bjamick

iTrader: (31)

Bore it to 3.898 the motor will be fine.

aAZz

Unless u get real heavy into ur mods and go all out boring won't make that much of a difference hp wise. Ull get more tq tho

tallChevy

iTrader: (14)

buy a 6.0. running to thin of cylinder walls will cause cooling issues. The 500 in machine shops cost + around 100 for rotating assembly balance + 300(I dont know how much you paid for the block) That is 900 before your pistons, rods bolts and seals. To me this is just to much money to risk on a so called budget build that may or may not overheat. buy a 6.0, probably will end up cheaper

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

They want another 200 for balancing and if weight gas to be added it's another 75 dollars. I'm looking at s set of mahle pistons should I get arp head bolts or factory gm?

RezinTexas

Here is a good read for you.

http://www.truckinweb.com/tech/engin...ild/index.html

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

what does it take to put a 350th behind the 5.3? special flywheel?

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Look for a 4L80E Flexplate & Spacer..you will have to elongate the holes in the Flexplate.

I'm about to put a built one in my MCSS..got all the parts here for it and that Flexplate & Spacer is what you need..

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

i was trying to sale my manual valve body 350th with the stall but since nobody bit on it i guess im gonna use it.... and swap out to a 4l60e this winter.... hopefully i can find soembody to buy it before i swap out to the 4l60e... anybody wanna trade a 4l60e for my built 350th???

remauto1187

iTrader: (1)

If you are going to run boost I would go with the ARP or equivalent head bolts as well as rod bolts also.

I am not going to run premium bolts since i am not going to ever run any boost nor hit the track.

driver56

Where I work, the guy that does all our block work has been doing blocks for 35 years. He took a blown-up 5.3 with a split cylinder and started cutting. Went all the way out to 4.000" (stock 6.0L for some folks), then kept cutting just for kicks. Didn't hit water until another .160 thou on most cylinders, almost .180 on a couple others. I have a 5.3 block taken out to 4" in my own race car, high compression, solid roller, 4" stroke, circle track motor turning well over 7K rpm, and it runs just fine with no cooling issues. Now if a 4" bore is what you're after, it might be cheaper to find a 6.0L block, because it's going to cost extra to bore a 5.3 block that much. That's damn near a quarter inch of boring and these LS blocks are cast from some pretty good iron that can be hard on cutters.

That being said, the machine costs you listed are pretty much in line with what we charge. Standard costs are:
Thermal clean and shot blast, magnaflux, bore, hone, new cam bearings--$250
Balance rotating assembly on Hines computer balancer--$200
Standard rebuild on cyl heads (new valve job cut with Serdi)--$250
Grind and polish crankshaft--$85
Re-size rods--$10 each
Press old pistons off/press new pistons on--$5 each

The block work is done on Rottler and Sunnen equipment, and we use BHJ torque plates when honing if requested.

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

will a 1gen radiator work with a ls1? i got away with it on my lt1 its a big thick radiator all aluminum and stuff id hate to have to sale it and buy 1 for a ls1 if there different im sure the ls1 cost a lot more

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

and on the rod part the machine shop said its hard to resize a set of ls1 pistons because of how there made is this true? id really like to just use the rods with arp rod bolts instead of buying new rods.

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

started on my harness today.... starting cutting out things like rear 02s air injection stuff, cruise control wires, evap wires, ect. labeling fan wires feed wires battery constant ect. i made my own lt1 harness form a 95 pcm the ls1 is a little more complicated in my opinion. might have a few qestions on that tomorrow.

if im able to get away with stock truck manifolds think i should do that or buy shortie swap headers? iv heard a few bad things bout shorties before dont know how well stock manifolds are.

my goals are getting it done with in a month.... if i just use the 350th i have now id probally beable to get it done by then and make it to the track before they close

95ONE

iTrader: (1)

yes sir. been there done this. (recently) I just went ahead and bought the ARP rod bolts ready to have the rods honed out back to circular after they were installed.. But first I wanted to test a few theories, because all this banter about ARP ovalling out the big end of the rods was really bothering me. I checked the torque specs on the 6006 ARP bolts. yeah yeah, stretch is better and its true, BUT.. the I just needed to SEE the number to solidify my call on BS on what is being said about the bolts (ARP 6006 Only) (needing a hone after installing) 40 lb feet is ARP's spec. for the 6006 series.

