Budget build ?
Thread Starter
10 Second Club
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Dayton Ohio
Budget build ? Well to start currently i have a 98 formula mods in sig, and stock suspension and trans. 134k factory engine.
My Tranny went south so i figured while it was down i would do a H/C swap, and upgrade the suspension. i also plan on using a th400.
I have removed around 450lbs and plan only running it at the track mainly, and sunday use. kinda on a budget of around 4k but really is a ballpark #
I want to run low 10s on motor. spin it to 7k
I have several questions.
First- I looked into a MS4 and ls6 stg 1.0 heads or ms3 and prc 2.5 5.3l heads
But i am not to sure if this the best route for me to go for my goals.
Second- I planned on replaced oil pump, lifters, lifter trays, rod bolts, and the usualy cam swap items. but with 134k should i replaced main, and rod bearings.?
Third- If i did go with one of thoses H/C how high of a stall should i get.
I ve searched and searched and it seems like alot of people are happy with the results of these set ups, but just wondered if there are other proven combos.
Fourth-I am not above doing cam only and saving for afrs ,or the new texas speed heads, but didnt know if that would be a good choice on factory 98 heads.
The suspension will consist of every bolt part i can get minus k member for now.
Any help is good just looking for insight, critisism is welcome
My Tranny went south so i figured while it was down i would do a H/C swap, and upgrade the suspension. i also plan on using a th400.
I have removed around 450lbs and plan only running it at the track mainly, and sunday use. kinda on a budget of around 4k but really is a ballpark #
I want to run low 10s on motor. spin it to 7k
I have several questions.
First- I looked into a MS4 and ls6 stg 1.0 heads or ms3 and prc 2.5 5.3l heads
But i am not to sure if this the best route for me to go for my goals.
Second- I planned on replaced oil pump, lifters, lifter trays, rod bolts, and the usualy cam swap items. but with 134k should i replaced main, and rod bearings.?
Third- If i did go with one of thoses H/C how high of a stall should i get.
I ve searched and searched and it seems like alot of people are happy with the results of these set ups, but just wondered if there are other proven combos.
Fourth-I am not above doing cam only and saving for afrs ,or the new texas speed heads, but didnt know if that would be a good choice on factory 98 heads.
The suspension will consist of every bolt part i can get minus k member for now.
Any help is good just looking for insight, critisism is welcome
Well to start currently i have a 98 formula mods in sig, and stock suspension and trans. 134k factory engine.
My Tranny went south so i figured while it was down i would do a H/C swap, and upgrade the suspension. i also plan on using a th400.
I have removed around 450lbs and plan only running it at the track mainly, and sunday use. kinda on a budget of around 4k but really is a ballpark #
I want to run low 10s on motor. spin it to 7k
I have several questions.
First- I looked into a MS4 and ls6 stg 1.0 heads or ms3 and prc 2.5 5.3l heads
But i am not to sure if this the best route for me to go for my goals.
Second- I planned on replaced oil pump, lifters, lifter trays, rod bolts, and the usualy cam swap items. but with 134k should i replaced main, and rod bearings.?
Third- If i did go with one of thoses H/C how high of a stall should i get.
I ve searched and searched and it seems like alot of people are happy with the results of these set ups, but just wondered if there are other proven combos.
Fourth-I am not above doing cam only and saving for afrs ,or the new texas speed heads, but didnt know if that would be a good choice on factory 98 heads.
The suspension will consist of every bolt part i can get minus k member for now.
Any help is good just looking for insight, critisism is welcome
My Tranny went south so i figured while it was down i would do a H/C swap, and upgrade the suspension. i also plan on using a th400.
I have removed around 450lbs and plan only running it at the track mainly, and sunday use. kinda on a budget of around 4k but really is a ballpark #
I want to run low 10s on motor. spin it to 7k
I have several questions.
First- I looked into a MS4 and ls6 stg 1.0 heads or ms3 and prc 2.5 5.3l heads
But i am not to sure if this the best route for me to go for my goals.
Second- I planned on replaced oil pump, lifters, lifter trays, rod bolts, and the usualy cam swap items. but with 134k should i replaced main, and rod bearings.?
Third- If i did go with one of thoses H/C how high of a stall should i get.
