MrJuanderful

Nice looking engines Losingit.I see you have a thread on the S-10 build,I will check it out (many,many times).

Nice to see that someone has some similar equipment,and putting miles on it.I am sure the things I am thinking about you have gone through a while back..And ,I am also a fan of the Chevy/GMC AD trucks

I am not 100% sure I will use the LSA on this motor,but it is pretty likely.I would like to improve on the power of the tired 6.0,and not kill my fuel costs.And of course,I don't want to break the bank on the build.So,I need a plan that rips the 6.0 a new one,otherwise it is a helluva lot easier to find a lower mile 6.0 dump it in and live with it.I realize if I get a heavy foot all day long,fuel cost will suck no matter what,so I will try to keep my brain together.

So,I got the idea that I could out-power the 6.0 with a built 5.3,but built for low end torque.If I go NA,I want it to be 12:1 or a bit more.If I go LSA,I don't need so much.So,I am thinking flat top pistons and milled small chamber heads and E85.Right now fuel is :
1.79 for E85,2.65 for 87 gas,and 3.09 for 93 gas.So,fuel cost with E85 should be pretty close and a decent amount better with anything high compression or boosted.

I'd like to build something that would be decent NA and really good with the LSA.Maybe a gasket change to lower the comp a little.And a cam that would be a compromise for both.If I kill the LSA blower,I want to be able to change over to NA in a weekend.Truck does about 25k miles a year.I wouldn't be on boost a whole lot,but when I need it I won't be shy about it.I would be looking for 400 ft lbs + NA and maybe 525 ft lbs with the LSA.

I don't really have a feel if E85 is real hard with engine wear on an everyday driver,especially with the high cylinder pressure.Or how many miles the blower is good for? I guess once a month oil change,and a lot of fuel system maintenance for this setup.

I haven't found any builds or dyno data on the lower rpm engines.In other words,most everything has big flowing heads.I didn't think much of the adapter plates when I first saw them,but they are growing on me,especially for my purposes,they might even be a good combo with the small valve,lower flow heads.I wish I could find dyno data ,square port heads vs. cathedral adapters,no other changes.

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

Juan you can make a ton of compression with your stock heads just flat mill them as much as you want the only limit is the lower front/rear accessory bolt holes.

Next you will have to seat the intake down so mill the sides is plastic so that's easy with a 12 inch disc bench sander and coarse sand paper glued to a two by four to smooth finish the surface, I have taken .150 thous off an ls head to increase compression to 14.1 stock pistons stock block on E85
I had to mill the bottom side of the intake too and had to grind small area on top of the water pump to avoid contact with the throttle body but every thing works.

I had to fly cut the pistons .125 thous but depending on how much you mill you may not have to using a small cam as oppose to .677 lift in my case.

I was able to bring my 69cc chambers down to 45 on an ls3.

A good oil cooler may be necesary to keep oil temps under control with high compression, oil temps should be kept to 200 or below for good oil pressure and to protect life of bearings.

G Atsma

Uhhh, "15" thousandths? or "150" thousandths as you printed?

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

[quote=g atsma;19874913]uhhh, "15" thousandths? Or "150" thousandths as you printed?[/quot

To rise compression from 10.7 to 14.1 on an ls3 yes .150 thousandths.

G Atsma

[QUOTE=CAMSTER;19874998]That is a HEAVY cut!

MrJuanderful

Any ideas if 706 heads will safely make 12:1 bolted to the stock 5.3 on e85 with stock lift cam?How much milling of the cylinder head would be safe for an everyday driver set it and forget it kind of deal?

MrJuanderful

Hey LLLosingit, did you detail in your build on how you put together your fuel system for E85 and the zla blower? That is one area that I have really no good idea on how to do it. And it is good to know that someone is having success with a system as an everyday driver. I have had not the greatest success in the past with cheaper fuel pumps, and I pretty much stick to OE quality pumps, such as Delphi at this point. It would be nice to know what you used.

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

There is another way you can increase compression on the 5.3 and is by swapping to 4.8 flat top pistons, just so you know see link below see post 7.

https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...-5-3-a-431486/

If you mill .008 off you remove about 1 cc

Shaving .050 off will net you 10.3 compression

Here's more usefull info...post 7 again

https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...istons-196131/

If you could find a set of 4.8 pistons which are flat top by eliminating the 6 cc dish on your 5.3 pistons you'll pick up enough to come up to 12. compression with .150 thous off the heads and flat top pistons will yield 12. compression, I suggest .040 compressed head gaskets this way only need to remove .140 from your 706 heads.

