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I first and foremost would like to give Chad (QuickZOh6) at CBI huge thanks for all of his help in this project. Without his assistance none of this would be possible. He has not only helped me with the decision process on parts but would take the time to explain why he liked one product over the next and what makes it so special. For a first time “Big Project” this meant a lot to me, as it gave me a more in depth understanding of what is really going on. For anyone wanting any kind of work done to your 5th gen, or any performance car for that matter, please do not hesitate to call him. He has been an upstanding guy who holds to his word and is eager to help in any way he can. Oh and his prices ain’t bad either, lol.
The first Part of the process was to look at the foundation. This started with the block and rotating assembly. The Stock GM cube motor I have can handle plenty of power but I wanted more and the comfort of not worrying if I am pushing it too hard. This led me to the GM LSX block. For those who are not familiar with it, it is a Iron Block from GM featuring:
• Fully CNC-machined cast iron block
• True priority main oiling
• 6-head bolts per cylinder
• Standard 4.400" bore spacing
• Extra-thick Siamese cylinder bores, ready for final honing
• Semi-finished, machined thicker decks
• LS7-style, 6-bolt dowel-located billet main bearing caps
• Wet-sump and dry-sump oiling capability
• Production-style deep-skirt head bolt holes
• Production bolt hole and thread sizes
• Maintains production exterior accessory mounting provisions
• Front motor plate mounting holes added
• Additional material cast around cam bearings for greater strength
• 8mm exterior/interior fifth- and sixth-head bolt holes
• All five cam bores machined for bearing P/N 19167218 (supplied)
• Standard 0.842" lifter bores
• Accommodates all LS oil pumps and oil pans
• External oil pump feed (rear of block)
• Main web bay-to-bay breathing holes to support greater horsepower
• Includes unique cam retainer, rear cover, lifter retainers and production style replacement cam bearings
• Front oil feed holes can be plugged/restricted for mechanical flat tappet or mechanical roller lifter applications
• Can be machined safely to 9.200" deck height
• Maximum 4.200" bore at .200" minimum wall thickness (naturally aspirated applications)
• Head bolt holes can be machined for 1/2" studs
• Cam bores can be machined to accept 60mm roller bearings
• Can be machined for larger diameter lifters and/or 1.060" bronze bushings
• Front oil feed lines can be plugged and external oil pump and/or aftermarket dry sump systems can be used via oil pump feed at rear of block-may be required with certain large stroke/aluminum rod combinations
• Belt cam drive systems can be accommodated-some machining will be required
• Front motor plate can be used for racing chassis applications (sprint car, drag racing, truck pulling, etc.)
• Threaded water plugs can be used for external heaters or coolers
• Extra stock for main bearing align-honed
• Orange Powder Coated

And it looks something like this







So with the block decided the next step was to determine the rotating assembly. This was a difficult decision because it also determines what if any power adder I would like to do. Originally I was going to duplicate what CBI Chad had in his ZO6 but he suggested we try something different. This suggestion lead to the conclusion of building a 427. The First component I wanted to get for the rotating assembly was the crank. Queue the Dragon Slayer. The Manufacturer low down on the Dragon Slayer goes like this:
• DragonSlayer crankshafts are made in the U.S.A. for American Racers. With an expanded line of part numbers, the DragonSlayer is rapidly setting the standard by which other Sportsman crankshafts are measured.
• These shafts are machined to the tolerances demanded by today’s high performance engine builder. Roundness and taper are held to less than .0003 on all rod and main journal diameters. Our final polishing procedures produce excellent load carrying surfaces that ensure extended bearing life and trouble free operation.
• Each DragonSlayer features the Callies Ultra-Case nitride treatment. This heat treatment method produces a deep case that enhances strength while creating an extremely hard load bearing wear surface. The Ultra-Case process generates a layer of hardened steel deep enough to maintain its integrity even after a -.010 regrind.
• Callies heat treat expertise combined with our high purity premium 4340 forging produce strength of unparalleled value

Things that I found neat to look at on the crank are





The oil Holes in the journals are chamfered to allow for better oiling. That can be seen here where oppose to just a standard hole is used there is a cavity created for oil escape and squeeze between the bearing and journal. For those that don’t know, this is critical because the crank actually rides on a thin film/layer of oil oppose to the bearing itself.





Another Beautiful attribute to the crank is the machine work. You can see that this CNC machine carved this out of a block from the bit lines left as seen here.



The final point I would like to bring your attention to is the milling of the counter balance on the crank to aid in the crank slicing through the oil oppose to more or less slapping it.



The next step was to choose the appropriate rods for the motor. There are many different rod manufacturers and several that have been proven to handle well beyond the limits I would like to push this motor. It came down to three different rods to choose from. The Compustar HD I-Beam, Lunati Pro Billet, and the Oliver parabolic beam Rods. After a few consultations with several different forum members and shops the final decision was made to use the Oliver Rods. They are a 6.125” length with standard Pin and Journal. They look like this,







One thing neat that I noticed on the rods that I was not expecting was on the rod bolts. I knew that they were ARP Rods bolts but noticed Oliver had inscribed their logo onto the head of the bolt as well.



I wanted to order the pistons next, however, all piston manufacturers wanted to know the cam specs before recommending or designing a piston. No idea where to start on a cam or if I should just use a shelf cam or custom grind I asked the group again and researched as much as I could. All fingers pointed to Pat G. So to Pat G I went and he promptly Spec’d out a cam for my build, and a couple weeks later it was on my door steps. So this is a custom grind cam from Comp with HUC lobes. Yeah, that one took some research and it was pretty neat. The HUC lobes are designed to help settle down the valve train at higher RPM. They change the ramp rate to help set the valve down and pick it up oppose to just dropping it or slamming it shut. This is a glimpse of the Pat G Cam next to a stock GM cam. It is hard to notice a difference at all but it there.

