I have always heard and read that .015-.020 was the max to bore a 2000 model bock but when I was speaking to a sponsor the other day he suggested that I bore the stock block .030 to clear up the walls. I used n2o a few times and had a detonation cracking a piston and scaring the walls .027" deep.

Has anyone here bored this deep or deeper? How come is it not considered safe when the dart sleeves are 4.125 it can be clearance can it? Just a little confused and wanting some more info.

 

You can bore any LS1 block .030 over or more, but you'll need to resleeve it with thicker sleeves than the stockers. .030 in theory would be enough to clean up the bores, but I would go at least .040, preferably .060 to ensure uniform roundness. With thicker sleeves, .060 won't be a problem. There are aftermarket sleeves that can tolerate an all bore 382 LS1 block. But since you have to resleeve your block, you may want to look into sleeved shortblocks instead. By the time you price the sleeves and the labor to redo your block, it may not be any cheaper than going with a shortblock from cmotorsports.com or another vendor on the sponsor list.

Jason

 

are you sure they were talking about a 5.7 ls1 block and not a 6.0 iron block?

 

The LS1 block technically cannot be bored, just honed up to 3.905 or so. Other than that you will have to sleeve that one cylinder and match it to the others finished size.

 

I am sure because I specified everything that I knew, and this is what they suggested. I am a little confused by it too, my machine guy says he thinks he can do it and he will for $100, he may be cheap but he does a really good job. He has done some of my older engines and I haven't had a problem yet but he hasn't done an ls1 yet...neither have I as far as boring and all. I did order a 408 which is bored .030 with a stroker 4.000 crank but the iron is a completely diferent story.

 

Well, I won't say who the sponsor was, but you can bet I won't buy from them...that's the end of that.

 

there is no doubt that it can be done, however the integretity of the sleeve thickness will be compromised. it becomes a case of when not if your motor will go.

 

How long in your opinion is the longest/shortest life expectancy of the motor if this is done? Also, with re-sleeving the motor, I've heard that these motors will tend to leak coolant, is this true or a myth? I'm guessing it will be a wet-sleeve job. The charge is $150, plus the $100 for piston matching boring, get some Ross pistons, factory crank polished, Tri-Metal bearings, and Callies rods and I should be good for a nice FI car, right?

 

Race Development over there----> is the only one I would buy a wet sleeve block from. That alone will run you 3 grand. In no way would I take the stock sleves .030 over and then add FI. ,010 is about the max I would go on the stocker. Sounds like it would be cheaper for you to buy a new LS-6 or LS2 block.

 

short enough for me to decide it shouldnt even be done in the first place.

like i've said before, if you want to go the sleeved route Steve > *. what you've heard is stories from shops who dont know what the **** there doing.

if you plan on FI i wouldnt even consider the .030 bore. if you plan on FI with the darton wetsleeve it will hande more then you can throw at it.

 

Aight, thanks

 

I agree, pretty sure 99' and up LS1/LS6 blocks can be honed to a max of .010" and the 97-98 LS1 can go to a max hone of .004". I would definately not do a .030 or more to it.

Dan

 

I thought that this is what I have read but sometimes I do get a little scatter-brained and mix numbers up. When the guy I was talking to said that, I said "are you sure you can do that?" He says, "yea, we do it all the time." I said, "on aluminum blocks?" He says, "Yea, I do this for a living, you don't have anything to worry about. The only time you need to worry is when it gets to 60 over." I said, "okay, let me do some research and I'll get back with you." He says, "sure no problem, let me know when you're ready and we can meet up and you can drop the block off." I was going to his hometown in Texas to get another shortblock from HPE and he wanted me to drop this block off at his place, it isn't HPE btw. I know there are at least 3 other sponsors in the Houston area so that's why I say that.

I told him it wasn't a big deal as far as time went because I was actually shooting for January/Febuary test and tune races. I have to get HP Tuners and a few other mods before I can go this route though. I have pretty much all the safety mods, chassis mods, rear end, clutch, all of the bolt-ons exept a 90/90 for the new set-up (the one I use now is plummed) I would need some 55-60# injectors, fuel pumps, boost controller and a few others but that is way off track.

