Originally Posted by necrocannibal

Let me add my take in on this. I had my 408 built about 7 months ago. I didnt have the money for Stage 3 heads so I used some Absolute Speed Stage 2 heads, they flowed about 295@ .600 which is nowhere near enough. I used the stock LS6 intake, Shaner TB, 1 3/4 headers instead of 1 7/8 and True Duals. I am using an Eagle crank and rods, Diamond Pistons w/ 2 CC Valve Relief. I am using 38# Lucas Injectors. Anyway you can see what I have done and how it performs with not having the right heads (check sig). I am in the process of getting some Stage 3 heads riht now and hopefully will be in the 470+ rwhp range. Then intake, TB and headers I am hoping for 500 rwhp. I will be upping the cam as well. I have about $5500 in my motor and I have been told that is really cheap for a 408.

Originally Posted by Mike K.

man one big thing is your cam is tiny for your cubes!!!! You might be suprised at what a difference just a cam swap might do for you, and yes you need heads that are matched for your bigger bore as well. I bet you can see 550 + rwhp with the right combo

Originally Posted by necrocannibal

I know I wasnt expecting to build a 408 when it happened. I bought Stage 2 heads to put on my 346 and pulled the heads off and piston #7 had a hole in it. We decided to build the 408 and I had to stay with those heads. The cam choice was my engine builders, I guess he was trying to stay somewhat streetable. Around Christmas time I am going to do Stage 3 heads and a bigger cam and hope for 500 rwhp.

Originally Posted by necrocannibal

Let me add my take in on this. I had my 408 built about 7 months ago. I didnt have the money for Stage 3 heads so I used some Absolute Speed Stage 2 heads, they flowed about 295@ .600 which is nowhere near enough. I used the stock LS6 intake, Shaner TB, 1 3/4 headers instead of 1 7/8 and True Duals. I am using an Eagle crank and rods, Diamond Pistons w/ 2 CC Valve Relief. I am using 38# Lucas Injectors. Anyway you can see what I have done and how it performs with not having the right heads (check sig). I am in the process of getting some Stage 3 heads riht now and hopefully will be in the 470+ rwhp range. Then intake, TB and headers I am hoping for 500 rwhp. I will be upping the cam as well. I have about $5500 in my motor and I have been told that is really cheap for a 408.

Originally Posted by KingCrapBox

'Best' is a relative term. It's all about being cost effective.

If you're looking for a setup that you can make 600HP with, Eagle would be more than plenty. I would recommend Eagle for anything up to about 800HP. After that, it would be ideal to upgrade to something a little stronger. Peace of mind goes a long ways. Callies makes a couple of nice LS1 cranks. They typically retail for about $1,600. If you really want the piece of mind, or you plan to make power numbers of 1000, the Lunati is where you want to be. There are other crankshafts available for the LS1, but for the most part they're overkill unless you need a VERY light crank, or you're going to be doing endurance racing. For those applications you should call Sonny Bryant or Moldex. Prices on these cranks can range between $4,000 - $6,000!

As far as pistons go, you can't really go wrong with JE or SRP, especially if you're looking for a street cruiser. If you're looking to build something that can run with the fastest of them, Wiseco or Mahle would be a good choice. They might also be worth upgrading to if you don't want to have any worries, but I haven't seen any problems with anything from JE or SRP.

As far as connecting rods, it's the same story as the cranks. If you're looking for your car to be a street cruiser, Eagle's going to be your best bet. Those H-Beam rods they sell are much tougher than what people think. The Lunati Pro-Billet rods are also very nice, but they're about twice as much as the Eagle stuff. If you're looking to make anywhere over 800 I would recommend stepping up to the Lunati rods.

Hope you don't mind the article, I'm bored.

Originally Posted by JZ'sTA

This has turned into a nice thread with some good info.
Hopefully future 408 guys will use the search and read the info here.

BTW the 402 will be very popular soon.
Probally a 406 will be even more popular once they start
boring the LS2 block 4.020.

Originally Posted by Mike K.

I know my next motor would be a 402 as long as all this ls2 swap to ls1 works ok, I hate the weight of the iron but it does/has taken alot of punishment from me, also do you think it would be safe to bore it out that much? .020 on an aluminum? On the current ls1's the max safe/cleanup bore is only .006 which is why I ask.

Originally Posted by necrocannibal

Let me add my take in on this. I had my 408 built about 7 months ago. I didnt have the money for Stage 3 heads so I used some Absolute Speed Stage 2 heads, they flowed about 295@ .600 which is nowhere near enough. I used the stock LS6 intake, Shaner TB, 1 3/4 headers instead of 1 7/8 and True Duals. I am using an Eagle crank and rods, Diamond Pistons w/ 2 CC Valve Relief. I am using 38# Lucas Injectors. Anyway you can see what I have done and how it performs with not having the right heads (check sig). I am in the process of getting some Stage 3 heads riht now and hopefully will be in the 470+ rwhp range. Then intake, TB and headers I am hoping for 500 rwhp. I will be upping the cam as well. I have about $5500 in my motor and I have been told that is really cheap for a 408.

Originally Posted by KingCrapBox

'Best' is a relative term. It's all about being cost effective.

If you're looking for a setup that you can make 600HP with, Eagle would be more than plenty. I would recommend Eagle for anything up to about 800HP. After that, it would be ideal to upgrade to something a little stronger. Peace of mind goes a long ways. Callies makes a couple of nice LS1 cranks. They typically retail for about $1,600. If you really want the piece of mind, or you plan to make power numbers of 1000, the Lunati is where you want to be. There are other crankshafts available for the LS1, but for the most part they're overkill unless you need a VERY light crank, or you're going to be doing endurance racing. For those applications you should call Sonny Bryant or Moldex. Prices on these cranks can range between $4,000 - $6,000!

As far as pistons go, you can't really go wrong with JE or SRP, especially if you're looking for a street cruiser. If you're looking to build something that can run with the fastest of them, Wiseco or Mahle would be a good choice. They might also be worth upgrading to if you don't want to have any worries, but I haven't seen any problems with anything from JE or SRP.

As far as connecting rods, it's the same story as the cranks. If you're looking for your car to be a street cruiser, Eagle's going to be your best bet. Those H-Beam rods they sell are much tougher than what people think. The Lunati Pro-Billet rods are also very nice, but they're about twice as much as the Eagle stuff. If you're looking to make anywhere over 800 I would recommend stepping up to the Lunati rods.

Hope you don't mind the article, I'm bored.

Originally Posted by 383ss

that statement couldn't be further from the truth. peak flow numbers don't mean jack.
on my 408, my "stage II" heads with 2.02/1.60 valves and 'only' flow 293 @ .600 and put down 542/535 on they dyno and traps 130+
midlift numbers are what counts and valve size isn't a huge factor, IMO

Originally Posted by ninobrn99

What would be the smallest cam and heads you would want to use with a 402/408 and what should you expect from it as far as streetability goes? Is it something that could still be my daily driver?

Originally Posted by ninobrn99

that is too true!!! I mean for the average joe not wanting a hard, lumpy i have to give it gas just to keep it idle car. I have a F10 and my cousin has a similar cam and its very very streetable. Im sure adding a bigger cam and the right tune would work. I was just trying to get an idea as well as giving everyone else one on what they should look for. I mean you wouldnt want to get a 224 or something of the sort along with stage 3 heads right....