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With those mods done, you've got LOTS of trouble free miles left in your '88.....
Only 47 days, 11 hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds left until spring, but who's counting?
That's what I thought too......things didn't quite work out as planned as usual since I am tearing into it again after only two years. Good thing I don't have to pay someone for labor. Hopefully I will be good for a long time after this one.
The parts are there right now.....we'll see how out of control this price quote gets.
So here's what they want to do.
-replace intake guides as they are shot
-serdi-cut 5-angle valve job
-bore/hone cylinders
-new oem stock cast pistons/ring set
parts plus labor $715.00+tax.
I thought about a cam change, bumping compression, 2 into 1, ect. I am willing to spend a little more on the engine but only for significant gain. Keep in mind I want someone to dyno tune this thing when I am done. I also thought about chucking the cylinders and buying a new cylinder/piston set and just having the heads fixed. About $400 for parts and labor on heads, $300 for cyinder work and pistons. Options?, Opinions?
My '98 Ultra ran all over the East Coast with this set-up: HQ heads, 10:1 Weisco, EVL 30/30 Cam, Power Commander, HI Flow AC, True Dual Hearders w/ Supertrapp mufflers. Sold it at 65,000 miles. Please re-consider the cam change in order to get the most out of the heads you bought.
I don't see a need to buy new pistons,clean your old pistons and re-use them. The money that you were going to spend on pistons,use to get an EV27 cam. It works great with stock compression.
The cylinders do have some decent scoring. The motor does only have 68k on it. I believe a bore/cylinder and piston replacement is in order. I have heard some? evo cylinders are prone to cracking. Is that true? What years if any would that be?
Haven't heard of any jugs cracking...there were some case issues in earlier model years, but a '98 should be fine.
Going .010" or .020" over and a good set of Wiseco or JE pistons is it.
They are both good slugs.. JE's are a bit lighter than the Wiseco's.....both excellent quality.
Take the pistons to the shop doing the boring and have them measure and fit them to the cylinder bore.
People have used Wiseco and JE for years with good results, I know because we were one of them. That being said we now use Mahle Pistons, just look on the side of most NASCAR race cars and you will see a Mahle sticker. These guys can use any piston they want and they choose Mahle, so we do the same now.
We are very happy with them and have had great results with them. On the cylinders, use your existing as they have taking a set after having been heat cycled. You should probably go .010 oversized. Make sure the shop uses torque plates when they do the job. If you want to pick up a couple of extra cheap Horsepower take a look at Total Seal Gapless Rings. Hope this helps.
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