 

Then on to the Pistons! This is the part that I spent most of my time on and asked the most questions about. These little babies are my pride and joy! Looked at several different manufacturers and settled on JE. After deciding on which supplier to use for the pistons I then had to decide to use a shelf Piston or Custom design a one off set for my application. Reading into Swirl, Quench, Compression, Dish, Dome, and so forth got me dizzy quick. I had decided that I didn’t want to settle or use a piston that would just work so began the process to design or spec out my own piston that was only intended for my setup and my setup alone. I talked to JE several times on the matter and they were great in assisting me as well. The highlights of these jems are:

Ceramic thermal barrier tops to help reduce heat from the piston



Hard skirt coatings to helps prevent wear and oil hanging on.



Thicker Piston walls



And lateral gas ports to help aide in sealing in pressure. The vertical gas ports are reported to get clogged, rendering them useless, in street cars.



The rest you have to pay to see, lol. The next area for attention was the Pins to hold the piston to the rod. JE had several options with all of their own draw backs and features. I ended up with the upgraded 52 series straight wall pin. They are also made of the thickest material that JE had for this. Nothing special looking but look like this none the less.



The ring set recommended to me to use was the Hellfire ring set made by total seal I believe. JE Sent the set along with the pistons. The Second Ring is a Napier cut Ring, look it up. I didn’t get a picture of this as I don’t have a macro lens. The point in the napier cut is a double duty. It will help some with sealing as well as the scrapper design helps remove excess oil from the cylinder wall.

This is all I have for now. There are many more things in play but I just choose not to discuss them until they are in my hands. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed, and remember Chad Barton at CBI in St. louis, MO for all your streetcar needs!

 

Felt like I was reading an awesome magazine article lol. That's awesome so far, I was hoping to read start to finish. Interested in this one as it looks killer so far and its half *** local to me. Good luck.

 

Chad does good work! Looks like a top of the line build!

 

Lots of detail for sure lol good luck with the build and hope to see more of your build

 

Little update, The short block is being assembled and I was sent a few pictures of the process. The first part being balancing, with the crank already almost being 60lbs and spinning 7000 RPM balance is a good thing. This is a brand new crank, but it is still good to have everything balanced to higher tolerance and ensure all journals are round, not egg or hour glass shaped.

This is the machine used to detect the balance of the crank and through its wizardry tell where weight should be taken away or added.



This is the machine with the crank in position to be spun and deciphered by the machine.



This is how the balance is displayed on the read out. As can be seen the crank is not in perfect balance and needs to be tweaked.



This is the crank in the jig to have a hole drilled for the addition of Mallory. Why Mallory? Mallory is a High Density metal. Mallory is more than twice the density of steel. With the high strength and machine ability it is the ideal material for balancing rotating assemblies. The strength is important because as the crank rotates over 7000 rpm the gravitational force applied to the material can be extreme and cause other materials, like lead, to deform under the pressure.



This is the Crank being drilled to accept the Mallory slug.



This is the now drilled hole being prepped for the Mallory weight.



This is a slug of Mallory that is about to be pressed into the newly created hole.



The press having its way with the Mallory slug.



The finished slug in its new home.



After another spin on the Hines Machine tells us we need to add Mallory to another location as well. And this is the press again doing its work



The Mallory again in its new home



Finally after another spin on the Hines, we find a perfectly balanced Crank.




More pictures to come as the process continues.
Thanks,

 

Chad is awesome to deal with. He built my 370 LSA and I will have him build me a motor for my next build. Looking forward to seeing the car out hopefully soon.

 

Really like seeing the progress updates. Looks like you are gonna have a nice build

 

subscribed will be watching this build!

 

GREAT BUILD MAN! she's going to be a beast!

 

Cbi ftw! Do werk, Bentley!

 

Cool write up. In for updates

 

I'm about to start the same process and my machinist is cool with me hanging out and asking questions and learning. I've learned an incredible amount in the past 2-3 weeks during this process.

Good luck with the build.

 

$$$ $h!t $$$... Nice...

 

Badass!

 

$1500+ average price for an LS dragonslayer and they couldn't even get the balance right?

 

They have tolerances, and I am sure it probably would have been fine to run it as it was but I wanted everything blueprinted and balanced for my own ease of mind. The closer to perfect or running a tighter tolerance will only aid the bearings and stability in higher rpm.

 

so how about a few pics of the car this is going in...

 

Since you posted this is the FI section, what route are you leaning toward?

 

Well here are a few more updates and teaser pics.
My Twins!
Garret / HTA 3586r



Ceramic Coated hot Side



Tucked away



Billet Wheels



4” S covers



They are not very big but should flow enough for my needs.



Then from the turbo we go to the intercooler. It is an Air to Air that will sit up front.



Does not look very big heh? Well she is……









Waste Gates



BOV



The IPS kit uses the Stock manifold which I was not real fond of to start with but I have since seen big numbers made with them. Also I made a few changes
to mine. When the heads come in they will be gasket and port matched and they have already been ceramic Coated flat black.



A few blemish touch ups before coating





And Ceramic Flat Black by HP Powder Coatings, Thank Tim!



And the First part to the new Fuel system





I am too tired to write my usual novels tonight but will be sure to add to this tomorrow with the whys and what’s that I left out.

Thanks for reading