LT11996

Hey everyone, new here. I traded my fourwheeler for a 96 z28 last week that needs a lot of work. I wanted a fixer upper anyway instead of a fourwheeler just gathering dust so i dont guess i did too bad. Im happy to be a part of the camaro crew now.
This car has 184,000 miles on everything but the auto transmission, which only has 10,000 miles. it has BBK headers, Flowmaster 10's, a Hypertech power programmer III, larger injectors (supposably) and a K&N FIPK cold air intake. The reason I say it needs a lot of work is because the guy I bought it from damaged the passenger side having too much fun in it and slid into a tree. Also because the motor has a pretty loud tick in it that I'm hoping is just a lifter and not a rod for now lol. I have a lot of plans for the motor anyway. I asked the guys at Camaro5 about some stuff but they told me to come here.dum

I would like to completely rebuild the motor. Not all at once of course but over the next year or so. I want this to be a strong daily driven motor that see's a small amount of track time. The set up I'm thinking about going with is a 355ci Scat forged rotating assembly from Jegs, with the LE2 heads and cam from Lloyd Elliot. Does anybody have any experience with this rotating assembly, or others that you would recommend? I'm kind of curious why the only rotating assemblies they have are for 355's or 383 strokers. I also need some advice on what I should do with the optispark stuff for this motor. Thanks for any help.

Here's a pic

F0x Slaughter

Welcome.

The reason they have 355 and 383 is, a 355 is a 350 bored 30 over. (4.030) A 383 is a 30 over and a 3.75" crankshaft. There are some guys pushing over 400 cubes but its very close to the limits of the block.

Depends on what your goals are. If planning large hit out of nitrous like 400 shot or something or lots of boost then I'd go with a different rotating assembly. If you plan on staying N/A then I'd go with SCAT.

As far as Optispark I recommend just using OEM. AC Delco optispark. Its a pretty penny but it works great. MSD I personally have had a big issue with them. 2nd day I bought my car it died with less than 10000 on it. Also other people have had problems.

09jyounger

iTrader: (3)

What are the details to your 355 build? Boost? Spray? If you're just doing a heads/cam LT1, I would recommend some new rods and pistons, but reuse the stock crank if conditions allow. (Stock cranks are actually pretty strong and that will save you some cash)

If you really want/need the new rotating assembly, I would recommend you take it to a machinest and have him check the balance and spec out the bearings. Scat is a great brand, but never assume anything when building a bottom end. I've seen some horror stories about these "drop in" assemblies.

Opti-spark wise...wellll...I've always just ran them, when they go out, replace them with a GM replacement. Aftermarket companies can be hit or miss when it comes to a long lasting opti. There is also a conversion kit out there that allows you to LS series coils. I can't remember the name off hand but I'm sure someone will chime in with it. If your opti works right now, I'd leave it alone and deal with it when it goes out.

LT11996

Ah okay. Well I don't wanna run nitrous but I would like to get a turbo waaay down the road in the future sometime. That's the main reason why I wanted the bottom end forged to get that out of the way while it's tore down. What rotating assemblies would you recommend for boost applications? Nothing absolutely crazy but I would like some nice numbers. I mean for the first half of the build which will be N/A for a few years I would like to see somewhere around 360rwhp-400rwhp which is why I was considering the LE2 heads and cam

F0x Slaughter

For extreme boost. Callies or Crower.

With a head/cam setup from LE or AI you would see over 400rwhp in a M6.

Should also look into replacing the rear end. 7.5 10 bolt sucks. It will blow up. Either get a 9", 12 bolts are good for automatics, or a S60.

I'm thinking you have a bad lifter that isn't pumping up.

LT11996

What about with the 4L60E? I know they're more parasitic than manuals, but I think I want to stay auto with this car. It shifts strong, which I think is due to the tuner but the guy has it set at a very high shift point which I don't like. And okay I'll look into Callie's and crower and a different rear end. Man I can't believe how much power these motors make with just heads and cam work. It's my first time with a small block. (my first car and daily driver is a 96 DOHC Cobra that nobody around here even knows how to work on.) Full bolt ons with H/C/I won't even reach 400rwhp in my cobra and just cams cost as much as the LE2 package lol. So I'm glad I finally have a motor with great N/A potential.

F0x Slaughter

A 4L60E is okay when built but still if you really want power you're gonna need to look at a TH350 or TH400 or a 4L80E.

Not a fan of Ford.

Scat should be good for anything up to like 700hp at crank, I'd say. If I was going for more than that I would go with Callies or Crower.

