Hey guys quick question

I am going to buy a block this week for my GN project. I am new to building motors so I have a question (sorry if its stupid lol)

My local pick and pull has a LQ9 for 600 complete intake to oil pan.

I plan on getting it bored to 370, new heads and completely rebuilding the motor.

My question is whats the benefits of going with something like a Texas Speed 370? (which I also looked at)

Would it be that its already together and you don't have to take it to a machine shop to have everything taken care of?

Thanks in advance!

 

The benefit would be that a reputable shop that deals with that specific engine on a daily basis would be doing the work, VS rolling the dice with who ever you local machine shop person is.

Are you sure it needs to be rebuilt?? time and time again people want to take a perfectly good engine apart just to make 400-500hp for some reason...
What are your goals and budget?

also $600 for a complete lq9 is a REALLY good deal if its in good shape

 

Thanks for the reply.

Realistically, I would like to get around 700-800. It's going to be a slow build that I will be doing with my son (minus the machine shop work of course).

The caveat with the 600 dollar LQ9 is that you pay, they pull the motor and you pick it up. So it is buying sight unseen. They have "verified that it ran before pulled" but I am not sure if I trust that. I went in and got a print out of the price of the motor and it included the truck that it came out of with the VIN number. Well, on the print out, the motor had 93K but when I googled the vin, it had 225K so I am not sure how reliable the motor will be.

Totally off topic but I was looking at your trans am video before you replied lol Nice build

 

Yes $600 for a LQ9 complete with harness pcm tac pedal and accessories . But 600 for just a core is not a good buy ! If it has good fundamentals , oil pressure ,compression and so on, run it like it is .

 

Even if it has 225k if it has been somewhat maintained it should be ready to make plenty of power.
In fact if its in good shape and your gonna tear it apart, I would set it aside and just find a core engine to rebuild. No need to tear a $1500 engine apart when a $300 one will give you the same end result.

And thanks, my car has a LOOOOOONG way to go but it works good for now lol

 

You could run a carfax report on it since you have the vin. I've googled junkyard vehicles before and found weird numbers. You could also verify if it's the original engine by the vin stamped on it.
Carfax isn't what it used to be for me. I used it a long time ago and it was very vague IMO. But recently I bought a car and a carfax report. I had to have a module programmed on it and took it to a small mom and pop type shop and it showed up on the report within a few days.

Another car I have the Carfax has all of the oil changes and transmission services on it, a cylinder head replaced, later cam replaced, later lifters replaced, etc.

And to answer the original question, if you have the money why not go with a built engine by a company that specializes in the type of engine? IMO it's a matter of money.
I can't afford a built engine but I do know my local machine shop very well, and in all reality an engine is an engine. They all get assembled to their specs. Machine it properly and assemble it properly and you can end up with the same thing that a specialist can give you.

 

Perfect that answers my question.

An engine block is an engine block and as long as you have a reputable builder there wouldn't be much differences.

Thanks!

 

its still better to have someone that know the particular build inside and out, to keep from having certain things overlooked or misplaced. There are no trustworthy machine shops around me and every time I try to have something simple done its a disaster, even milling heads. I got mine back from the machine shop and had them both cut .010
he ended up cutting one .005 and one .008 what the heck???
Anyways I would order one from TSP or Thompson just due to there reputation, but like the previous guy said I cant afford to make anymore power than a stock bottom end engine will handle anyways so I dont have to worry about it lol

 

I picked up a LQ4 for $500 long block, had 150k miles on it and I torn it down just to check everything since I was putting a new cam, oil pump and pick up etc. The thing was mint, I gave it a very light hone in the cylinders and called it a day, only replaced the main bearings, used the original cam and rod bearings because they were like new.

 

Also to the OP, the first engine in my trans am (the one in the video you watched) had way over 300,000 heavy box truck miles on it and it ran perfect with a 7000rpm redline for quite a while until I ran it out of water and overheated it lol

 

Man that was a good deal! I think I am going to go the pick and pull route.

 

I am sure it was worth it. You were letting it hang in the video brotha!

What are your plans for it moving forward?

 

I picked up a LQ9 for my Cutlass swap, and decided to let my local machine shop go through it. They built 3 engines for me in the past so I know how good they are. I'm glad that I did cause crankshaft had to be turned, and main bearings needed to be replaced. I decided to replace all bearings, hone the cylinders, re-ring the pistons, valve job on the heads, install new cam etc. In the end it was a lot cheaper than buying a rebuilt one from a vendor, and I know exactly what parts went in.

 

Good point. What else are you doing to the cutlass? Have you already swapped it?

 

The swap is almost finished. I just received my fuel tank, have to plumb the fuel lines and wire up the Terminator X.

I built the car 7 years ago with Olds 463/TH350, UMI suspension, coil overs etc. Big block was a lot of fun, but last summer it started loosing oil pressure so I decided on a swap.

It's a LQ9/4l80e swap using the Terminator X to control it, nothing crazy. Some bolt ons for LQ9 like TBSS intake, flex injectors, cam motion camshaft, LS3 throttle body, etc. Aeromotive Stealth II fuel tank with 340 pump, Holley Filter/regulator, -6AN ptfe lines for the fuel supply. Swap stuff from Holley with 302-3 pan.

I'm trying to keep it simple with room to grow.

 

Nice!! Looks like a 1970?

Are you putting it on the track or just a street cruiser?

 

Sounds like a nice father son project, my daughter wasn't interested so I did my 5.3/6.0 without her. I would look for a 04 or newer lq4, should be cheaper than a 9. 04+ should have floating piston pins, you can do these yourself, press pins are best done at a machine shop. You get new pistons with a full rebuild kit and can then get flat tops, that's the difference between 4/9. Obviously lots of guys have success running JY engines but you want a family project, they are not that complicated if you have mechanical skills, tools, and reference material. Tell them you plan on a rebuild, ask them if you can exchange it if its junk when you take it apart, spun mains aren't worth fixing, been there. Good luck and have fun.

http://www.ws6project.com/user_stor/...bcqg3of4311qs0

 

Not sure yet, actually plan to use it for some ministry work ...... something different lol

I might have missed it somewhere but do you have a budget for this project?

 

Thanks for the heads up!

I am sure I'll have questions along the way so you may be hearing from me in the future!!

 

Yeah so about a budget lol I really haven't sat down and came up with a definitive budget. I know that the saying goes "whatever you budget is, double it lol" I have written down some parts that I would like to have and the prices on those parts. I have funds set aside for the project but I haven't pulled the trigger on ordering anything yet because I am such a novice and don't want to order the wrong things. I like to measure 100 times and cut once lol

I want to turbo it since it was originally a turbo car. And I am in no real rush to have it on the road since I want this to be a father son project. Might sound corny but I am more concerned with the time spent with my son. I can buy another car. Cant get back time ya know.