I've been milling over this question for some time. I want to do heads and cam, but the LS1 in the car right now has 308k on it. We believe the car has possibly been rebuilt do to some weird things with the motor (doesnt leak, smoke, tick, has 2 passenger valve covers).

My question is which is better on the wallet? buying another LS1 and re-ringing/freshen it up to spec with a nice heads and cam package, or using an LQ4 block (a friend of mine already has one disassembled in his garage) with some LQ9/LS2 pistons and a set of L92 heads.

Power goal is to be around 420-450 at the wheel. I know both set ups can reach that power goal, but power to $$$ ratio is what i have in mind. Any suggestions, feedback (negative or positive) would be much appreciated.

 

Why not just toss in a new lower end in the old ls1 and do some decent heads, intake manifold, headers, and a cam? It will get to 420ish with that.

 

I wouldnt have the money to complete the entire build right away, and i would really like to drive the car for the 6 months of saving, instead of it sitting under a tarp with no heart.

 

Just buy a LS1 block with lower miles.

 

I'd go with the iron block. The extra displacement is nice to have, not just for peak power, but a good bump in overall power across the board.

 

6.0. The extra hp will outweigh the extra 80 lbs or so it adds.

 

Iron block. I put one in my TA and would do it again in a heart beat.

 

If the current motor was rebuilt it likely wont take another boring.

I would not do L92 heads though so I wouldn't go either direction you suggested.

 

Not to thread jack here, but I'm curious to know why you wouldn't run L92's?