Most guys see around 350rwhp in M6 with a cam swap. Autos see around 320rwhp. So it eats roughly 20 - 30 extra power. Remember though dynos are just numbers. People have cars that will dyno at 350rwhp but blow 400rwhp cars away on the strip. Dynos are really just a tuning tool.

LT11996

What kind of horsepower will the stock block safely hold? And 700 at the crank is a little higher than my goals with the motor. I would think 500-550rwhp would be plenty for what I want. But with those auto's you mentioned, do they have overdrive? I mean I don't want to be highway cruising at like 4000rpms lol. Thanks for all your help

F0x Slaughter

Stock block? Guys make over 1000rwhp. Like my build thats going to be boosted pretty high, I am putting in billet caps and 4 bolt conversion.

If you want an Overdrive you need a 4l80e. The TH350 and TH400 are 3 speeds.

But on that note a 4l60e will hold your horsepower needs. Built of course.

LT11996

Ah okay then I won't have to worry about the block. How much would you think a shop would charge to bore it to a 355 and hone it? I've read on older threads anywhere between $150-$300 depending on cam bearings, freeze plugs, etc. And referring to your 4 bolt conversion, are all LT1's 2 bolt?

F0x Slaughter

Having the engine bored, cam bearings, freeze plugs, hot tanked, I would say around 300 bucks.

LT1s in Corvettes had 4 bolt mains. All Fbody LT1s are 2 bolts. Guys make lots of power on 2 bolts.

LT11996

The other side lol. I can get a rear quarter from a salvage yard for $120 though so I'm not worried about that. After I locked the door I tried sticking a hammer in one of the holes just to see if I could beat out some of those horrific dents, the alarm started going off and scared the crap out of me lol. So I texted the guy I bought it from and told him and he said the reason he cut those two larger holes out is cause the metal was bent in and everytime his dog walked by it at night, it's tail would brush against the car and set the alarm off.

I don't understand how touching the metal beneath the rear quarter would set the alarm off though?

F0x Slaughter

Factory alarm or aftermarket?

My guess would be,

Paint doesn't conduct electricity. A alarm puts a charge over the car and when that charge is disrupted the alarm goes off, IE open a door or such. So by touching the bare metal you are changing the parameters of the alarm setting, I guess. Haha, I'm not sure how alarms work.

LT11996

I'm pretty sure it's factory lol the guy didn't really take care of the car at all. You could tell he ragged it out because he basically said it was his toy and the only reason he was getting rid of it was because he got in alot of trouble with it with his wife and she wanted it gone before he got himself hurt. The car has 2011 tags on it and he said he only put 20 miles on it last year. I changed the oil and it looked terrible on the inside of the oil cap and valve cover.

F0x Slaughter

Looks like a blown head gasket.

LT11996

That's what I've been told. That, or a blown intake gasket. The thing I don't get is that it doesn't overheat or anything. The guy I bought it from lives about 100 miles out of state from me and he drove it to a city 30 miles from me, then I drove it home with no problems. Besides that annoying tick. But even that, you can't hear it under normal driving. And I've done plenty of burnouts in the car since I've had it lol.

F0x Slaughter

Check the coolant. If it looks like a milkshake it's a head gasket, also white smoke from the exhaust. Intake manifold is not cooled by coolant. That causes a vacuum leak when those go.

With the oil being that nasty it could of clogged a lifter. I would flush the engine with fresh oil, and tear the top end down at least. Preferably complete rebuild.

tt383lt1

iTrader: (3)

i would defintly ditch the 60e and go with the 80e in the future. and hope you have some money to spend it cost a pretty penny to do a good job of rebuilding a engine the right way. if i was you i would look into a 5.3 ls engine and camaro/ firebird front suspension conversion. in the long run you will be happier

LT11996

Yeah the radiator was just as nasty. But I read on the top piece that it takes that GM orange coolant stuff so it was basically the same color as the oil. I flushed it all out with water until it started coming out clean then got all the air out of the system. But as soon as this guy will take his time to come back up to the city we met in he's gonna sign the notary since its out of state so I can get the title in my name. As soon as i do that I'm gonna start tearing down the motor. i can't right now cause I still have to take it to the courthouse and get it inspected when I get the notary. I hate waiting lol

LT11996

Well one of my friends has a great shop and he knows everything sbc wise so the car will be at his shop the entire time the motor is out. It'll be a slow process, but I'll hopefully have the rotating assembly and heads and cam by July or August. Now with the 4L80E, what vehicles do those come out of? I've never heard of them