MnHowardCat

A newbie here that need some help I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this or not so bear with me I'm looking for a motor for a Jeep rock crawler that I'm building and I'm a old school big block guy but I want to play with a small block this time but what one will give me my best bang for the buck I'm confused on what to start with pros and cons ot any??

a Ls1-Ls2-Ls3- LT1 -C5 -Lq4-Lq9 ????



Here is what my goal is 500hp or in that range but still ideal good

I'm starting with a 2004 TJ and a turbo 400 it a custom frame and fit will not be a issue



So any motor and cam and head suggestions would be grate

Thanks Don

wht01ws6ta

iTrader: (45)

500 at the wheels or crank? If at the wheels and since it's going into a Jeep I would say LQ4/LQ9. It's cheaper and you have more potential with that bigger block than LS1 or LT1. LQ9 has high compression pistons but same block and heads as LQ4. They both come with 317 heads which are good but a lot of folks have excellent results with L92 heads.

plum krazy

iTrader: (4)

lq4-lq9 i would look into those u can pick one up for a decent price

MelScrilla

iTrader: (2)

^+1 good combo

wht01ws6ta

iTrader: (45)

And I didn't say anything about a cam but I doubt you want anything too big because you want all the low end torque you can get for rock crawling, right?

Texas 02 Z28

iTrader: (14)

I vote LQ4/9 also for bang for the buck. If you stroke it out to 408, 500whp should be pretty attainable. You could always just throw a Kenne Bell on the 370 though, lol.



Also, just some random basic Gen III/IV SBC stuff I've learned:
LS1/6/2/3/7's are all aluminum vette motors (LS1 came in fbods too), so they'll be a little more expensive. LS1/6s have a 3.9" bore, LS2s are 4", LS3s are 4.06", and LS7s are 4.125".

LQ4/9s are iron truck blocks, which are heavier, but I'm not sure how much that affects your decision. They're usually cheaper than the aluminum block counterpart (LS2) fwiw.

LT1s, iron blocks, seem to take more work to get the same output as the LS motors. Not exactly sure on all the specifics of why, so I won't say any, lol, but I just know that mod for mod, LS's will perform better and seem to be more efficient?

C5 = 5th generation of Corvettes, 97-04. C6 would be the new generations with the non-pop-up lights.

MnHowardCat

Thanks for all the replies I was kind leaning towards the Lq4 I would take any suggestions on cam and other mods to get me to that 500-550hp range at the crank the Jeep is going to be heavy I don't have a wight yet but it has a Dana 70 and a Dana 60 front and a big roll cage and 46'' tire's

thanks again and I will start my search for a Lq4