I recently purchased a longblock out of an 85gt 5 speed. I bought it mainly for parts like brackets, misc weirrd bolts and BS that I needed for the 306 I built for my 93 convertible. The guy said it ran but that it probably had a spun bearing because it lost pressure. He also said that the heads had been redone right before the motor was pulled out of the car. I tore it down and the heads are totally clean and do look fresh. And all the bearings and stuff in the bottom end looks good so Im guessing the pump is bad or he had a gauge issue. The motor has no ridge at all and it has the original forged flat top pistons in it.
Basically Im wondering if there is any reason I shouldnt use this motor in my 86. The 86 motor has 342K on it and I know the 86's had a goofy head/piston combo that prevents using the later heads or aftermarket heads without piston work. I dont really know anything about the 85 motors so Im trying to find out if the pistons have issues if you use the later model heads or anything like that. Also, how are the heads on the 85's? Are they as good as the E7TE heads or are they crap like the 86 heads? I figure I will just freshen it up install a mild cam while its out and just run it like that until I can afford some decent heads, maybe thumpers. Any issues that I should think about?
Basically Im wondering if there is any reason I shouldnt use this motor in my 86. The 86 motor has 342K on it and I know the 86's had a goofy head/piston combo that prevents using the later heads or aftermarket heads without piston work. I dont really know anything about the 85 motors so Im trying to find out if the pistons have issues if you use the later model heads or anything like that. Also, how are the heads on the 85's? Are they as good as the E7TE heads or are they crap like the 86 heads? I figure I will just freshen it up install a mild cam while its out and just run it like that until I can afford some decent heads, maybe thumpers. Any issues that I should think about?