oh, of course not. that thing's show room fresh...

 

Have you considered going to a sleeved block? Take your existing LS1 block and send it to ERL for the Superdeck treatment. Granted this is not a cheap option but you get very strong sleeves, billet caps, APR hardware and end up with a very solid block that can go to 454 inches. At $2600 the work is about same as LSX block.

Neat thing about this option is from the outside, looks just like an LS1 - that is if you are looking to build the ultimate sleeper combo.

 

the 454 is gonna be so expensive. and there would be no need to spray a motor that size or boost it unless you really wanted the baddest *** car in town. ive been lookin into the 414 ls2 its a hell of alot cheaper than a 454 fully built and will throw your *** in the seat like crazy. but its your build, do what you want. i say 454=too damn expensive

 

however, you could sell the LS1 motor to offset the price of the 454 or 408

 

well, the problem with sending the stock block in is i'd have to pull it out, send it out, and wait for it to get back. if i went with the lsx block for the same price as a sleeved ls1, it would save me time. leave days are valuable. i don't really want to have a dead car while i wait for the block to come back. its a great idea, but i'd rather have something i can build and slap in in short order.

 

i'm not real worried about having the baddest *** car. i don't have much of an ego. someone will always be faster. i want a fast car for the sake of the speed. the tires smoking, suck you back in your seat, loud, adrenaline rush. ya, winning races is fun, but 80% of it comes from the thrill of acceleration. once you get used it what you have, you need to step it up to try to get the rush back.

 

i know what you mean all to well, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

That line is just so fuzzy.

 

 

I like my LS7 block 454, I had an 6.0 iron block 427 before that. The 427 is hard to beat for the money. Thanks for your service to the coutry!

454 dyno sheet


427 dyno sheet versus a LSX block 440


427 on the stand

 

I haven't done buissness with ERL, but I have to imagine that you could buy the block and pay a core charge that would be refunded once you send yours in.
Go as big as you can afford. I've never heard anyone wish they had built a smaller motor. Don't add extra weight if you don't have to.

 

Since you are not really trying to achieve a particular goal with horsepower or quarter mile et, I say build a very sweet 408. What I can tell you is that as you go bigger you have to upgrade everything. The 454 is a newer setup that would be awesome; however, the supporting parts play a big role. For example, I run a regular SLP lid on my 404 that works ok but it really needs a 100mm + lid for optimum performance. That same SLP lid would probably be a very poor setup for a 454. If I built a 454, I would not want to spare any expense as it could be easily matched by a max effort 408. My 404 transam is around a 3800lb race weight and I'm expecting to go 10.5 to 10.6 through a full exhaust this coming race season (in good air). It has a pretty mild cam and will probably trap close to 126 mph with the current setup. There are plenty of faster cars out there but this setup is pretty mean and with an extra 100 shot on tap it performs well. I do like the idea of a ls2 block as that would be like having 10 more horsepower due to the weight reduction.

Here's my parts list if I'm you

Fresh LS2 Block
402 stroker kit
42lb injectors
AFR Heads (225 would be ok I think)
Yella Terra roller rockers
(maybe try some lunati lifters)
custom cam
underdrive pulley
Ported Fast 102 intake and 102 TB
Air lid and Maf that are both over 100mm
1 7/8" stainless steel American Racing Long Tubes
A nice stainless cat back exhaust

This setup will make awesome power n/a. With nitrous or boost added, it will crush most of your competition and be cheaper than a lsx block build.

 

Well just from my experience I would go with more cubes. I have had no problem with my ls7 build. You should really rethink your idea of building your own motor. I have a friend that did the same thing, wanted hands on experience with help from friends engine builder. When he finally got the motor going it didn't run near to his expectations. He just finished tearing it down. He thought that the heads were an issue. Turns out that the rings had broken up on two cylanders. Now he is having to have the motor completely torn apart and gone through. Get a professional shop to put it together, one that works on the lx format all the time.