Better yet a new 12 to 1 drop in set of pistons available over the counter today, just match the weight to the originals if you don't want to remove the block.

MrJuanderful

Thank you for that Camster. I was aware that the 4.8 flat top would work on this engine. I really appreciate the math involved to arrive at that fact, and the links that you provided.

The engine to be put together for this project is not in the vehicle. So this is an engine that will be on a motor stand, so I don't have to contend with doing any of this work in the vehicle. I'm not sure if I should let that affect the way that I go about things.

And I guess this is where we and I guess this is where we get to the slippery slope. How crazy do I want to get? I guess the important factor is that this is an everyday commuter truck that I need to be reliable and would like to put together a motor one time that will last 100k miles. So the question is do I do a total tear down, and build everything that way.Or do I do a junkyard build? On anything other than an LS engine I would not think about the junkyard build. But these engines seem to be the exception to that. What do you think?

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

5.3 and 4.8 are inexpensive why not a turbo kit I have a turbo kit just removed from a Silverado that @ 6 psi will do everything you want includes inter cooler exhaust manifolds is a complete kit just bolt on and tune no need to touch the motor.

MrJuanderful

Just to refresh for everyone,this is the idea of this project:
E85,5.3,8000 lb. Truck that tows couple times a week on mostly flat land,25k miles per year.Want to go 12:1 compression NA,I have LSA and Intercooler on the shelf,that at some point aftermdriving it NA,I will most likely bolt on,with stock 5 to 6 pounds right off idle.Probably going with 5 speed truck manual I have,rather than automatic.

I am not going to race it,but I need ***** when I need them.I need it to be reliable,and when not on it,to get decent fuel mileage.And yes,trying to be a little different.I might as well rev limit it at 5500,because I ain't going any higher than that.

Camster,what kind of boost is the unit making at 2000rpm?

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

I asked he said he was boosting 15 psi but the Turbonetics boost controller allows to adjust boost to come in where you dial it in, is just one turbo so both sides dump into one for quick spool.

MrJuanderful

Yah,maybe I was too quick to dismiss the turbo.I looked this over.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/can-b...p-auto-dynasty

There are some dyno results and a graph,photo 11/17 that shows a very flat torque curve of 500-600 ft lbs down to 3000 rpm on a carbureted SBC.Kit they used looked like included a Chinese turbo unit,which would be unacceptable to me for reliability.The stainless/aluminum fab /welding is within my ability,not the issue.I wish I could see some power curve below 3000.

More button pushing for me tonight...****!

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

Kit is all turbonetics including boost controller ball bearings complete just bolt on and tune everything facing the rite direction.

MrJuanderful

Camster,I think if I consider turbo,I am a long ways away from getting a kit.At this point,it is about choosing the engine and heads.Briefly looking into turbos,I may even have more options for the configuration of things in the engine compartment than I imagined before,with the LSA.Without getting into details,I have about 2 miles of room above the engine,under the hood to work with,but a bit tight in front of the engine,so blower snout and belt system will fit but be a much tighter squeeze.

I am a complete noob on turbo. Could the turbo unit(s) and wastegates be mounted undercab or underbed,and inlet air cooled and brought back into engine bay? Can you really design things to boost quickly off of idle? For my needs I could never-ever need more than 10 lbs of boost,But I can't wait for 4000 RPM to get it.But since I am running Heavy-duty, old fashioned 5 speed,I have engine rev under my total control.

CAMSTER

iTrader: (10)

The kit is a bolt on on a chevy truck other than S10 so no worries on fitment, waste gate is fully adjustable to make boost from idle.

MrJuanderful

Thanks Camster but this homeless guy is going to be Turbo-less for a while.Overall project,besides engine is a custom fab fest. I would expect the turbo to be nothing less than that either.Looking into things,a remote mount turbo,getting unit out of engine compartment is what will happen.Some planning for the engine bay and firewall mods is what I am contemplating now.

But now,I can look for a mint 5.3 and 706 heads and go from there. I am thinking the combo will make enough compression and power to get out of it's own way,if turbo needs to be serviced or disconnected at some point.I would probably like to run things NA to shake things down when things are ready anyway,to get a baseline.Maybe even do a dyno run NA,before setting up turbo.

But anyhow,full -time E85,5.3 with 706 cylinder heads and NV4500 trans to Dana 80.

Not putting the LSA and intercooler away yet.