denmah

iTrader: (2)

500-600whp i have pretty much made with every one of my projects

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

My goal is a low 9 second car, with potential to reach some high 8's with A LOT of weight reduction and more mods in the future. If I can get past the 800 WHP marker Ill be happy also.

Thanks for the info on the block, doesn't sound like Ill be able to determine how many cubes by measuring then... but either way like mentioned before a 4.8 or 5.3 will work great. The heads were awesome for my Maggie LS1, and I bought those with a reenlistment bonus from good ol Uncle Sam. Id like to keep them need the money for other parts. And with results people have had with the stock heads, Im not too worried it.

My blower cam (originally bought for my Maggie 112) specs are: 224/230 .581/.591 114 not sure if it will work out better with the twin 0n3's or something like the S475 (still undecided on if I want to do a single or twins since their the same price).

massconfusion

iTrader: (18)

measure the stroke. IF the heads off you can do that, just rotate the crank to make sure the piston is at the bottom of its stroke. 9mm should be easy to measure, close to 3/8 of inch i think

HRHohio

Yup. Good point. Stroke is either:
3.6 in --> 5.3L or
3.27 in --> 4.8L

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Vortec_engine
Also, if your piston looks like this you have a 5.3 (Dished with a + ):



After seeing what Wicked69 has done with twin On3 70mm's I was sold. Using him for inspiration on mine too. lol

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Pretty crazy times he was cutting at only 10 PSI on a heavy car like that. Thanks for the pics, that's helpfull.

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Well, I bought the long block from the guy yesterday for $200. It is a 5.3 I measured the stroke to verify, and he was wrong all this time claiming it had flat top pistons, it has the dished pistons. Im just concerned about the overall condition of the engine. The oil looks nice and fairly clean (no sludge or brown coloring) and the engine turns over by hand, all though I can hear a slight noise when turning it over so hopefully something's not busted

Hard to tell at this point what the sound is, as im not a certified mechanic but maybe I can post up a video later and someone could chime in. Heres a pic of the dirty bastard.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Hey.I'm off on a similar path with similar goals. Car is a 69 Nova already in the low nines with a 498" rat and spray.
It's just more effort than fun, so going to move into the 21st century.

My L33



Pretty clean actually. 136 k miles, running when removed.
Of course you don't know a thing about the previous life. As was yours, oil residue looked ok. Coolant residue the same.

Not sludgy, but brown inside:





Although guys pull these from the yard, hose em off, and bolt em in with boost and have no issues, I just want to know that when I put it in the car, it's clean inside and out and mechanically sound. This will be a big project for me, I'd rather have the piece of mind that it's all correct. Currently at a crossroads on the pistons and rods....re-use or replace with forged.

I'll pull the short block apart this week.

The 799 heads cleaned up well. Brake clean, carb cleaner, simple green....took
me all day!



Keep us posted as you tear it down. BTW....the timing chain will be pretty floppy....

Ron

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Lookin nice and clean already man, good find on the L33...mines just an old LM7. Unfortunately I wont to tear into mine until next week, but Im excited to see how it looks in there. The outside of mine is pretty caked in dirt and grease, Id like to hit it with my pressure washer before I start the tear down, anyone know if that's ok to do? I figured it would be ok if I keep the pressure semi-low and cover any electrical components first.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Thanks. I think you will be fine if you wash below the heads. Make sure the dipstick is in. And might put rags in the exh ports just in case you get carried away. And spark plugs in too.

You will get a bath too!

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Well, just opened up the valley cover and found this. The previous owner said it ran great, and the oil in the pan is pretty clean. I know he had it under a shed for a couple months after spraying it down with water (hence the surface rust) so hopefully this is just from moisture seeping into the valley after he sprayed it and let it sit...and not a sign for what's to come

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Doesn't look horrible, but looks like you will be tearing it completely down now.

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Ughhhhhh I wasn't planning on doing that....at all. I was hoping to gap the piston rings and reassemble the shortblock, I wonder if the entire rotating assembly is going to be gunked up an/or rusted due to water intrusion? If so what the heck do you do then?

by the way, now Im really jealous of your nice clean block lol.

Sarg

iTrader: (6)

How do the cylinder walls look? If they look fine I would just clean everything really well and run it!

jridenour31

If you're gapping the rings, it's gotta come apart anyway. May as well get it hot tanked and put new bearings in.

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Cylinder walls look good actually, a little rust but nothing I cant get off...trying to decide if I should do a light hone with a Flex-Hone while I have it apart.


I just realized that a little while ago so I guess all I need to do is disassemble and hopefully its an easy clean up.



What's a good cleaning product for the rotating assembly?
Also, do most people just open up the stock top rings, or do they replace them for this kind of budget build?

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Paint thinner, or similar and a parts cleaning brush. Brake clean works well too.

Scotchbrite pad and a putty knife or dull wood chizzle for the piston tops, Same for the block deck.

I wouldn't hone it if you reuse the rings. Again, scotchbrite pad and cleaner work well for surface rust.

I believe you only open up the top ring, but I don't know what folks set it to. Don't bust any.......you need to remove them to file the gap.

jridenour31

This. At that point, I took the easy way out and brought it to my machinist. I really hate cleaning lol. With it that far apart, i caught a case of the "while I'm in here..." I went ahead with new bearings, rod bolts, gapped stock rings... Not necessary but cheap insurance for us paranoid types lol.

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Cheap insurance is the best kind. Im going to hit it with some elbow grease and scotch brite after its disassembled, then its off to the shop for a hot-tank on the block and rotating assembly. At that point, Im going to try the Flex-hone (drill attachment) and see how it turns out. Hopefully that does the trick and I can order some new rings and bearings and get after it.

schmendog

iTrader: (10)

Can you re-use the rings if I only plan on using a Flex-Hone? Or is re-using the rings a bad idea all together? They may very well be pitted and fubar'd anyways.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

I don't know about honing and re-using the old rings. Probably ok.
The rings are seated to the bore as is.

Here are photos of #1 piston I removed. Grungier than I thought it would be.
A little scuffing. The bearing is near perfect.





Get yours out and see what it all looks like. Even my pistons are going to be a big clean-up job if I decide to re-use them. I probably will replace with forged. I don't have a carb cleaning tank....not even sure if you can buy that stuff anymore. It would clean these right up.

Ron