Quote:
Originally Posted by d14099
hi thanks for reading i have an 88 chev 5.7 with 262000 time for a heart transplant i have an 80-85 sbc what are the differences will the front motor plates and serp belt work on this engine or do i need the old set up to make this work. also the 88 is a tbi and the other is naturarlly aspirated q jet set up, any help appreciated any ideas
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The flexplate is not interchangeable - the earlier block has a two piece rear main seal with a counterweight on the crank flange - the later block has a one piece seal with the counterweight on the flexplate.
MagicRat is correct about the water pump - you will have to use the water pump for which your belt drive is designed. The serp pump does rotate reverse of the crank, while the old V-belt drive rotates with the crank.
You will get better economy and better midrange and low-end performance using the centerbolt, swirl-port heads on the '88 engine. The two center bolts on each side of the intake on these heads are situated at 72 degrees vs. 90 degrees on the outside bolts (or all bolts on the earlier heads), so the intakes are not interchangeable.
As MagicRat states, the '88 is all around the better design. I went from 492 heads (older style camelback/double hump 'fuelie' heads with accessory bolt holes), to a set of 193 heads (the heads likely on your '88 5.7) - lost nothing down low, yet increased the midrange at the sacrifice of top end ... face it, who's going to drive a '88 Caprice at WOT all day? ... economy went from 12/16 to 15/24 just for the sake of the head transplant.