70ssclone

ok guys i wiped the 454 in my chevelle and was looking at replacing it but hell for the cost of another 454 id rather have a 6.0 that is more reliable and probably gets better then 9mpg. my question is what setup do you suggest i wanna stick with 317 heads and id like to have good power but also want it cruise friendly and reliable. i alreadyhave a 750 dp carb th400 with 3k stall and 3.73s , so my questions are

.what cam?
.what intake?
.what ignition?
.anything else to be aware of?

Pop N Wood

iTrader: (1)

Best bang for the buck is getting 6.0L out of a truck and putting the carb on that. The advantage of going carb is you don't need to worry about truck intakes clearing your hood.

If you want to save some weight than you will pay a bit more to pick up a motor with an aluminum block. This still might be the cheaper option overall if you need to buy different accessories/oil pan to fit your car or want to ditch the truck cam.

If you get something with VVT then you will need to replace some stuff to delete that.

For ignitions your only real option is the MSD unit. Don't get the Edlebrock box. It is made by MSD but they deleted the lap top hook up so it isn't as tunable as the MSD one.

As for intake and cam you are going to need to figure out what you want in a bit more detail. I run a stock cam LS2 (243 heads) with a single plane intake and 750 double pumper. I have been so happy with the way it runs I haven't felt the need to upgrade. Phenomenal street manners and being rated at 440 HP it has more than enough grunt for my 2500# car. I have the tickets to prove it. Truck motors have valve springs and cams that float and run out of breath at upper RPM's. Switching to even an LS6 style cam and valve springs will free up a lot of high end HP.

Carbs intakes can pick up almost 30 HP compared to EFI. I don't like dual planes on an LS motor but admittedly they are a popular option around here. The GM single plane has the lowest hood profile, the Vic Jr is a bit taller and I believe the dual planes are taller yet.

As for gas mileage the LS will be massively better than the big block, but switching to an overdrive trans will get you into the mid to high 20's. I understand wanting to save some money and reuse a trans, but if you shop around you can probably get a deal that practically gives you the OD auto for next to nothing. You will need some type of controller if you do go that route.

BIGHAL

Fun and Easy! I've moved to the LS side and was a BIG fan of 454s! I'll never go back unless I want BIG cubes 555 or something like that! Pm Me I'll help you through!

ZONES89RS

iTrader: (25)

I cannot add much to pop n wood's suggestions besides calling Martin at tick performance once you have your engine lined out. He can grind a stick that best suites your needs for the cubes and car with your intended use.

I abandon my bbc project for the LS. Just too cheap and cost effective. Maybe I'll try a big block when I'm not on such a tight budget.

70ssclone

thanks! you guys are great BIGHAL I will be contacting you soon, I just paid for my motor tonight it will be ready to pickup from my local salvage yard on Saturday, I paid 1300 for an 06 lq4 with all the accessories and I got to hear it run before hand and let it get to operating temperature and checked the oil . couple more questions..

why no dual planes for the ls pop n wood ? I always thought they were more street friendly? no?

how does yours sound with the stock cam? have a good grunt?

basically is there a specific reason yall went with a carb? like I said its gotta be able to start up and drive without being a bear

70ssclone

looks as if its the same or more money to do a carb? guess its something il really have to think about

windmill

iTrader: (4)

I think if your going to stick with the 3.73 gears go with the dual plane intake its rpm performer.... with a stock cam it will idol smooth at 700 rpms,,, I have a stock lq4 motor in my mustang time in the sig,,,,

ZONES89RS

iTrader: (25)

Depends. If you have a carbed vehicle, and want EFI, you have ot change pump setups and then there is the expense of wiring a harness or buy a god awful expensive piece, then a 500$ dyno tune for it to be perfect, ect ect/ I have done a LS swap for 1400$ including the engine, intake and ignition controller. Thats hard to beat with EFI. Especially if it was a carbed vehicle.

If you dont know anything about carbs and do not learn easy, then EFI and Carbs will be more along the line of a buddy helping you, so either way it is worth it. The carbs are super simple. EFI, not so much. The carb is plug and play and for the EFI to catch up with all the abilities our 300$ ignition controllers have, its even more money.

Pop N Wood

iTrader: (1)

That can turn into a religious argument real quick.

LS motors are pretty street friendly already. They offer more HP and torque than first gens. But mainly because with roller everything in the valve trains and vastly improved head designs I think of LS motors more like a Brodix head roller cam'd small block that is made to rev. Just seems a shame to not take advantage of that top end. In my case my car is so light I simply don't have enough tire to use all that low end anyway, so might as well trade some of it for high end.

Plus the difference between dual and single plane is about the same as one step difference in cam size. Not everyone will agree with that but I seems to me the intake and cam selection need to be made with each other in mind.

By the way, wideband 02 sensors allow dialing in a carb in way that wasn't possible back in the muscle car days. Carb motors don't have to be hard to start.

3pedals

iTrader: (3)

I'm with pop n wood, single plane all the way.

70ssclone

well guys I pick my motor up and ive been tossing around the idea of a turbo setup on factory injection or throwin heads and a cam and having it tuned by an efi tuner but honestly im right back here to the carb section....lol what kinda power do you think this thing can make with a single plane intake and a 750 quick fuel that I already own? plus a cam, id like to stay with stock heads to keep costs down. with the lower compression of 9.4 will it still sound mean with a cam and headers because that's what im after

bcscottdt

I have a 94 S-10 lq4 Victor Jr 850Barry grant carb 317 heads milled 20 homemade headers 595 605 comp cam edelbrock ignition and the ignition is all I'm going to change love the way it runs 7.35@94 in the eight out run lots of built stuff hope this helps u know what to expect and I would go msd ignition if it were me it's cheaper to buy box and intake seperatly not edelbrock combo I know from experience

70ssclone

thats pretty quick! i just want it to be driveable and i like that i can change ignition timing on my own sounds like that box is pretty good, im now looking at a set of 243 or 799 heads with a tick cam and my 750dp id like to pull a 12 sec pass with it and still cruise it

3pedals

iTrader: (3)

keep the 317's, just mill them for compression.
a .050" cut with a stock replacement gasket will get you close to 10.75 to 11:1
FYI it will pull a 12 sec pass without changing anything, when i first ran my 6.0 in completely stock form, but with the vic jr, 850 carb, and headers, it went 12.59 @ 109

70ssclone

Thanks for the input 3 pedals, so do you think my quick fuel 750 carb is not enough for her? Also won't that be a bit to much compression for street manners? Also what about ptv clearance and pushrod length?

3pedals

iTrader: (3)

Your 750 will be perfect.
Ptc clearence will be fine on stock cam, if you want a bigger 1 then you may need to flycut the pistons while you have the heads off. Pushrod length will depend on everything, best to measure and get the right length.
10.75 to 11:1 will be good on 93 if you have a fairly good size cam.
Basically you should decide on what limits you are imposing on the build such as drive ability requirements, power/et goals, etc , and plan the compression/cam and all the details for the whole combo before you even turn a wrench. That way if intend to build in stages, you won't need to do stuff twice

70ssclone

Think I may go with 243s I'd like to keep the short block together instead of pulling it all apart I know it runs the way it is lol

3pedals

iTrader: (3)

You don't need to pull the short block apart to flycut, but if your heart is set on 243's they work good.

70ssclone

O ok, we'll I guess il have to see what the cost difference for milling and fly cutting versus 243s is

3pedals

iTrader: (3)

Exactly