What's a 78 L82 Rebuilt Engine Worth?

[graymarki]

I have a 1978 L82 engine that I rebuilt last summer which came out of a wrecked Pace Car. The only modification is the heads were ported & polished. All the rods were replaced with reconditioned rods. The crank was also replaced along with a new balancer. I installed the engine in my 79 El Camino just to test it out. I now have a buyer for my elky, but the buyer wants to install a big block, so I am thinking about selling the L82. I do not have the original manifold or carburetor, as I replaced these with a Holley manifold and carb. I have about 200 miles on the engine since the bebuild. It runs great, very responsive, even with a th350c tranny and the stock 273 rearend, the car will smoke the tires. Since I sold my last vette back in the late 80's, I haven't kept up with the current values of these parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

graymarki

[Blue Bowtie]

If you find someone looking to do a numbers-matching restoration, the engine may have some value. If not, it's worth about the same as any other smog-era SBC with low compression, poor flowing heads, and a flat-tappet cam.

[graymarki]

Originally Posted by Blue Bowtie

If you find someone looking to do a numbers-matching restoration, the engine may have some value. If not, it's worth about the same as any other smog-era SBC with low compression, poor flowing heads, and a flat-tappet cam.

Thanks, But I was looking for a response by someone that has a little knowledge about these things, and actually reads the post. Not someone like you that likes to hear himself talk.

[Blue Bowtie]

A little knowledge is what I believe I have - And it can be a dangerous thing at times.

I wasn't being critical of your engine, just telling you what you have. The L82 was better than the L48 and other available choices in the '70s, but even the early '80s 305s were doing better than the L82. Just because it once got bolted into a Corvette doesn't make it a special engine - Unless, as I stated earlier, someone is looking for a specific powerplant for an original restoration.

That engine likely has the old '969-like cam with about 0.460 lift on the exhaust side, 224/224 duration. It likely has "Crack-O-Matic" 76cc head castings and 14cc (or larger) dished pistons, netting an unbelievably anemic 8.2:1 static CR. If it is in fact the L82, the only saving grace is that along with the slightly better cam grind, most of them had 2.02/1.60 valves in the huge chambers. The engine was worth 225 FWHP and redlined at about 5,050 RPM due to valve float of the larger 2.02 valves held in by the standard 85# valve springs.

I've torn down L82 engines and installed ported '416 heads with 1.94/1.50 valves, and a decent cam and springs, and produced a lot more power on the dished pistons. If you know your Y-Cars, you'll recognize what this is:



If the engine is in good running condition, rust protect it and put it in an engine bag, and start checking around to see what the market is for a restorer - You're likely to get the best offer there.