Keep in mind guys Im only 21 and doing this all by myself no outside help, due to the fact all the car guys around me know nothing of the gen III motors...So here it is guys, I picked up a LM7 out of a '02 tahoe last winter '10. I first mocked it up in my 88 iroc, fab'd up some ugly motor mount plates (didnt come on motor), the truck oil pan does fit just hangs a bit low. then dropped on a vic jr and a holley dp 750, and the msd 6010 controller. Then found out the manifolds didn't clear the frame rails, so next came the hedder flanges snd weld your own hedder kit 1 3/4". once that was all done I mated it to the 700r4 (not much life left I feel) with the flywheel spacer.. Put it all back together, crossed my fingers and she fired right up...
So after a summer of fun and some upset people in my neighbor hood. I decided it's time for some power outa this little girl. So I picked up a zex hairsray kit, some new mounts, double roller timing chain, roller lifters, tfs pushrods 7.4", Gmpp oil pan swap kit, new 5 port mallory reg, patriot double springs(.650max lift,w/.04 left before bind w/seats,seals,retainers,locks, and new comp cam specs(223/231 dur@ .50, .610/.617 lift 112 lsa. currently waiting on the cam to arrive, while fabbing on the rear suspenion ladder bars in the works.

So here are my questions
1-Does this sound like a good combo looking to someday hit 5-600hp at the crank(boost may be needed/used)?
2-Are there any issues that I may be overlooking?
3-I want to upgrade the heads was thinking a set of 243/799. Is that a decent possability?
4-are the msd coils worth the upgrade and cost?
5-What size stall should I look into?
6- Any ideas, suggestions on this stuff or anything for that matter would be greatly appreciated..
Drive train upgrade in work now
Moser 9" with local buy 3rd member w/4.11 gears
ladder bars
patco th700r4 (waiting on $$$)
after all of this it will be onto body work and interior, for now she's a sleeper, or if your a girl, "why are you putting a pretty motor in an ulgy car?"

You guys on here have helped me on this build more than I can remember, Thanks to all of you, and $4 a gal. be damned I'm guna drive it anyway..

 

Cam too much duration IMO
I would mill the heads and use l33 gaskets if use anyway. I don't really think u need 243s. The stock 1.89 valve heads are enough at this level. Save those ***** for a 6.0 build.
I would use a th350 instead of 700. Prolly cheaper and car will be quicker usually with a3

 

Your throwing you $ cash away with the Msd coils. The stock coils light off 1000+ forced induction engines. No need for Msd. Some have been known to perform worse than stockers

 

You think that cam is really too much? That is kind of what I thought on the coils, figured I'd ask though. I had been debating about putting ina th400, or a tko-600 hadn't quite decided yet, I like the idea of overdrive for street time but want to be able to run it at the track on the weekends. My goal has always been an 11 sec car or faster. what do you think I should do engine/drivetrain/suspension wise to hit that? for now I have to keep the 5.3 and would like to do it with that motor if I can... would a good valve and port job be worth it on the stock heads???

 

That cam is in the neighborhood of mine in my 5.3, i have not finished it yet(tomorrow hopefully), but i will be using a 3000 Jegs stall converter. It will be fine i think, the 700R will have a retarded 1st gear with 4/11s, so the track driving will respond very well. The 700R will last if built right behind a 5.3 with a cam, i would however get a set of 241 or any other 5.7 LS1 heads if you couldnt get 243/799s to keep compression up. 317s will drop it too much for a all motor car. Mill whatever heads you get to help compression by .030, it will cause you to need different pushrods of course.

If you can get at least the LS6 casting heads, you might be able to hit 450 FWHP, and net about 350 to the back tires. That is my goal as well.But i will be throwing boost at mine eventually, then the numbers go up, allot.


Converter wise, i say at least 3200.

 

boost usually helps with more power.