I ve searched and searched and it seems like alot of people are happy with the results of these set ups, but just wondered if there are other proven combos.
Fourth-I am not above doing cam only and saving for afrs ,or the new texas speed heads, but didnt know if that would be a good choice on factory 98 heads.
The suspension will consist of every bolt part i can get minus k member for now.
Any help is good just looking for insight, critisism is welcome
Well, first of all. IS your budget of $4K, does that include the tranny as well? If so, it's gonna require some bargain shopping. So, I will take a stab if you were looking to do this with the tranny:
Fresh '01 LS1 shortblock for sale in classifieds right now: $1000.
Heads, cam, rockers $2500
TH400 w/ Transbrake and with converter $2000
Equals $5500
Minus - $500 (give or take)for sale of your old motor
Minus - $200 for sale of your old tranny
Leaves you a balance of $4800.
You might be able to find a good deal on a new TH400 in teh classifieds (I did not look) for less money and the same goes for teh heads and valvetrain. Gonna have to do some bargain shopping, but if you have the patience, it could be done.
Don't forget injectors, and probaly will need an intake..say LS6?
My friend may still have a 40k mile short block, not sure if he sold it or not. Were in Ohio too. Dont forget fluids, gaskets, balancer bolt, push rods, tranny cooler etc. all the little stuff really adds up. Ask me how 5-6k later I know this...
Thread Starter
10 Second Club
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Dayton Ohio
Well, first of all. IS your budget of $4K, does that include the tranny as well? If so, it's gonna require some bargain shopping. So, I will take a stab if you were looking to do this with the tranny:
Fresh '01 LS1 shortblock for sale in classifieds right now: $1000.
Heads, cam, rockers $2500
TH400 w/ Transbrake and with converter $2000
Equals $5500
Minus - $500 (give or take)for sale of your old motor
Minus - $200 for sale of your old tranny
Leaves you a balance of $4800.
You might be able to find a good deal on a new TH400 in teh classifieds (I did not look) for less money and the same goes for teh heads and valvetrain. Gonna have to do some bargain shopping, but if you have the patience, it could be done.
Don't forget injectors, and probaly will need an intake..say LS6?
Fresh '01 LS1 shortblock for sale in classifieds right now: $1000.
Heads, cam, rockers $2500
TH400 w/ Transbrake and with converter $2000
Equals $5500
Minus - $500 (give or take)for sale of your old motor
Minus - $200 for sale of your old tranny
Leaves you a balance of $4800.
You might be able to find a good deal on a new TH400 in teh classifieds (I did not look) for less money and the same goes for teh heads and valvetrain. Gonna have to do some bargain shopping, but if you have the patience, it could be done.
Don't forget injectors, and probaly will need an intake..say LS6?
Well if i need to replace the short block then i would just order a iron block from a vendor. I have no problem rebuilding my engine just didnt know if most people rebuild theres when they do H/C on a 134k engine. new bearings and rings, basically overhaul it. the engine runs fine right now the transmission just started slipping so it got pulled.
I already have two th400 and have a rebuild kit on the way. so my budget is mainly for the engine/ Suspension/ fuel system.
Could i just replace the bearings without any machine work to the crank?
Well if i need to replace the short block then i would just order a iron block from a vendor. I have no problem rebuilding my engine just didnt know if most people rebuild theres when they do H/C on a 134k engine. new bearings and rings, basically overhaul it. the engine runs fine right now the transmission just started slipping so it got pulled.
I already have two th400 and have a rebuild kit on the way. so my budget is mainly for the engine/ Suspension/ fuel system.
Could i just replace the bearings without any machine work to the crank?
I already have two th400 and have a rebuild kit on the way. so my budget is mainly for the engine/ Suspension/ fuel system.
Could i just replace the bearings without any machine work to the crank?
well, you said you were going to replace rod bolts in your first post, and if you do that, rods will need to be resized and bearings replaced. And if you are going to do that, it would be silly not to freshen up the motor with that many miles on it, and you have the motor apart. So, you are looking at a rebuild either way.
Now, if you wanted to, YES, you can replace just the bearings without any machine work being done, IF you check clearances and everything checks out. With that many miles on it, crank may need a polish, or even turned depending on condition....
