Need alittle help deciding
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Oklahoma City
Need alittle help deciding hello all,
i'm new to this forum so i though i'd start off saying hello. anyways I'm very much a car enthusiast and i know more about cars then most people my age. (20) close to two years of votech for ase taught me alot. i'm interested in building up an engine, broad area right? i've narrowed my list down to either a LS1, 5.3L, newer northstar with sequential spark not waste spark. i've done alot of research on the northstar and came up with a build around 10-11k. i like the northstar for the dohc and v-8, moderate displacement (4.6L). a buddy of mine has a 00 trans-am with an ls1 and it seems to put out pretty good power when it was running, he floated a valve.
i'm looking to supercharge an ls1 or 5.3L. ken bell is selling a supercharger for the 5.3L that came off the ZR1. i'm honestly lost between any of them, pros and cons wise. i thought i'd get alot of second opinions. also i'm interested in converting a automatic to a manumatic, but not sure how this is achieved. do you just swap out valve bodies or what? thanks for the input!
i'm new to this forum so i though i'd start off saying hello. anyways I'm very much a car enthusiast and i know more about cars then most people my age. (20) close to two years of votech for ase taught me alot. i'm interested in building up an engine, broad area right? i've narrowed my list down to either a LS1, 5.3L, newer northstar with sequential spark not waste spark. i've done alot of research on the northstar and came up with a build around 10-11k. i like the northstar for the dohc and v-8, moderate displacement (4.6L). a buddy of mine has a 00 trans-am with an ls1 and it seems to put out pretty good power when it was running, he floated a valve.
i'm looking to supercharge an ls1 or 5.3L. ken bell is selling a supercharger for the 5.3L that came off the ZR1. i'm honestly lost between any of them, pros and cons wise. i thought i'd get alot of second opinions. also i'm interested in converting a automatic to a manumatic, but not sure how this is achieved. do you just swap out valve bodies or what? thanks for the input! 
If you spend 11K on a northstar build you will be very sorry that is for sure...rethink your project.
PS The Corvette factory team has been showing their taillights to dohc euro iron for the last ten years in the American LeMans Series ... they have kicked the euros *** to the point where they ended up racing against themselves....they just finished building a new car and moved to a different class to find someone to race...these "old tech" LS series engines can run with anything that europe has produced...don't get caught up in all that dohc BS hype.
PS The Corvette factory team has been showing their taillights to dohc euro iron for the last ten years in the American LeMans Series ... they have kicked the euros *** to the point where they ended up racing against themselves....they just finished building a new car and moved to a different class to find someone to race...these "old tech" LS series engines can run with anything that europe has produced...don't get caught up in all that dohc BS hype.
Last edited by slt200mph; Aug 17, 2009 at 08:35 AM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Oklahoma City
http://chrfab.com/Engines.htm
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Oklahoma City
@slt
i dont buy into really any hype i just consider it a pro as dohc has less moving parts thus able to achieve higher rpm. f1 runs or ran 2.8L v8's that rev'd insanely high that produced high hp. (if im correct)
Last edited by Snowblind.; Aug 17, 2009 at 08:47 AM. Reason: I got out edited lol
As I said before check the record of the factory vette ALMS team against all the dohc euro iron over the last ten years and you will see what I am talking about... they swept the ALMS series one year and won the championship every year...the ferrari team (Pro Team out of england) didnt even bother to show up for the petit le mans race or the last two races of the season because Pratt-Miller (factory vette team) had alread clenched the championship...and in europe Pratt-Miller's record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is remarkable to say the least ... if you think that you are going to come on a this website and start talking about dohc engines and volumetric efficiency and all that kind of ricer/euro trash speak your going to have a rude awakening sir....a hot rod northstar is a money pit go ahead and build one and you'll see what I am talking about ... it will cost you an arm and leg to produce less than a LS series engine can for half the price ... I'm glad that you went to school for a couple of years but there is more to it than the book learning you got ... you can talk all that F1 BS ya want .. but if you really want to talk about hot rodding someone like Mike Moran running a 2865 pound door slammer making 3700 HP on alchy (turbo BBC) and clicking off a 5.97 @ 251 mph is what hot rodding is all about....no dohc under the hood of his Monte Carlo thats for sure...the first door slammer into the 5s ... good luck in whatever route you decide to do ... 
Last edited by slt200mph; Aug 18, 2009 at 08:35 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Canton, GA
DOHC is over rated. I havent really ever run into a build northstar ever, i'm sure its been done but I have never seen one really.
For 10-11k you could build a monster of a LS1, LS2, or LS3 even.
From the site you posted here is a price from them.
FOR SALE
If you like the Northstar engine and want to have everything already assembled, here is an option. This engine came out of my '32 roadster and comes complete ready to install and start up.
