New to the LS, in a Malibu...
New to the LS, in a Malibu... Hello! I'm somewhat new to the board because I've been a lurker for waaay too long but now has come the time change to an active member. Here's some info on my Malibu as it currently is. I purchased an 83 Malibu wagon with 62,000 original miles in the summer of 2011 and then began swapping in the drivetrain from my 2 door 81 Malibu into the wagon. 2011 was a waste as the transmission let go on the first pass I tried to make with the car. However, in 2012 the wagon recieved a Coan TH350 with a transbrake, a Coan converter, CSR scatter shield, 35 spline Strange axles/spool(4.11 gears) and a Strange nodular iron center section with all kinds of expensive goodies. I ran the wagon at the NMCA race at Lucas Oil Raceway in the fall and car was running 12.50's. The engine is a pump gas, stock bottom end 357SBC with 200cc Pro Comp heads, Victor Jr. and 750 DP Holley. I'd like to see the car run 12.20's this year but I doubt it will as the converter is entirely WAY too loose. I had a disagreement with reccomendation that Coan gave to me but I went ahead and purchased what they had advised thinking they have the experience edge however, I was not at impressed with the converter at all. The transmission works flawless though!!lol Anyways, here's a pic of the car launching at the NMCA Nationals last fall-
And now for the new territory part. Thursday I bought a complete 2003 6.0 LS engine with 113,000 miles for a whopping $500 that even came with a 30 day warranty. I couldn't pass up this engine as they normally sell for $1,000 and up around here. The plan is to carb the engine, mill the #317 casting heads, T-Rex cam, and a 750 Holley DP, 3,800 stall converter for my TH350. I was working on a 461BBC but just as I was about to pull the trigger on that project the LS came along and this was the obvious choice. No offense BBC guys! Let me know what you guys think! I'm going to try swapping in the LS this fall.
And now for the new territory part. Thursday I bought a complete 2003 6.0 LS engine with 113,000 miles for a whopping $500 that even came with a 30 day warranty. I couldn't pass up this engine as they normally sell for $1,000 and up around here. The plan is to carb the engine, mill the #317 casting heads, T-Rex cam, and a 750 Holley DP, 3,800 stall converter for my TH350. I was working on a 461BBC but just as I was about to pull the trigger on that project the LS came along and this was the obvious choice. No offense BBC guys! Let me know what you guys think! I'm going to try swapping in the LS this fall.
My question is how much should I shave the #317 heads to get the compression ratio up to 10.5-1 or higher? The head gasket thickness will be .045. I was thinking of having the heads milled 0.020. What do you guys think? The engine needs to be able to run on pump 93 octance gas.
