Some pics of the inside of the old 346 and new 365
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Some pics of the inside of the old 346 and new 365 Instead of the usual blowed up pics figured I'd post up a few of what a well used aluminum blocked 346 looks like after 40 or so track trips and beaten to hell every time. Worst part was two scuffed up pistons, #1 and #7, #7 was to be expected but #1 was by far the worse. Most likely it happened when I was playing with pump gas with the stock PCM, it did detonate pretty good a time or two most likely. But obviously it didnt affect anything too much since leakdown was still decent, it didnt smoke/use oil and it ran pretty well still. I noticed the wear in the bores over a year ago when I put the first set of head gaskets on. Rings looked great (regular moly), bearings looked exceptional considering it has lost oil pressure numerous times at shutdown. Crank looked like brand new (was a used crank to begin with), only main cap walking was #3, to be expected with a car with a transbrake, but the thrust bearing still looked fine.
I could have ran this one another season, head gaskets were leaking some, except for #1 and #7, most likele because I run #7 a little richer and #1 had some blowby so both those cylinders were a little down on power.
All in all it was a damn tough little engine, two full seasons and I show the car no mercy at all on the track. Few pics of the worst piston/bore and the crank. Piston looks bad but like I said its been like that for over a year most likely, could have been detonation, overheating (done that a couple times) or bore distortion..
I could have ran this one another season, head gaskets were leaking some, except for #1 and #7, most likele because I run #7 a little richer and #1 had some blowby so both those cylinders were a little down on power.
All in all it was a damn tough little engine, two full seasons and I show the car no mercy at all on the track. Few pics of the worst piston/bore and the crank. Piston looks bad but like I said its been like that for over a year most likely, could have been detonation, overheating (done that a couple times) or bore distortion..
Last edited by kp; Dec 14, 2008 at 01:20 AM.
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Now onto the new engine, not much different then the old engine except its an LS2 block, still a stock crank, howards rods and JE pistons (9.4:1). Also done by Wheel 2 Wheel. Put a new set of the AFR 225 72cc heads, finally retired the stock 98 lifters for some GM caddy lifters, same 232/240 EPP cam. Few pics of the new one, checking the cam, and sticking it in the car.
Also a pic of the inside of the trans, not bad for over a year on the same fluid, took it all apart but it really didnt need a thing. I threw some new clutches/steel and piston seals in and it should be fine for a couple more years..
So anyway, here it is running again, would be at the track right now except its been raining today (thats why I'm bored and made this post
), I'll try again tomorrow to make a few break in passes with the D1SC.
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/b...fd016e7d88.htm
Also a pic of the inside of the trans, not bad for over a year on the same fluid, took it all apart but it really didnt need a thing. I threw some new clutches/steel and piston seals in and it should be fine for a couple more years..
So anyway, here it is running again, would be at the track right now except its been raining today (thats why I'm bored and made this post
), I'll try again tomorrow to make a few break in passes with the D1SC.http://videos.streetfire.net/video/b...fd016e7d88.htm
Last edited by kp; Dec 14, 2008 at 01:21 AM.
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There was a pretty deep scratch there, but since it was out reach of the rings its no big deal, piston skirt didnt have any marks on it where something got in there so who knows. Doesnt really hurt anything down that low.
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Most of the time you just see shiny new engines or ones that are nuked pretty bad. This was just a good, solid. hard working piece that I beat the crap out of and it still kept going, it looked about what I expected it. I feel I got my money's worth out of it thats for sure..
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Just regular castrol 10w40, no real reason why I use castrol except they sponsor Force lol. Its not street driven and I change the oil every 3-4 track trips so everything will stay pretty clean. Needless to say lack of blowby keeps things clean also.
Did you go to 1/2" head studs Doesn't look like it I just know Kurt at W2W really likes them for helping keep the heads sealed a little better etc... Just curious as they were the ones you had build the motor etc... It looks nice for sure KP new and old LOL!
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I dont think they help that much myself. I'm just hoping the LS2 deck is stronger than the LS6 block like everyone claims, if it is I'll be alright. Not planning on going that much quicker and if I get a season out of the GM MLS gaskets thats good enough for me.I'm going to try to squeak in the 8s with the D1SC since the weather is good. But i need to make a few 1/8 mile break in passes first and make sure nothing falls off, then head over to Rockingham or Darlington before Christmas I hope.
Awesome Kevin, your knowledge of these cars seems to be simply amazing. Hopefully one say i'll be able to do half the stuff you can do. Very impressive and can't wait to see it in action!
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Well I dont know exactly, I guess after 25 years of scraping gaskets its nice not to anymore. There are a lot of other guys pushing the envelope with these engines way further than me though, I'm just having a good time with the car and thats about it
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But there is a lot of things that can cause the pistons to do that and its not really as bad as it looks. I've put worst looking pistons than that back into an engine and ran it. My biggest concern was the main caps and stock crank and that all looked like new. Pistons take a hell of a beating on these with the short skirts.. 
#1 and #7 definitely scuffed pretty good, did the rod bearing or ring pack show any sign of detonation. Be nice to see better pics of them. By the looks of your top ring (shiny full face) it was done.
Is your new LS2 block out of the crate stock......the deck looks like it had pretty fast final cut on it by the look of the machining marks. Looks like my out of the crate LS2. I was just curious if W2W does anything with it from the stock finish or not, doesn't look like it from the pic. Just seems like it would only help to have a smoother deck finish with all the head gasket sealing problems these engines have under boost
good luck.
Is your new LS2 block out of the crate stock......the deck looks like it had pretty fast final cut on it by the look of the machining marks. Looks like my out of the crate LS2. I was just curious if W2W does anything with it from the stock finish or not, doesn't look like it from the pic. Just seems like it would only help to have a smoother deck finish with all the head gasket sealing problems these engines have under boost
good luck.
Last edited by helicoil; Dec 8, 2007 at 08:29 PM.
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#1 and #7 definitely scuffed pretty good, did the rod bearing or ring pack show any sign of detonation. Be nice to pics of them.
Is your new LS2 block out of the crate stock......the deck looks like it had pretty fast final cut on it by the look of the machining marks. Looks like my out of the crate LS2. I was just curious if W2W does anything with it from the stock finish or not, doesn't look like it from the pic. Just seems like it would only help to have a smoother deck finish with all the head gasket sealing problems these engines have under boost
good luck.
Is your new LS2 block out of the crate stock......the deck looks like it had pretty fast final cut on it by the look of the machining marks. Looks like my out of the crate LS2. I was just curious if W2W does anything with it from the stock finish or not, doesn't look like it from the pic. Just seems like it would only help to have a smoother deck finish with all the head gasket sealing problems these engines have under boost
good luck.
rings and rod bearings look fine, you can see the rings pretty well in that pic, no moly knocked of them. Honestly why it happened isnt that big of a deal, I have got it pretty hot a few times when hotlapping the car, sure its been detonated a few times here and there. All in all it looks pretty good for a little 347 CID engine thats been pushing a 3350-3400lb car to 145+mph for two years.
The deck looks a rough finish but its pretty smooth really, I assume its been decked some, the last new in the crate LS2 block I seen had more of a broached OE finish. Either way I think the new 5 layer GM gaskets take a lot of the surface prep out of the equation, we'll see soon enough I guess..