640hp N/A road race Goat nears completion (details inside)
09-18-2023, 02:09 PM
#61
On The Tree
Thread Starter
So from 4/2021 to present day, Porkchop has sat in storage, battery charged and disconnected, fuel stabilizer in the tank. And we wait for things to stabilize/normalize economically, if such a condition will ever return to the US.
I had him removed from insurance except for the minimum [comprehensive?] coverage, which protected him in the event of a structure fire, total loss, etc.
10/1/21 - Career change...Mental health adjustments
I left a very stressful, toxic job in the tech industry late September 2021, and returned to the auto industry (also famously stressful at times), to pursue car repair and consulting full time.
Income took a huge hit going down to one job, but I was able to work much closer to home, with none of the *** hats at my previous job. I was able to be closer to my family and make my own schedule, which is a blessing most of the time. There's a lot to be said for not having to commute and be on an employer's time table at all times.
5/2022 - After a year in storage, I had concerns, so I pulled the fuel tank and evacuated all the fuel. By myself. With 8 gallons of fuel in it. Horrible experience handling that big b*tch.
I later learned that you can evacuate the tank quickly and easily from the fuel rail by simply jumpering the FP relay with a paper clip. It's beautiful:
...Install a correctly sized hose (3/8" ID clear tubing, I think) to the hard supply line at the back of the motor, and let the fuel pump do the work for you into some 5-gallon containers.
With no obstruction in front of it, the system never really builds much pressure. Just enough to push the fuel out of the tank, into your 5-gallon containers.
8 gallons of old Shell 93 became lawn mower fuel, with the addition of some Sea Foam. It's the circle of Petrol-life.
For Chop's "trunk-mounted fish tank", I added some StarTron and ~3 gallons of fresh Shell 93, with the hopes of buying myself another 6-12 months of storage.
I could start Chop and he'd idle fine with a little heat in him, but the sound of his idle only got worse with time. Starting a hurt motor was sometimes necessary to move him out of the shop so I could work on customer cars. I hated it, but we managed.
...Early 2023 - I put out some feelers seeking a garage space for storage in the car community. A new friend came to my aid and offered to store Chop and look after him for us. We had Porkchop towed out of my shop and over to a small, private garage in Leander, TX, where he's rested ever since beneath the sanctuary of a custom car cover.
I needed the space in my shop for car work, and if we're staying candid: having to maneuver around a dead passion project to get to my tools and gear was, frankly, crippling to the soul and mind. Just a constant reminder of the things in my life I can't quite fix or get to.
I had him removed from insurance except for the minimum [comprehensive?] coverage, which protected him in the event of a structure fire, total loss, etc.
10/1/21 - Career change...Mental health adjustments
I left a very stressful, toxic job in the tech industry late September 2021, and returned to the auto industry (also famously stressful at times), to pursue car repair and consulting full time.
Income took a huge hit going down to one job, but I was able to work much closer to home, with none of the *** hats at my previous job. I was able to be closer to my family and make my own schedule, which is a blessing most of the time. There's a lot to be said for not having to commute and be on an employer's time table at all times.
5/2022 - After a year in storage, I had concerns, so I pulled the fuel tank and evacuated all the fuel. By myself. With 8 gallons of fuel in it. Horrible experience handling that big b*tch.
I later learned that you can evacuate the tank quickly and easily from the fuel rail by simply jumpering the FP relay with a paper clip. It's beautiful:
...Install a correctly sized hose (3/8" ID clear tubing, I think) to the hard supply line at the back of the motor, and let the fuel pump do the work for you into some 5-gallon containers.
With no obstruction in front of it, the system never really builds much pressure. Just enough to push the fuel out of the tank, into your 5-gallon containers.
8 gallons of old Shell 93 became lawn mower fuel, with the addition of some Sea Foam. It's the circle of Petrol-life.
For Chop's "trunk-mounted fish tank", I added some StarTron and ~3 gallons of fresh Shell 93, with the hopes of buying myself another 6-12 months of storage.
I could start Chop and he'd idle fine with a little heat in him, but the sound of his idle only got worse with time. Starting a hurt motor was sometimes necessary to move him out of the shop so I could work on customer cars. I hated it, but we managed.
...Early 2023 - I put out some feelers seeking a garage space for storage in the car community. A new friend came to my aid and offered to store Chop and look after him for us. We had Porkchop towed out of my shop and over to a small, private garage in Leander, TX, where he's rested ever since beneath the sanctuary of a custom car cover.