So, I needed a baseline. I did the torque angle method for the stock rod bolts. 15lb ft at first +75 degrees. ( GEN II rods and bolts) I did the 15lb ft 3 times first each bolt to be absolutely sure. torque-loosen;torque-loosen;torque-75 deg. angle. I set the torque wrench to 40lbs. It clicked a little before 75 degree marker! (BUT did complete the full 75 degree turn after the click) I did it again set to 43. tighten and loosen to 15lb feet 3 xs. it clicked right where I finished at the 75 degree marker. NOW.. I kept the rods torqued to the stock GM spec with the stock GM rod bolts (2nd gen set - LS6) and measured the ID of the bore. 90 degree, 60 degree, 45 degree and many many more. All dead consistent except right at cracks in rods it was about .001 larger. 2.222-2.223" per my instruments. yours might be a little different, but as long as they are consistent, they will work for this application.

That was with the stock rod bolts. I did all 8.. every freakin one of them were exactly the same. a few spots where it deviated .001 here and there. (mostly at the cracked joint)

THEN... I removed the thin dowels/stock bolt keepers and installed the ARP bolts in all the others per the stretch spec and the torque spec. VERY consistent between the two if you do it exactly as described. 40ft lbs or stretch at .0055 - .006. 42lb feet is what I ended up with for the stretch to match. All rods were running extremely consistent with this. I had cleaned every part meticulously and used the given ARP bolt lube. Soooo. I did this on all the rods. I then measured every one on the inside diameter. dial and bore gauge. one expensive, one not. Both stayed consistent. all.. and I mean all Were the exact same diameter as stock.

But, here is my conclusion/finding that even though ARP has a CYA blanket statement at the bottom of their instruction paper that says, "The connecting rods should always be re-sized after new rod bolts are installed." Which I am sure applies to many of its extreme torque bolts and old chevy rod application. But, It is my finding, in the case of THIS EXACT ARP KIT 134-6006, you do NOT have to re-size your rod ends. And be clear. I used Z06 rods and bolts as reference. NOT the regular LS1 rods (First GEN) So I make no claim to those. pay less than a hundred for better bolts. No need for Katech's ridiculously priced bolts. Just pop those puppies in there and follow instructions for tightening. Double check 2 or three. If they are consistent stop there. Bolt them on. Rev your **** up. I bet if you do lose a rod, its because of the rod itself or something else went wrong. Not the bolts.

And of course, take this information at your own risk. I assume no responsibility for your broken $hit.

I know you don't know me from anyone else on the internet, but I hope this helps your decisions in the future.

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

My next decision is which cam to use... I got lucky and picked up a set of 1.8 roller rockers and a 85mm intake and throttle body Iv read a few bad things about the typhoon intake so I'm gonna get it opened up a little bit. compression will be about 10.5 to 1. Heads will have some port work done to them Iv found a few cams Will a 242 252 580 590 112lsa be to much for my set up?

bradw18

iTrader: (-1)

i ended up ordering ARP 234-6301 - ARP Pro Series Wave-Loc Rod Bolts

i ordered the gm performance head bolt kit and a set of pistons. hoping to have my motor together soon. still gotta get a cam and figure out if i wanna run the stock 5.3 truck heads and do a little work to them or go with something else.

Knuckler

Anyone running a 5.3 crank in a 5.3 to 5.7 conversion? Just curious on what needs to be done. I heard just balancing since the piston weight are different.

Knuckler

In the process of building one for my suburban. I tow with it so my mods won't be for the high revving but the low end. Gonna use the stock intake, stock heads and punch the intake valve to the 2.0 and use a lunati 55002 cam, and upgrade the springs.

y5mgisi

iTrader: (2)

Just starting my research on this as well. Sounds like, bore to 3.898, use stock 5.3 crank, stock 5.3 rods, ls1 pistons, have rotating assembly ballanced, re-assemble. Pretty much right?

kossuth

iTrader: (12)

First and foremost if its an iron block, sonic check that bad boy and have the deck of the block inspected for deck height. Aluminum ls1 deck is 9.240". There are some blocks that have a 9.230" deck, make sure yours isn't one of them. It's not a big deal, you just need to know so you can purchase the right pistons.