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Have you gotten to the balancer install yet? Will an existing LS balancer work with this crank?
It's pretty straight forward for the balancer. The crank snout is the same diameter as the stock LS cranks. I used Summit Racing's balancer that fits a C5 Corvette. The reason for that is I am using the Corvette accessories and suspension.
Biggest thing with the crank is that it is an 8 bolt for the flex plate or flywheel. I spoke with Monster clutch and they got me spec'd out for my clutch and flywheel as I'm running a T56 transmission.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the L8T crank from Mast has a keyway so make sure your balancer has the keyway provision.
Finally! I picked up the block and crank from the machine shop last Monday and have begun re-assembling the motor. Pretty much have the short block back together. Just cleaning up the oil pan and front & rear covers to go back on tonight or tomorrow.
Since I originally started this build I changed the plans a bit. I sent the LS3 intake manifold to Gwatney Performance to get ported and rod modded. I Also sent the heads to Katech to have them CNC ported and milled to get my compression back to where I want it.
I knew they ported the plenum on the intake. I didn't realize that they also port the runners. That was a nice surprise when I opened up the box.
Finally making some progress again! Cylinders heads arrived from Katech on Sat. As of yesterday re-assembly of the short block is complete. Nothing really changed accept I installed a new oil pickup tube. I do not believe the one that I had was correct for the C5 "batwing" oil pan so I ordered a new oem one from Rockauto. I checked the clearance with some clay and it measured right around .27" so I left it as is.
I had Katech mill 0.030" from the heads. First thing I did was check the combustion chamber size. I'm calling it 68cc(I started with 100cc). This is actually perfect. With the extra material milled from the heads that yields 11.2:1 static and 8.2:1 dynamic compression ratios.
All in all I'm very happy with the port job from Katech. Since I already had a valve job done by my local machine shop I was able to have them just port the runners. Can't beat the price.
Nothing you haven't seen before but here are some pictures of the ported runners.
These are from one of the intake runners. You can see some spots where the "as cast" surface is still left. Also, like most ported stock heads, the holes for the rocker arm bolts are exposed.
As DualQuadDave mentioned the rods are modified GM gen V rods and the pistons are forged wisecos. MAST Motorsports sells the rotating assembly kits. All the specs and details are in the earlier posts in this thread.
As DualQuadDave mentioned the rods are modified GM gen V rods and the pistons are forged wisecos. MAST Motorsports sells the rotating assembly kits. All the specs and details are in the earlier posts in this thread.
Thanks again, so your piston at BDC is popping out of the hole around 0.550 inches then on this setup? Not that it matters for skirt wear as the wiseco pistons are designed these days to move the breaking point up to make sure it stays in the cylinders.
All together and mounted on the run stand. I wound up ordering a set of custom length Manton pushrods, I needed 6 different sizes. They should be delivered today. Still have a bit of work to do to get this things ready to fire up but hopefully she'll be running before the end of this weekend.
Anyone know what this hole on the back of the block is for? I cant tell if it's into an oil passage way or not. It would be a perfect option to mount the fitting for my mechanical oil pressure gauge if it'll work.
So, I did wind up getting the motor fired up on the run stand this past week. I didn't get to spend too much time with it so I really only got it started and got it to idle for a few minutes (not even long enough for it to fully warm up, only got to about 140 deg). It had good oil pressure right away and there were no odd noises (e.g. piston slap, valve train noise, etc.). All good signs.
It did smoke a bit on initial start up. I only did a real quick GCF setup using the handheld with the Holley Terminator X, so I know there is still quite a bit of configuring that needs to be done for an initial idle and IAC adjustment. Unfortunately I am going to be away for a few weeks and wont be able to spend any time with it until early to mid next month. But for now I am happy it started and ran with no surprises. Once I get a chance to setup a new GCF using the laptop and get the idle adjusted correctly I will post up a video of it running on the stand.
One thing I will need to address is the cooling system setup. I am running a heater bypass hose on the water pump since its not in a car at the moment. However when I initially filled it with coolant I noticed the block only took about 1 gallon. I started by filling through the upper radiator hose with the steam vent line removed and filled it until coolant came out of the steam vent (cross over tube on the front of the engine). Doing this the engine only took about 1 gallon. I am under the impression that the engine itself should take closer to 2 gallons itself which make we think there is trapped air somewhere.
Currently I have the rear steam vents plugged because the way the motor sits on the stand it is slightly tilted up in the front, which means the front steam vent lines are the high point in the cooling system. I know the cometic head gaskets I am using have to be installed in a specific orientation. I am 99% sure I had them correctly installed with the text "front" facing the front of the motor so the coolant passages from the block to the heads are open. Ofcourse I could have had a brain fart (which would suck) but I really doubt it. I did also fill the radiator with the cap removed after I filled the engine. That took about another gallon. So at this point there are 2 full gallons of 50/50 mix in it. I know the heater hoses and heater core will hold some volume but I doubt they would hold almost another 2 gallons so I am thinking I have air trapped somewhere in the engine.
I will mess with the coolant and try to refill and or bleed it before I fire it up next. As I mentioned I never let it warm up enough where the thermostat would've opened so the coolant level in the radiator is still full at the moment.
Anyone have any ideas how much coolant this should hold with the heater bypass installed (e.g. no heater core)? More importantly, any reason why the engine would bleed coolant out the steam vent after about only 1 gallon? That is the one that I am more confused / concerned about.
Got her fired up and idling on the stand. Have a couple heat cycles and some revs on it. I think I am going to leave it at that as far as the run stand goes. I have some sheet metal fab work to finish up on the car before it gets installed. Hope to have it in the car and moving under its own power by the end of the summer. Still learning the Holley Terminator X but so far so good. Here's a couple idle clips. The second one was warmed up and running about 750rpm.
02-27-2024, 09:29 AM
