finally got an ls1

[DCx]

well i just broke the bank, picked up the following:

LS7 lifters
Melling high volume oil pump
LS6 PCV conversion
TSP pushrods (7.400 got my fingers crossed i can use em)
MS3 cam shaft
Gaskets for the entire engine
ARP head bolts
ARP rod bolts
ARP balancer bolt
ARP rear cover bolts (mine were missing!)
Second set of F body fans (thank god for ebay)
Auto Craft pan and pickup
Reman F body alternator (ebay)
New Starter (ebay)

all i need now are the heads and a power steering pump and the engine is done front to back.

IF I COULD ONLY SELL THESE HEADS!

[Rybar]

ETP 215's were the ticket for me. You'll need different pushrods though.

[DCx]

im going with texas speed (prc) 5.3l stage 2 heads. they flow 315 @ .600 and only cost $1199 for stainless 2.04/1.57 valves and double springs rated to .650 lifts

people put down 430-470rwhp with a magic stick 3 cam and these heads. im sold for the price. not sure what cc to get them milled at. i need to call jason at texas speed. those ET heads are nice but way to costly for my build considering i spent close to a grand to beef up the fasteners and such on my engine.

[Rybar]

They are going to tell you to run more compression. Probably 60cc chambers at the most with a .40 Head Gasket. The smaller cube motors with large cams need more compression.

Edit: since the motor is out I heard it is worthwhile to upgrade the rod bolts. Just something to possibly look into.

[DCx]

i got ARP rod bolts in the mail

[DCx]

installed the rod bolts, grinded the block down to install the LS6 PCV tray, painted the water pump, and painted the valve covers low gloss black.

[DCx]

[DCx]

horrible day in the garage. the LS1 has claimed blood once again!!!

i was getting ready to spray some carb cleaner on my cam when it slipped out of my hand and one of the lobes cut the living hell out of my left thumb. i had blood pouring out of my finger, i honestly thought i needed a stitch of two. i ended up sitting on the toilet and letting the blood run into the sink while my mom got some peroxide. i didn't eat much today and it was hot as hell in the garage, so my lame ass ends up fainting. yea, i know... what a wuss. i had to lay on the bathroom floor for a bit. i got all white and sweaty. after i drank some gatoraid i felt better. think my blood sugar was low?

anyway, got the cam in, installed the timing set, installed the new melling high volume pump, then hit a brick wall!

the autokraft pickup tube was way off because of the spacers required to run my double roller chain. so i had to grind the hell out of the mount hole for the pickup tube so it would fit on the windage tray. ok got that fixed, now for the timing cover. found out that it hits the new oil pump. easy fix, ill just grind a little off the inside of the timing cover. WRONG!

i ended up going ape **** with the grinder and put pin hole in my timing cover. so im looking to see if i can weld it. if not i have a replacement on the way, buy it now was $9 on ebay. gotta love it. anyway, thats all for now. wonder what else i will brake in the next few days.

[BonzoHansen]

LOL, what's the old saying if you don't break stuff you aren't trying!?!?

[merriman44]

haha you are a danger to yourself man... Sounds just like me in the garage. Heck the family won't even let me work out there unless their is someone nearby to hear my screams hhaha

[DCx]

aluminum is so damn sharp! im always hurting myself.

[DarkoNova]

haha you are a danger to yourself man... Sounds just like me in the garage. Heck the family won't even let me work out there unless their is someone nearby to hear my screams hhaha

LOL! At least you have people around to help!!

Matt

[DCx]

finally got all the hardware needed to install the oil pan! had to try two different ace hardware stores! home depots selection sucked and lowes didnt have enough of the bolts needed. i wasnt about to mix and match!

upon fitting my timing cover to my engine i found that it made contact with the oil pump. my pump is spaced out because of the double roller chain, plus im not using a GM pump, im running a melling high volume. i eye balled the area of contact and went crazy with the grinder. the end result is a pin hole in my timing cover!

i got a new one on ebay for $9. it came from back east and looks mighty weathered, but it will work after i buff it and paint it. will see if i have the time to button up my short block. i called off of work today to study for my midterms.

[DCx]

finally bought some heads. I posted a thread on ls1 tech and someone PMed me with some PRC (texas speed) ported LS6 heads so i jumped on them.

[DCx]

i busted my ass on the engine today. i had to get a drill bit and tap to fix the missing bolt hole in the engine. managed to clearance the new timing cover enough to clear the oil pump and i also installed the water pump and the crank pulley!



i must have gotten lucky because all it took was a block of wood and 2 solid whacks from a sledge hammer to drive the pulley home. im yet to torque the arp crank bolt. anyway, my texas speed ported ls6 heads are in the mail according to the i bought them from on ls1tech, i just sold my ls6 pcv system, i ordered a wegner valley tray and im about to post my z06 MAF and LS6 intake for sale.... so carb it is. sorry fellas.

[DCx]

got my heads in the mail! finally got them on. now im waiting on my carb intake to show up. progress for the day.



wegner valley tray installed



real 234 castings



ported intake port

[mac71ss]

intake ever show up????

[DCx]

yep. i got all sorts of things for it now. i recently drilled the water pump and added a 90* 1/8 npt fitting for the steam relief, installed some car shop motor mounts, torqued the crank bolt, and i also installed a car shop lift plate that bolts to the valley for easy installs.

i hope to possibly tear the SBC down and remove the muncie thanksgiving day so i can at least test fit the ls1 in its new home. i have to order an ATS cross member and some headers still.

anyone interested in my sbc and muncie?

[mac71ss]

I would love to run a setup similar to yours in my 71 camaro!!!! Lets see some pics with the intake on.

[DCx]

man im going broke! i just ordered a T56 crossmember from ATS and as soon as i deposit my tips in the bank im going to order my fuel tank sump and hooker headers from summit. i hope the parts will arrive before thanks giving. because that SBC and M22 are outta there!!!! i hope i dont play hell trying to get the car shop mounts to work with the hookers. more pics to come.

mac71ss, here is an older pic. not pictured is the steam relief i tapped into the water pump and the other bank of coil packs.