I've got a 1968 Corvette I'll be putting an LS engine and T56 transmission into. It will be driven often as a semi daily driver. I'm looking for reliability with some pretty decent power if I want to get on it. I've got an lq4 with a good amount of miles on it that I'll be rebuilding, so is stroking it to a 408 going to be practical? Its probably going to need some machine work anyway. Or should I just find a different engine with less miles on it and do a head/intake/cam upgrade and keep the stock displacement?

 

If it's stroker and no supporting mods like heads and intake, the alternative of stock displacement with heads, intake, etc. will be better off. 408, properly put together, is practical.

 

I would say modding your car is never really "practical" but it is definitely fun. I would ask yourself what power goals you are wanting. You might find a simple H/C set up will meet your needs without dumping a huge amount into a stroked build. Just my 2 cents.

 

I appreciate the replies. The project is just starting, so I'll have to see how my budget looks when I get to the engine. I guess I'm just trying to get as close to the best of both worlds as I can. It needs to be streetable and reliable, but I want the thing to have some good getup and go when I want it to. When planning things out though I do tend to go a bit overkill. I might just go with a head/cam/intake setup.

 

You can make plenty of power with 364 cubic inches(6.0) and you have a light car. LQ4 is low compression. I'd plan on some heads to get your compression up first. Some milled 243s would net you 20-30HP alone and increase torque all over the place with a healthy bump in compression. Then a good custom cam(stock truck cam will never perform)..LS6, LS2, or better intake, headers..a fun to drive 450HP engine is totally achievable without stroking.

Now you can get all of this, in 400HP+(underrated if you ask me) from from the factory in a LS2(6.0) dropout. 10.9:1 compression, 243 heads, LS2 intake which flows as well as the 6 and fits under a car hood, LS2 cam and valve springs which are comparable to LS6, big throttle body, better flowing injectors with some performance headroom, etc.

You drop almost 100lbs too with the aluminum block. Can always stroke it later, too, but with free-flowing exhaust and a good tune, you could be at/around 425-450HP and then with a custom cam, valve springs, and a few other items, be on your way to 500HP without ever removing the heads. Crank numbers of course.

 

So would you recommend that topend over the LS3/L92 topend?

 

IMO

You pick a power level, i.e. 500bhp. Now ask yourself, are there any engines available with all original parts that will support that power level within a budget? Lets say your budget is $10,000 drivetrain.

Yes, there are several engines with all original parts in that budget, such as the 2jz and LSx, that easily fall within that budget for a 500bhp drivetrain using mostly original/unopened engine parts. This will be more reliable than trying to build something, and it can be accomplished much faster (you can be driving your dream within a week instead of months). Any additional funds can be used to secure an additional longblock and upgrade the drivetrain for more reliable performance.

These are reliable, "practical" solutions, and to be more specific when i say practical I Mean This:
1. engine is expected to provide 200,000 miles of service
2. ring seal and bearing clearance is geared towards daily-drivers
3. fuel economy using pump-gas is acceptable given the output

 

Good info there. I'd just like to get in the range of a newer C6/C7 vette in terms of power and reliability if that makes sense. Like I said, it will be driven often.

 

My opinion-- for primarily street duty and 6.0 or smaller, cathedral port heads are going to give you a broader torque curve and more low end. LS3/L92 on a 6.0 will scream up top and make more power than other factory cathedral port options but you will lose low-end torque which is what you usually want on the street. With a light car, good traction, and no emissions requirements, I think a LS2 with supporting mods and a stick will give most C6s a run for their money.

243s and LS2 intake are like cash these days. You could start with that and always get your money out of them if you decide to upgrade to LS3 top end.

Now if you go stroker, you can use the big rectangular ports and still have some bottom end torque.

 

I appreciate the info and patience everyone. So I'll probably go with the milled 243 heads and either an LS6 or LS2 intake. Looks like the most common mill on the heads is at .030? And is the LS2 intake really as bad as a lot of articles on a google search are making them out to be? They aren't a 1 piece design, which means they leak a little. But, they can take the larger throttle body.

 

I hadn't heard that about the LS2 intake. I always assumed it was one piece. I had one briefly but sold it. I have the hood room so have run the truck intakes. If you are concerned, you can pick up a brand new bare LS2 intake on Amazon for about $185. Find yourself a fuel rail and some sensors and injectors and party.

 

I would stroke it just for cleaning up the block and the tq bump, shoot for around a 10.1 compression and a little more piece of mind later down the road if you ever want to throw a power adder on it. You can always watch the classifieds for good deals on heads and intakes.

 

Thanks all!! Still a couple months away from tearing into an engine, so I'll see how the finances look at that point.

 

Ls2 intake is junk until it's ported. Then it's decent. Lots of obstruction in there from the manufacturing process

 

IDK about "junk" as you can pick them up fairly cheap(and probably have them ported relatively cheap it seems) and they still perform decently. I think it depends on budget and perspective. Here's a link addressing the sonic welding, performance, porting. Good info there and shows that until ported, the LS2 is beaten out by the LS6. Maybe to some that is junk. For sure doesn't perform as well as I thought.

http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthr.../289456?page=1