i hvae a 97 2.4l cav conv. i have about 2 grand and want to build the engine inernals up. what should i start with?
i already have ps 4-1 header
upper n lower engine mounts and intake with full xhaust set up. figured it was time for the engine. know im probably going to want pistons and bearings. any help please?
my goals are to beaf up my engine alone-increase hp without the use of sc,turbo, or nos. maybe in the not so near future ill either sc or turbo. but right now just build a decent-nice engine with the most hp gains i can get with the money i have available. i can later add to the engine.
The "down the road" mods to the engine will greatly change what you put into the motor. If you want a high horsepower na car, you'd use high compression pistons, but if you want to boost it down the road, you want low compression pistons. You need a solid plan before you end up spending money twice.
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well like i said a turbo or w/e i do wont be for a while-and i hear high compression pistons without it will actually slow my car down. im talking about i can add to the engine as in internals here and there. a turbo or s/c wont be for about a year and a half. so id like to stick just to the engine internals.
Wherever you heard that from is wrong. Higher compression pistons give more horsepower.
If you do the turbo or s/c, are you going to want to replace the pistons, again? That means pulling the engine out, pulling the pistons out, replacing the bearings (expensive), honing the cylinders, etc.
If you are going to do the turbo later, then build for it now. Lower compression pistons, slight overbore on the cylinders (.020"), clevite 77 bearings, eagle rods, etc.
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i ment lower pistons w/o a turbo or anything. either that or overbored pistons
I build a 96 sunfire gt for $2000 with the price of the car $325, i put eagle rods, molly rings and brand name stuff the most expenise thing i bout was a flywheel 9.5 lb, just look hard for parts (ebay) just be careful, $2000 is enought for a solid build, if i were you go ahead a put low com pisions cause down the road your really going to want that power!!
Are you doing your own work? Either way 2 grand isn't quite enough to do a lot.... If you want to keep it relatively mild, I would pull the head, and get it to a machine shop for a port and polish, valve job, and upgrade your springs, etc. Then reinstall it with the hybrid cams, new timing chain, guides, tensioner, and water pump. This will give you a nice bump in power, (the headwork and cams) and also give your car some life. I'm guessing the mileage is a bit high, but with it being a vert, it doesn't get driven as much as a typical car... what's the mileage? Have you already ever replaced the water pump?
Any leftover exhaust I would spend on intake or exhaust. If you have just a header, you could finish off the exhaust, or upgrade the intake side. A bigger throttle body, or an HO manifold will help. Do you have urethane motor mounts yet?
It sounds to me like you are just getting started. If I were in your position, I would just be covering the basics and making the car breathe better, before worrying about my bottom end. In fact, this is the route I took, and I'm impressed with it so far. It's maintained it's driveability, and it's reliability (to a degree... It's still a Jbody)... I have spent more than 2 grand, and have all the above mentioned. I'm sure if someone planned better than I did, they could get it done for a lot cheaper.
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now. its a daily driven car. has about 130,000 miles. i have a full cat 2.25, magna high flow cat conv. with borla muffler along with the head. already have intake top and bottom motor mounts. i can have someone do the work pretty cheap so im not worried bout that. i just not sure about parts and what to get. of course i want more hp out of my car.
well i bought pistons and rods for my build and that burnt up 800 bucks cause i got a deal on the rods also remember that your going to wanna buy all new gaskets and bearings for the main and rod, you can do it with 2k but your not gonna be able to afford to do the 2.3 pump swap and headwork like i did, ran me 3k and some change for a 100% full rebuild which is about everything possible to the block and head.
heres alittle rough estimate of some good stuff to get for a rebuild:
valves-$200
head gasket-$100
pistons-$475
rods-$350
rod and main bearings-$115
gasket set-$100 maybe
as for the machine work like port and polish, decking head/block and boring the cylinders out thats up to the machine shop, all in all the machine shop charged me like $750 to do everything possible to the engine including putting bottom end and head on along with doing the 2.3 pump swap. can get pricey but its gonna be worth it if you have big expectations for your j-body
