I am about to buy a 92 vette that is already modified a little bit. It is running between 400hp-425hp. I was wondering if I could put a low boost supercharger on it without having to upgrade the bottom end in any way since it just recently got a fresh rebuild. Looking for around 500 or so horses after everything is said and done. So what do you guys think, can it be done without risking a chance of messing up the engine?

 

How much compression is it now? I wouldn't put more than 4-6 psi on it.

 

I'm making about 470 hp at the wheels with 6 psi and mild heads/CC306 cam on the stock bottom end.

 

I guess the issue is not will it hold up yes/no but for how long will it hold up.

 

Great news to my ears. My goal is 400 RWHP so it sounds like I will be fine.

I believe it is 10.7 to 1. I was thinking 4 psi would be nice without overkill. If it is making roughly 425HP at the crank, 4 PSI should be enough to get me to my goal or 400 RWHP right?

 

No the question comes down to the quality of the rebuild. What a stock bottom can handle and what a screwed with one can handle may or may not be the same. The bottomend hardware is very good provided you keep it out of detonation at which point the pistons and bearings might have some difficulty. The early LT1 like that will have the "pink" rods not sure how they stack up to the later powdered metal but I know most knowledgable types consider the powdered metal reliable to beyond 500hp the "pinks" WERE the rod to have before the PM ones came out but they are 1970 technology. The LT1 crank can handle more than the rods.

 

To my knowledge, the bottom end was rebuilt by a respectable machine shop so a poor quality rebuild is probably not the case. Does the engine in the Vette vary in any way from the rest of the LT1's in other vehicles? I heard there were a few internal differences such as better componets but I can't remember what exactly they were if indeed it is true. Can anyone please fill me in?

 

400 rwhp is not hard to achieve for a nicely tuned heads & cam motor.

 

The Vette had 4 bolt mains but the 2 bolt are nothing remotely resembling weak. IMO it was just to let the often snobby new Vette buys think they were getting something better. Year for year the Vette LT1 got the same rotating components as even the LT1 b-bodies be it civilian or copcar wagon Roadmaster whatever the Fleetwood is technically a d-body buy it just a longer b-body and again same rotating parts.

The b-body heads also outflow the f,y-body heads thru 95 and for 96 the aluminums catch up, the b-bodies had a more lowend torque oriented cam better suited to the weight and gear of the car. Seen charts for a guy putting down over 600hp/tq to the wheels in b-bodies with stock crank rods and 2 bolt mains several stock bottomed b-bodies in the 10s with single or dual power adders. The Vette motor is nothing special but I am sure you could find a salesman who would tell you how wonderful it was should your ego need stroking.

 

No ego stroking here, just need facts. Thanks for all your input so far guys. If any of you can help give me more info on the power handling capabilites of the "pink" rods or any other info that has been left out that I need to know, I would appreciate it.

 

No ego stroking here, just need facts. Thanks for all your input so far guys. If any of you can help give me more info on the power handling capabilites of the "pink" rods or any other info that has been left out that I need to know, I would appreciate it.

 

The stock LT1 rods are not "pink" rods. Stock rods are powdered metal- very comparable to the pink rods,but slightly better. I think more than 500hp is pushing it,though it is the rpm that is hardest to take.

 

Is this correct?

Or is this correct?

 

Dwayne (96capricemgr) is correct. I don't believe the LT1 got the PM rods until late 94. .

Matt

 

Can anyone tell me how much abuse the pink rods can handle?

 

I used my stock rods in my previous 383 build. Rods beams were polished and the bolts were replaced with ARPs. Motor was holding up fine after 6 years, when I took it apart earlier this year. I ran 2 stages of spray - first 100/100, then 100/150, then 150/150 for the last few years of juicing. The last year the engine was together, the spray was removed and my blower setup went in - approx 14psi with alky injection. BTW - motor was approx 10:1 compression and stayed under 6500rpms.

So, IMO the pink rods can hold up fine with moderate boost. I'd be more concered about the pistons and the compression. Are you running forged pistons or stock hypers???

 

Thanks for the info pigpen. I am not dead set on s/cing the vette yet, hell, I haven't even bought it yet! I was just trying to get my facts straight and find out some of my options for future modifications. I may end up just using a 75-100 shot of NOS to get me to my goal and save some of my hard earned cash since I won't be driving my car but a couple times a month.

 

The pink rods were originally used in the early 70s or so as the forged performance engine rods and were the factory standard performance rod till the PM ones came out many a budget build for decades has used them so maybe look around the rest of the web and you can find more info. MOST of the LT1 used the PM ones so you will find more info about them on forums.