Vn 304 rebuild

[VS 5.0]

Probably could go as high as $10k but of course if it can be done for less then would be better.

Unlikely

Tried to add a pic but the file is too big.

Use Imgur

 

[Deuce]

Stroker bottom end with pistons that achieve reasonable compression. Stock heads and rockers. 70mm throttle body. A hydraulic flat tappet cam and good assembly.
Should come in under 10k maybe??

Yes you could double that with heads, intake, sump, roller cam etc all added in, but surely 10k will suffice a reasonable build for cruising.

 

[losh1971]

Stroker bottom end with pistons that achieve reasonable compression. Stock heads and rockers. 70mm throttle body. A hydraulic flat tappet cam and good assembly.
Should come in under 10k maybe??

Yes you could double that with heads, intake, sump, roller cam etc all added in, but surely 10k will suffice a reasonable build for cruising.

I found when I was pricing up parts for my Buick, most parts for a 304 were considerably less expensive for the equivalent grade of part to what I used. $500 would get some porting done.

 

[gtrboyy]

10k LS conversion pre-covid may have been possible if you did everything yourself.

Could easily spend 10k on setup that is already in car without blinking.

 

[Richo0902]

Hey guys, finally got around to cropping the pic. Hopefully this works now. Also,.what had a chat with a mechanic. His honest opinion was to head down the path of an L98 if the budget was available. LS1 apparently can have piston slap and something else from what I got told and with stroker engines, you don't get a good life out of the them (from what I got told). I'm so confused. Has anyone done down the path of buying a salvage car and stripping the engine, gearbox etc out of it and selling the rest......

 

[Richo0902]

Hey guys, finally got around to cropping the pic. Hopefully this works now. Also,.what had a chat with a mechanic. His honest opinion was to head down the path of an L98 if the budget was available. LS1 apparently can have piston slap and something else from what I got told and with stroker engines, you don't get a good life out of the them (from what I got told). I'm so confused. Has anyone done down the path of buying a salvage car and stripping the engine, gearbox etc out of it and selling the rest......

 

[shane_3800]

Hey guys, finally got around to cropping the pic. Hopefully this works now. Also,.what had a chat with a mechanic. His honest opinion was to head down the path of an L98 if the budget was available. LS1 apparently can have piston slap and something else from what I got told and with stroker engines, you don't get a good life out of the them (from what I got told). I'm so confused. Has anyone done down the path of buying a salvage car and stripping the engine, gearbox etc out of it and selling the rest......

L98 is going to be more expensive.
Strokers last fine if built right.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Also,.what had a chat with a mechanic.

Should probably get some more information from other people than just a single mechanic, mainly from an automotive engineer before you start if you want it to be legit. From a dollar per KW standpoint, yes, the later LS engines are the logical option but will be a fair bit more dicking around to get working. There are companies that make off the shelf conversion looms and such, just make sure you do your research about the wiring and ECU.

Honestly though, if you're paying somebody to do it your budget will blow out massively. I personally know somebody who did this conversion in a VS and their labour/consumables cost was a bit below 10k from a pretty reputable shop close to me.

You sound unsure, your first post was about a 'spruce up' without going overboard and now you're talking about an L98 conversion. I think you need to re-evaluate what you want from the car and what you will actually be using it for, and what that will cost you not only in money, but effort and time.

 

[Richo0902]

Should probably get some more information from other people than just a single mechanic, mainly from an automotive engineer before you start if you want it to be legit. From a dollar per KW standpoint, yes, the later LS engines are the logical option but will be a fair bit more dicking around to get working. There are companies that make off the shelf conversion looms and such, just make sure you do your research about the wiring and ECU.

Honestly though, if you're paying somebody to do it your budget will blow out massively. I personally know somebody who did this conversion in a VS and their labour/consumables cost was a bit below 10k from a pretty reputable shop close to me.

You sound unsure, your first post was about a 'spruce up' without going overboard and now you're talking about an L98 conversion. I think you need to re-evaluate what you want from the car and what you will actually be using it for, and what that will cost you not only in money, but effort and time.

Thanks for your comments. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure which way to go. I like the idea of updating the engine, wiring..etc but with a limited budget obviously that would restrict me. I just don't want to go down the path of doing something with the engine and then say to myself, why didn't I do something else..... The concept of keeping the original motor in these cars seem to go by the wayside these days.

 

[_R_J_K_]

The concept of keeping the original motor in these cars seem to go by the wayside these days.

Because of the reach of the internet there's a lot more exposure of people's engine conversions, but I would hardly say it's the norm.

People are able to slap things together on the internet, some of them at a budget price, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're good long term or maintenance free because of the stuff they did that they didn't show you. People working on a 304 in a VN isn't as interesting because that's the way it's been since the VN came out (not to mention they're far less common now).

Also important to remember that a lot of conversion threads you read (for any type of car) like this on forums are usually multi year projects because people are just doing this in their spare time or they're tinkerers. There are not a lot of people who think their engine being worn out constitutes knocking out an engine conversion in a couple of weeks as a normal solution.

Refresh and engine conversion are two very different things.

How many k's is on your 304?