 

Ok so my thinking of around 3k for the converter was right. What I'm still unsure of with the trans, is the rear end right now has 3.23's and already the car flys through first gear, then hangs on for a bit in second, before i shift to 3rd. which was the biggest improvement i saw over the tpi 305 that came in the car. So with the extra power and 4.11 gears the 1-2 shift would be practically right off the line. good thing or bad I really dont know havnt done any drag raging at a track yet just street stuff on saturday nights. So I really don't know which way to go with it th350/th400/th700r4ect. and threar gears as well, 3.73/3.90/4.11 I'm unsure of the best result for each combo there.
As for the heads I eventually want to slap a procharger on it but at 4k it's guna be end of the year before that happens. I can get my hands on a set of 243/799's for 300 if thats a good deal again i dont know. From what I've read that seems to be the best head I could choose, correct me if I'm wrong tho. As for installing the diff heads would a valve job and new valves be a good idea or not really worth it? and how much should they be shaved to get a decent cr?

Thanks for the help so far guys, I'd probly be lost w/o your imput

 

If this car is just a toy and not depended on for daily driving, I would say a 3600 to 4000 converter.

I would use this head:
http://www.texas-speed.com/shop/item...id=84&catid=20

I would also chose a 3.73 gear when using a TH700. I have driven cars with 4.11 rear gears and TH700 and first gear is too low. The first to 2nd gear shift is too soon and the cars really get squirrelly when they hit 2nd at full throttle on the shift. My buddies corvette goes sideways on the 2nd gear shift with 411s.

Other than that, I say let her rip!

 

Well yes in all truth it is just a toy. That I want to run at our local street drag series, and run around town in every other weekend. Not a daily driver in any sense. I'm very open to ideas for the drive train. I was just thinking 700r4 so I could run higher rear gears and still run a decent rpm on the hwy. It is a little over an hour drive to the track from my parents place(where I keep the car, due to the fact my apt garage is more like a storage unit, barely fits the wrangler and my cycle) I had also thought of a th350/400 but didn't look into it much yet, any thoughts on that, what setup could I get the best 1/4et out of, assuming I dont flog the shifts. Either way I plan on a full manual vb and possibly a tb.. Then another thing on the heads if I shave them down .030 then I would also need to shave the vic. jr down to match correct?

Thoughts?

 

The upside to the 4.10 with a 700R is that the 60 foot times are better at the track, the downside is the RPM drop from 1st to second. I have 4.30s and a 6 speed so i am in great shape, but if you arent really worried about it, 4.10s will be fine, it just over powers the rear tires that much easier on the street and the 70R cost allot more to build than a TH350/400.

 

I think you can make good numbers with any of those transmissions. Nothing is more cost effective and durable than a 400, but overdrive sure is nice when you have to drive any distance to the track on on a cruise night. If you go 350 or 400, the 4.10 gears will be great for the quarter, if you go 700, I would pick 3.73s

 

Well here's another thought. untill I figure out exatcly what to do trans wise. what all would I have to do to a 350/400 to make sure it'll hold up untill I can aford a nice 4 or 5 speed... I read some where that the gear ratios on the 350 arn't so spread out, but if the 400 is stronger then thats what I feel I should do...

a set of 243 heads will arrive at some point next week, so far motor build is on track just to get a trans in it before the end of may....

 

A quality freshly rebuilt 400 will hold up with only a valve body upgrade. They are amazing stout pieces right from the factory.

 

If you are considering A Manual trans, a T56 6 speed is the ticket man, double over drive and 4.30 gears all da y in my car.

 

Hmm A t56 I like the sounds of that.. care to fill me in on what all needs to be done to swap one in.. and which ones can you use, I see there are a few diff styles, virper, ford, vette, camaro.... can you pick up any of them and get a new tailshaft and bellhousing or how are they set up??? Ideas on clutch, flywheel, throwout bearing, master cyl, third pedal assembly.... also would the drive shaft need to be longer/shorter???
and whats the cost range on a swap like that 2-3k im guessing..