LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

engine tore down, NoW WhAt

Old Nov 7, 2007 | 07:20 PM
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Default engine tore down, NoW WhAt

ok, my car started knocking right after i changed the oil basically about a month ago. im a tech. apprentice so i have good resources and we narrowed it down to a cracked skirt or a wrist pin thats worn loose. well, it ended up being that my crank pulley was loose and rattling so i pulled an entire motor(out of the top)and tore it down to a shortblock and then found it(simple mistakes i know, ive kicked my own *** enough so i dont need any more harsh criticism!!!) ive been thinking about putting all new gaskets and just slammin it back together and selling it for a decent priced ls1 car, but ive been thinking, maybe i could rebuild it and throw a cam in it and just keep it b/c its basically a new car, but i cant make a decision on what to do. if i plan on selling it pretty soon, i wont throw money into it for no reason but if i keep it idk... btw it has 120k on it and it runs like a champ. when its at operating temp, oil pressure is at 40 and at wot it goes up, so im not reallyy experiencing a whole lot of blow-by. i dont know what to do!
thanks guys
Oh and btw, i have been wanting to run a small n20 setup and thats the main reason i dont know whether or not to sell it or not. like i said, the engine is super clean and runs great.
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Old Nov 7, 2007 | 10:49 PM
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If it runs great then just build it up a little while its out and put it back in and have some fun. There is no way you'll find a nice ls1 car for the money of yours unless you have extra money to spend also. I would keep it and build it while its out then have basically a brand new motor.
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 11:18 PM
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thanks man, anyone else? also, what cam could i get that i could basically just put in and be done with it and not have to tune or get v-springs that is decently cheap. i am interested, i just want the cam to be easy adn reliable. thanks for all the help guys.
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 11:21 PM
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Buid a 355 with a baby cam and throw some spray at it! Just port your stock heads, shot peen crank and rods. Throw som forged pisitons of your choice, youll have a budget street monster!
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Old Nov 9, 2007 | 09:03 AM
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I am going through the same dillema right now, I am thinking of selling mine and getting a ls1 instead of pulling my engine and going through it again. Although, I do have to give the LT1 credit, it is an easy engine to work on, and with just a cam in it it screams. just food for thought.
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Old Nov 9, 2007 | 10:31 AM
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build it, my motor was doing the same thing before i rebuilt it. Now its a Forged 355.
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Old Nov 9, 2007 | 12:47 PM
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Put new bearings in it. Put the cc503 cam in it. Put the 918 beehives in it, or equivalent springs to handle the lift. Take a grinder and clean up around the valve guide bosses in the head, and gasket match the ports to the intake gaskets, do the intake manifold too. DON'T hog out the ports or anything like that, just "enhance" the flow a little bit. Have a machine shop do a good valve job. Check the timing chain for excessive wear, replace if necessary. Reassemble, get a tune, go kick some LS1 ***!
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Old Nov 9, 2007 | 12:53 PM
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I had a similar experience to you, many years ago. I had my motor fully rebuilt, and upon reassembly, somehow I managed to crack my flexplate (maybe it was cracked before, who knows) Upon the first start-up the flexplate wobbled ever so slightly, and would hit the nose of the starter every revolution, clunk,clunk, clunk, clunk. It sounded just like a spun bearing. So, 10 hours later I had it out, and almost completely down to the shortblock, when I saw the crack, lol, so I feel your pain.
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Old Nov 10, 2007 | 06:53 PM
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i was doing headers and snapped a bolt in the head and then i dropped some money into mine, look at my sig, i did at all at once and it was actually a budget build that made some mean power and stumped LS1's... I say build the little monster and keep the LT1 alive...
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