I needed the space in my shop for car work, and if we're staying candid: having to maneuver around a dead passion project to get to my tools and gear was, frankly, crippling to the soul and mind. Just a constant reminder of the things in my life I can't quite fix or get to.
Last edited by Stang2Goat; 09-26-2023 at 11:57 AM.
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Pulse Red (09-19-2023)
09-18-2023, 02:45 PM
#62
On The Tree
Thread Starter
The Fate of the Porkchop Express... -The Fate of the Porkchop Express -
I've always toyed with the idea of doing a H/C/I SBE LS3 if anything every happened to this motor, but that assumed this motor blew up like a Lebanese factory and had nothing left to give.
I'd lose low-end torque compared to my 402ci, but only until ~3000-3300rpm. I'd have the option to keep my cathedral TFS 235s and restore torque everywhere, and these heads do beautifully on LS3 bottom ends...or I could sell off the entire cathedral top end to fund a much more affordable ported LS3 intake and some milled & massaged LS3 heads, with the hollow stem intake valves. Rectangle port monster on a budget.
Then I shopped the price of most donor LS3 engines...not the $4k prospect they were 5-7 years ago.
Bottom line is my current 402ci motor will require somewhere between $4-7k to repair:
$4k covers a basic refresh to restore it to its former power level of ~550whp (640bhp). All the gaskets, fluids, and refresh parts including some fresh valvetrain items.
$7k would cover rebuilding the shortblock AND upgrading the valvetrain and intake for substantial power improvements: 7500rpm and 690-700bhp all motor.
Our beloved GTO would become more competitive against the modern monsters of forced induction who are trapping 130+ mph in the 1/4.
Still, the exact cost of the motor build can't be known at this time, since I don't have the space or money for the teardown and diagnosis.
We don't know what components can be reused, so we can't budget for what all will be required.
I ran a half dozen scenarios in Excel sheets that covered all the known machining costs and hard parts we would need for different build paths, and different priorities (shifting from budget to power goals), to see what builds were even worth the expense based on their specific output.
On Chop, if the LS2 block, Eagle crank and rods can be salvaged from my 402, then there's a huge cost savings to begin with.
I would clean up the block to 4.010" and install some lightweight, -4cc pistons from Diamond or CP, weighing just 400g (without the wrist pins) to hit 12.5:1 SCR. I'd run a slightly larger cam (247/255* .624" on a 113-114* LSA. This setup will still run on 93-octane with extra care to the timing tables, and E85 with an ethanol sensor and flex tune.
The idea being to run E85 during the hotter months for detonation resistance, and the cooling benefits of ethanol, but still be able to go out of town and run the 93-octane tune for convenience whenever needed.
If the block is damaged, then it's a 416ci LS3 with the same specs, but a 4.070" bore. Crank and rods are cross compatible with the LS3 block. New pistons, rings, bearings and seels are needed in either scenario, so the only extra cost here would be the price of the LS3 block (which has doubled in recent years).
For either combo, a Mamo-ported MSD Atomic will replace the Fast 102 so I can make power beyond 6800rpm on these heads (in addition to the upgraded valvetrain components).
Below is a pic of a stellar 416 build Tony did a couple years back:
Worth it to switch from Fast 102 to Msd - LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion
On the upper end of impossibility, sleeved 5.3L blocks becoming 427-454ci monsters are nice, and would make power production easier with a lower SCR, but the price is way beyond my means.
TSP is very proud of their stuff, and the cost of actual parts and components has skyrocketed (industry-wide) in recent years, which isn't helping us as racers and enthusiasts. For anything above 416ci,
I would want/need a set of LS7-style heads to take full advantage of the 4.125" bore, such as TSP's medium bore LS7 package, or GPI's Max Effort LS3 combo (that is actually a modified LS7 top end). Thats big baller $$$, $15-20k for a longblock.
"A man can dream...but must live grounded in reality."
The truth is I've never had a huge budget for car stuff. I've just been super frugal in all aspects of my life for the last 17+ years, and I've "made it work" up to this stage.
I hope to do better for myself in 2024, so I can finally begin the teardown and autopsy of the engine. I just don't to "open that can" and make the car truly immobile until I have access to at least $4k liquid to handle the first round of shortblock repairs and rebuild.
20170821150152)
Anyway, lots of info today.
I hope some folks find this enjoyable, educational, or generally engaging to the car mind. I'll try to come back in and add pics, but most of them are on my phone, buried in the archives of thousands of other photos and memories.
