RUSH2112

If it were your car, what would you do in this situation?

You have a 93 LX convertible with 143,xxx miles. You have already put over $2,000 into the car just to get it on the road. The car burns about 1 qt of oil every 1500 miles and the coolant needs filled every 3000 miles, and they are not leaking on the ground so it is going somewhere internally. You have a tight budget and want to keep whatever project to an absolute minimum. Do you…

1) replace the motor with a crate motor and put out around $4-5K. By doing so you’ll also need whatever upgrade parts to compensate the new motor (ie injectors, intake…..)

2) pull the motor and rebuild it with new rings, seals, etc so that it is like a brand new stock motor

3) pull the motor and rebuild it with upgraded internal parts and bore it .30 over, then add on the extra goodies like a cam, heads, intake, rockers, etc….

4) sell the car and take your losses

Let me know your thoughts and the cheapest route and most economical route for an extremely budget inflicted project. You also would like to have this project finished by May 2007.

PJB

How about getting a junkyard motor out of a wrecked car and doing basic bolt ons and maybe heads and a cam before you drop it in?
You should be able to get a good running motor for $750 or less and get a set of used heads for $500-700 and then a cam for about $200.

7upedition

^ +1 ... get a used 5.0 motor, have it machined and balanced, rebuild it w/ a stroker kit and a new top end and when its all done do the swap! then you'll have a 331 or 347 stroker putting down 300+ hp

AdderMk2

buy an already rebuilt shortblock off ebay for $700, toss some gt-40 heads on it with a mild cam (perhaps TFS stage 1) and a nice intake.... all together your looking at around $2000 for a awesome motor

Twisted

I think he already has a used motor, 7up. For reference though, Rush, I've heard some folks say that their 5.0s used that much oil from the time they bought it new. Mine uses about that much, and runs like a champ! You might consider just fixing your coolant leak, and running the motor for a while until you get enough money to do to it what you want. How does the car run now?

RUSH2112

Yep, why not just pull my motor and strip it?

Stanpower

I would pull the motor out and look for a good deal on H/P engine there're out there...Good luck on your decesion

Twisted

Hey Rush, re-read my last post, as I added more to it afterwards. Also, I was having slow coolant consumption also, although nothing was leaking onto the ground. I eventually found a small trickle-sized leak where the upper radiator hose attaches to the thermostat housing. You may want to search very carefully for a leak. If the car runs well, and there's no white smoke coming from the exhaust, your motor may be in good shape.

Sorry for the bad grammar and spelling. It's fixed now.

RUSH2112

Thanks for the reply Twisted. I'll check for the coolant leakage. As far as the oil consumption, I would have to say it is all internal. I see no wetness underneath of any kind. I was at a mustang show and on the cruise to the show, someone behind me (in a mustang) mentioned I was blowing smoke out the tail-pipes when I mashed the gas (blue or black which he indicated was probably oil burning, and it was a small puff).

Other than that, the car runs strong with a slight odor (not sure if it's unburnt gas or oil)

Chuy1988

How bout a 351 block. Just get one at a junk yard and you start building it. Hopefully you finish it before the one you have know throws in the towel. Just a thought.