Anyway like I was saying, I was just making for sure I was thinking right. That sponsor will not get my business, you have my word on it.

 

Aluminum LS1 bores (cast in sleeves) are only about .080 wall thickness. I understand that Iron blocks can be bored up to .060. When I had my block done first thing I asked was how much LS1 work they do.

 

He said that this would be the first ls1 block but he had a friend that has done quite a bit of work on them. In my area we are very limited to the machine shops and this guy has done a few sbc's for me so I trust him. He has done great work in the past and I will trust him again with re-sleeving this block I'm sure. he's close and local and will let me help out as much as I want, being able to watch the clearances and the work being performed is a plus in my eyes. It's not that big of a deal, I have the 408 now and was just looking into getting a back-up motor that could handle boost. I will let you all know how it goes.

 

Sounds to me like this guy is an actual machinist who knows what he'd be doing unlike some shops with CNC machines where alot of times the operators are basically just programmers and not real machinists. The way I see it, if there are rebuilt LS1/LS6 blocks out there with thicker sleeves running all bore 382's, I don't see why your guy couldn't do this either with the right parts. Plus if he knows people who've worked with LS1 blocks, and he lets you watch the work, I don't think you have anything to worry about. good luck

Jason

 

That is kind of what I was thinking. I don't have much to lose it's not like this is the only block I have. I have 1 aluminum and 2 iron blocks. One of the iron blocks is the 408 I am running now, 11.3:1. The other is a 370 10.7:1 with stock crank, rods, and ARP rod Bolts with forged Ross pistons. The aluminum I was wanting to set-up for FI. I am going to shoot for 8.5-9.0:1 for 12-15 psi boost. It shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks for all of the comments.

 

If your talking about his machinist sleeving the block, then I would do a search for sleeved block problems. Unqualified people usaully end up messing the process up or they use cheap sleeves with no lips to hold them in place. If the block messes up after the install, you have alot of work on your hands. If you can't afford the sleeved block from a qualified installer, I'd go with a LS-2 or a iron block. I have a sleeved block FS if anyone needs one. Shoot me a PM if so.

 

bingmuthafuckino.

people dont realize the actual experience and proper machining equipment it takes to do a block properly. steve has fixed countless resleeved blocks from shops and sponsors who have fucked them up because they simply dont know what the **** there doing or not checking clearances and tolerances.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again. you want a darton sleeved block steve is the man, period. or an associate like howard wolf who steve has trained personally.

 

It wont be a Darton, it will be a stock sleeve from GM. I have already checked with the machine guy and all, he says he has all the info needed. We will get it started some time in a week or so after the pistons get here that I haven't ordered yet.

I did check into a Darton sleeved block and it is a little too steeply priced for me, thanks for all of the info but $3k for a block without the rotating assembly isn't quite in my pocket book when a full rotating assembly would run about the same from Eagle. I've heard "don't go with eagle, choose Callies over them" but I haven't had an Eagle crank break yet. Plus I already have a 4.000" Eagle crank, it just needs polished. The set-up I am more than likely going to go with will be stock block/sleeves, Eagle crank, eagle rods, Ross pistons -2cc (I have had good luck in lsx with these pistons so I'm gonna stick with em), FM trimetal bearings (except the cam bearings), a 232/236 cam on .598/.607 lift, and 110lsa, AFR 205cc 66cc chambers, Hooker Headers, TSP ORY, Hooker Catback with a electric cut-out, ported ls6 oil pump, adjustable timing chain from Rollmaster, some UD pulleys, and an electric water pump. This should be ok for 450+ hp with some good tuning and ok for a ~250 shot n2o. I was wanting to go FI but that again is a little too far out of budget especially since I have already got a TNT200 kit accessible. This is the plan to hold me over until the 408 can become a solid roller set-up. Should be ok for now.

Thanks for all of the info, especially you jrp and a great FAQ you have there. I give you a big hand for retaining all of that info and making it so accessible so easily. I will let everyone know how the new set-up performs on the dno and at the track.

I have a couple of more chassis/suspension mods to work on as well to lighten up the ride. I need to get a tubular K-member, tubular A-arms, and a few others in this category, nothing really major but every little helps.