. Lastly, I have been toying with the V8 conversion idea. I have seen some really nice V8's but is it worth it over the L28ET. For roughly the same price am I just "spinning my wheels", no pun intended. This is where I defer to you all for some input.

 

Thanks,

John

[Daeron]

Personally, I find it very hard to pass up on the trumpet-clarion of the L-6 in NA trim.

 

Many many many others can attest to the addiction that is boost, especially on an already torquey I6 motor.

 

Many many many others will also attest to how much fun it is wrapping a small-block up to 6500 through first, second, and third, without even thinking of the effort the motor is putting out.

 

Not knowing your personal tastes and history (heck body size and shape even comes into play) its impossible to "recommend" any option to you, but let me point out that the conventional wisdom for Z-cars for about 30 years now has been "Tune the engine so that it runs well, but spend your money on brakes and suspension first." Now, I am not trying to change your direction here; obviously you are focusing on a motor now because yours is kaputz. But, I mention this to illustrate that 300 horsepower is useless if you can't hook up the tires, and although handling isn't needed in EVERYONE's book, it sure is in mine.

 

I guess my point is, you can't enjoy a whole lot more power than stock, without building the car underneath it to suit it. However, you CAN build a car that is MUCH more fun to drive than stock, without losing the NA L6.