drdave88

I got my block back from the machine shop and they just had to hone they cylinders. The machinist said all cylinders are now .0055 over stock bore size. I am trying to keep this build as cheap as possible (thats why i didnt have it bored and get new pistons) so what brand and size rings would you guys recommend to go with?

Clayton Racing

if your +.0055 over, what are you planning on running for pistons?

drdave88

I plan on running the factory ones that came out of it, since .010 would be too big to fit in the cylinder and im pretty sure they dont make .005 over pistons.

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

they do make .005's i know diamond is a good value they'd take a .010 and mill it down to fit..........i can tell u right now though .0055 over stock is going to be too much piston to wall for a stock piston.....

Clayton Racing

Thats pretty much where I was going with that. The outcome will be very very bad.

drdave88

Got a link where I can find these pistons? I'm not looking to go more than 350hp at most (probably less than that) and I'm trying to do this on a tight budget so that's why I was trying to stick with the stock factory pistons that came out of it. Also, it's probably not uncommon to spend like a good $450 or so for a cam/lifter set, or $700 for a cam kit (cam, lifters, springs, etc) right?

defaultexistence

iTrader: (11)

Throw some cheap forged ones in there @ least , u'll want to have done it later... Promise

drdave88

I'm not looking to get more than 30,000 miles out of this engine since I only do about 4-5k at the most a year. Almost all of my driving is daily driving, here and there some hard acceleration around town or on the highway. Once it's broken in, I might hit the strip once a year or so just to see how it performs, but thats about it.

All of my previous experience was with a 60 degree V6 that i modified for the car, so I'm very new to the the LT1 scene. I've read the stickys, but I'm also very much tied to a budget to get this done by next spring. So the short block is my main concern to get done.

drdave88

Anyone else have an opinion about this or know where I can find these pistons? Ive searched but came up empty handed so far.

Clayton Racing

Sorry from what I can see Diamond has a .020, eveything I have starts at .030 without going custom.

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

yea you can get the .005's but like i said they are custom........i beleive diamond will size them down for like $30 each or something but you're still going to be looking at prob 800-900 for the set with pins.....sounds over your budget...........

personally i would have had the machine shop go .030 over while he had it in the hone jig and just put .030 pistons in it.......that would've been the cheapest way out

you can have the pistons coated but idk if they can do .005...........i had mine done .0025 this year after i honed mine....anyting under .004 will hold up just fine.....may be worth a call to them

company is Swain Tech Coatings in NY

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

Just get a junkyard motor.

I don't know why everyone wants to screwup perfectly good stock shortblocks with cheap halfassed rebuilds. I will take a stock shortblock over a LOT of the cheap engine "builds" we see here.

The stock shortblock can easily and reliable handle over 450fwhp, some instances of guys pushing them over 420rwhp which is likely over 500fwhp.
On the cam thing buying lifters is usually needlessly spending money, springs are always 100% necessary.

drdave88

After calling a few machine shops, I decided to take the block to another machine shop and have it bored .030 over. I called the shop that did the original hone job and he told me that .055 is acceptable and that the rings will be enough to seal the cylinder. Then he told me I "might get some piston slap" and if I was concerned about it, that I should have it bored. So Im going to take his advise, but not at his shop. So if anyone is in SE Michigan, dont get your machine work done at Mazza Auto Parts in Waterford!!!

drdave88

Since this is a budget build, do you have any opinions on this brand of pistons, or even specifically these?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/STL-H345ACP30/