But then you need to look at rings....with motor being torn down, you might as well replace rings, hone needed, more money.........
Thread Starter
10 Second Club
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Dayton Ohio
Well i figured i would get the katech rod bolts, so i shouldnt have to resize them.
So really i should take my short block to a machine shop and have them freshen it up for me.
So really i should take my short block to a machine shop and have them freshen it up for me.
First thing to do would be a compression and leak down test. If that's all good, then leave the rings be. Then borrow a set of Micrometers and check and see if the crank journals, mains, and rod big ends are out of round. If they are, then you gotta pull everything and do a full rebuild. If the aren't out of round but the clearances are too big then you can just roll in a new set of bearings, new fasteners and concentrate on making some power with whatever top end you choose. good luck
AJ
AJ
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I would go ahead and get the Katech rod bolts. They are running a 20% off sale right now so that is pretty much a no brainer. Head wise I would swing for a used set of heads. There are some nice sets in the for sale section right now. I know there is a set of ET 215s that are priced nicely and some TFS 215s I saw not too long ago. $2000. The cam, gaskets, fluids, and other components should cost you around $1000.
On the TH400. If you have the capacity to build it yourself you can do it for around $1000. That's with a good 34 element sprag, RMVB with a trans brake, and all of the expendable parts. Honestly, I would build the 4L60E and keep overdrive before I swapped to a TH transmission. It will cost you about the same in parts, you give up the trans brake, but pickup an electronic transmission and over drive.
That's your $4000 budget right there. You're still going to need all of the parts to convert to the TH400; dipstick tube, crossmember (can make), longer driveshaft, converter. I have an 8 inch COAN 5200 stall I am looking to get rid of. The details and pictures are in the link in my sig. $315 shipped and it is yours.
On the TH400. If you have the capacity to build it yourself you can do it for around $1000. That's with a good 34 element sprag, RMVB with a trans brake, and all of the expendable parts. Honestly, I would build the 4L60E and keep overdrive before I swapped to a TH transmission. It will cost you about the same in parts, you give up the trans brake, but pickup an electronic transmission and over drive.
That's your $4000 budget right there. You're still going to need all of the parts to convert to the TH400; dipstick tube, crossmember (can make), longer driveshaft, converter. I have an 8 inch COAN 5200 stall I am looking to get rid of. The details and pictures are in the link in my sig. $315 shipped and it is yours.
Thread Starter
10 Second Club
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: Dayton Ohio
I would go ahead and get the Katech rod bolts. They are running a 20% off sale right now so that is pretty much a no brainer. Head wise I would swing for a used set of heads. There are some nice sets in the for sale section right now. I know there is a set of ET 215s that are priced nicely and some TFS 215s I saw not too long ago. $2000. The cam, gaskets, fluids, and other components should cost you around $1000.
On the TH400. If you have the capacity to build it yourself you can do it for around $1000. That's with a good 34 element sprag, RMVB with a trans brake, and all of the expendable parts. Honestly, I would build the 4L60E and keep overdrive before I swapped to a TH transmission. It will cost you about the same in parts, you give up the trans brake, but pickup an electronic transmission and over drive.
That's your $4000 budget right there. You're still going to need all of the parts to convert to the TH400; dipstick tube, crossmember (can make), longer driveshaft, converter. I have an 8 inch COAN 5200 stall I am looking to get rid of. The details and pictures are in the link in my sig. $315 shipped and it is yours.
On the TH400. If you have the capacity to build it yourself you can do it for around $1000. That's with a good 34 element sprag, RMVB with a trans brake, and all of the expendable parts. Honestly, I would build the 4L60E and keep overdrive before I swapped to a TH transmission. It will cost you about the same in parts, you give up the trans brake, but pickup an electronic transmission and over drive.
That's your $4000 budget right there. You're still going to need all of the parts to convert to the TH400; dipstick tube, crossmember (can make), longer driveshaft, converter. I have an 8 inch COAN 5200 stall I am looking to get rid of. The details and pictures are in the link in my sig. $315 shipped and it is yours.
Thanks for the offer on the TC but i have my mind set on a ATI my buddies friend can get me a deal.
My budget is mainly so i dont get carried away.
