Freshen up motor or leave it alone?

[90_Red_LX]

Hey guys, I was thinking about having my motor freshened up. What I mean by that is put new bearings, rings, and seals in it and put it back together. Cleaned also too. The reason being is I want to do a stroker or a 351W in the future, and I don't have the funds to shove a stroker kit in there, so I probably wouldn't even bore it unless I had to. I want to do a h/c/i, but I noticed my oil pressure dips sometimes, and I don't want to put everything on, have it spin a bearing, then I just wasted all that money on gaskets. What do you guys think? Or would I be better off to pull the oil pan and check the bearings before I made a decision? Or maybe a compression test? I just don't want to waste a lot of money and time tearing it apart, putting it back together, then have it grenade on me right after that.

 

[90_Red_LX]

Anyone have any insight? Just trying to figure my options out.

 

[IntenseBlue]

I'd go ahead and rebuild it. I got a full rebuild kit from FelPro through Summit for $292.xx change. Came with Speed Pro rings/bearings and a full FelPro gasket set.

 

[JChalfan]

How many miles does your engine have?

If you are going to put a bunch of money into a H/C/I combo, it would be worth freshening up the motor. Once you look at the time and effort to remove the engine and install new rings, bearings and reseal it, it might be worth getting it bored and having the crank turned if necessary.

Jeff

 

[90_Red_LX]

I dunno what to do. Because I was thinking about stepping up to a 351 based block one day, but I have no clue. I guess I really need to talk to the machinist and see what he says about price and reccommendations.

 

[88Stang331]

I'm a firm believer in doing it right the first time.

 

[90_Red_LX]

Yeah I know I would be kind of half assing it in a way, but then again if the bores are still in good shape I don't really see a major problem with it. Then again I may just h/c/i and see what it does idk. It runs strong and shows no signs of being tired but who knows. Roughly how much would it cost to hot tank it, bore it .030, and get it ready to reuse? If the price isn't too bad I may go ahead and bore it.