199X engine, blower, head work, nasty cams, Arias pistons, Eagle rods, blue-printed and alanced, chrome and polish package, ecu and wiring harness, headers, water tubing, polished 700R4, 3500 rpm stall torque converter, etc. etc.
$17,000
(if I built this for you it would be approximately $28,000 new)
For 10-11k you could build a monster of a LS1, LS2, or LS3 even.
From the site you posted here is a price from them.
FOR SALE
If you like the Northstar engine and want to have everything already assembled, here is an option. This engine came out of my '32 roadster and comes complete ready to install and start up.
199X engine, blower, head work, nasty cams, Arias pistons, Eagle rods, blue-printed and alanced, chrome and polish package, ecu and wiring harness, headers, water tubing, polished 700R4, 3500 rpm stall torque converter, etc. etc.
$17,000
(if I built this for you it would be approximately $28,000 new)
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 2009
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From: Oklahoma City
wow, you guys totally misunderstand me. im not here to talk dohc trash or anything of the sort. im here for input on various possible builds. your right, northstars are money pits. i can pick up an ls way cheaper and build it better; thats a huge plus. if i wanted a flame thread i wouldve put dohc vs pushrod as the title; but i didnt because thats not want i want. i just wanted to see what people thought, a few .02's; not the whole friggin dollar. either way, im leaning more towards an ls because OF cost...and the fact that its already rear wheel drive as the common northstars arent.
just another thought, since im getting flame pm's and what-not over the fact that i even mentioned dohc, does everyone here hate LT5's that came in the older ZR1's? (90-95) i believe.
just another thought, since im getting flame pm's and what-not over the fact that i even mentioned dohc, does everyone here hate LT5's that came in the older ZR1's? (90-95) i believe.
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Verdad Gallardo OUOTE from snowblind ..."does everyone here hate LT5's that came in the older ZR1's? (90-95) "
I am very familar with the LT5 that was co-developed between GM and Lotus and manufactured by Mercury Marine for GM...it is a classic example of why the LS series is superior for hot rodding...take a look at the physical dementions of the LT5 it is much larger and more complicated with more moving parts and far more expensive to produce than the LS series...the 346 LS6 made 405 HP and fit into the engine bay of the C5 Z06 which the LT5 could never do...those old ZR1s would run on top end but they were a major pain to maintain and work on...the "old technology" pushrod LS series engine is by far a much better choice for a hot rod project...its simplicity, less moving parts, compact size, light weight, less expensive to produce, and produces more performance per dollar spent makes it the smart choice of most guys hot rodding with GM power now days.
I am very familar with the LT5 that was co-developed between GM and Lotus and manufactured by Mercury Marine for GM...it is a classic example of why the LS series is superior for hot rodding...take a look at the physical dementions of the LT5 it is much larger and more complicated with more moving parts and far more expensive to produce than the LS series...the 346 LS6 made 405 HP and fit into the engine bay of the C5 Z06 which the LT5 could never do...those old ZR1s would run on top end but they were a major pain to maintain and work on...the "old technology" pushrod LS series engine is by far a much better choice for a hot rod project...its simplicity, less moving parts, compact size, light weight, less expensive to produce, and produces more performance per dollar spent makes it the smart choice of most guys hot rodding with GM power now days.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: BFE
Forged 347 with boost pistons $3500
Gasket kit $280
317 6.0 72cc heads $1300 (ported)
Custom cam $450
Tuning 500>600$
Procharger $6200
Miscalleneous $1000
Total $13330 +/-
To give you an idea roughly how much a 5.7L Supercharged will run you. 550>600rwhp on pump gas, daily driver.
Gasket kit $280
317 6.0 72cc heads $1300 (ported)
Custom cam $450
Tuning 500>600$
Procharger $6200
Miscalleneous $1000
Total $13330 +/-
To give you an idea roughly how much a 5.7L Supercharged will run you. 550>600rwhp on pump gas, daily driver.
Forged 347 with boost pistons $3500
Gasket kit $280
317 6.0 72cc heads $1300 (ported)
Custom cam $450
Tuning 500>600$
Procharger $6200
Miscalleneous $1000
Total $13330 +/-
To give you an idea roughly how much a 5.7L Supercharged will run you. 550>600rwhp on pump gas, daily driver.
Gasket kit $280
317 6.0 72cc heads $1300 (ported)
Custom cam $450
Tuning 500>600$
Procharger $6200
Miscalleneous $1000
Total $13330 +/-
To give you an idea roughly how much a 5.7L Supercharged will run you. 550>600rwhp on pump gas, daily driver.
as for the northstar idea, scrap it unless you just wanna be different. i wont get into the dohc vs pushrod debate, but suffice it to say the LS are a better platform in just about every way.
some helpful info would be what this is going into...