I've always toyed with the idea of doing a H/C/I SBE LS3 if anything every happened to this motor, but that assumed this motor blew up like a Lebanese factory and had nothing left to give.
I'd lose low-end torque compared to my 402ci, but only until ~3000-3300rpm. I'd have the option to keep my cathedral TFS 235s and restore torque everywhere, and these heads do beautifully on LS3 bottom ends...or I could sell off the entire cathedral top end to fund a much more affordable ported LS3 intake and some milled & massaged LS3 heads, with the hollow stem intake valves. Rectangle port monster on a budget.
Then I shopped the price of most donor LS3 engines...not the $4k prospect they were 5-7 years ago.
Bottom line is my current 402ci motor will require somewhere between $4-7k to repair:
$4k covers a basic refresh to restore it to its former power level of ~550whp (640bhp). All the gaskets, fluids, and refresh parts including some fresh valvetrain items.
$7k would cover rebuilding the shortblock AND upgrading the valvetrain and intake for substantial power improvements: 7500rpm and 690-700bhp all motor.
Our beloved GTO would become more competitive against the modern monsters of forced induction who are trapping 130+ mph in the 1/4.
Still, the exact cost of the motor build can't be known at this time, since I don't have the space or money for the teardown and diagnosis.
We don't know what components can be reused, so we can't budget for what all will be required.
I ran a half dozen scenarios in Excel sheets that covered all the known machining costs and hard parts we would need for different build paths, and different priorities (shifting from budget to power goals), to see what builds were even worth the expense based on their specific output.
On Chop, if the LS2 block, Eagle crank and rods can be salvaged from my 402, then there's a huge cost savings to begin with.
I would clean up the block to 4.010" and install some lightweight, -4cc pistons from Diamond or CP, weighing just 400g (without the wrist pins) to hit 12.5:1 SCR. I'd run a slightly larger cam (247/255* .624" on a 113-114* LSA. This setup will still run on 93-octane with extra care to the timing tables, and E85 with an ethanol sensor and flex tune.
The idea being to run E85 during the hotter months for detonation resistance, and the cooling benefits of ethanol, but still be able to go out of town and run the 93-octane tune for convenience whenever needed.
If the block is damaged, then it's a 416ci LS3 with the same specs, but a 4.070" bore. Crank and rods are cross compatible with the LS3 block. New pistons, rings, bearings and seels are needed in either scenario, so the only extra cost here would be the price of the LS3 block (which has doubled in recent years).
For either combo, a Mamo-ported MSD Atomic will replace the Fast 102 so I can make power beyond 6800rpm on these heads (in addition to the upgraded valvetrain components).
Below is a pic of a stellar 416 build Tony did a couple years back:
Worth it to switch from Fast 102 to Msd - LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion
On the upper end of impossibility, sleeved 5.3L blocks becoming 427-454ci monsters are nice, and would make power production easier with a lower SCR, but the price is way beyond my means.
TSP is very proud of their stuff, and the cost of actual parts and components has skyrocketed (industry-wide) in recent years, which isn't helping us as racers and enthusiasts. For anything above 416ci,
I would want/need a set of LS7-style heads to take full advantage of the 4.125" bore, such as TSP's medium bore LS7 package, or GPI's Max Effort LS3 combo (that is actually a modified LS7 top end). Thats big baller $$$, $15-20k for a longblock.
"A man can dream...but must live grounded in reality."
The truth is I've never had a huge budget for car stuff. I've just been super frugal in all aspects of my life for the last 17+ years, and I've "made it work" up to this stage.
I hope to do better for myself in 2024, so I can finally begin the teardown and autopsy of the engine. I just don't to "open that can" and make the car truly immobile until I have access to at least $4k liquid to handle the first round of shortblock repairs and rebuild.
Anyway, lots of info today.
I hope some folks find this enjoyable, educational, or generally engaging to the car mind. I'll try to come back in and add pics, but most of them are on my phone, buried in the archives of thousands of other photos and memories.
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Pulse Red (09-19-2023)
09-19-2023, 06:48 AM
#63
TECH Apprentice
Good read. Best of luck achieving your goals with the revised engine. Budget always makes it hard.
I have an 04 Holden Monaro M6 5.7 and had a MY16 Golf GTi as my daily a few years back. Was a good car combo.
I have an 04 Holden Monaro M6 5.7 and had a MY16 Golf GTi as my daily a few years back. Was a good car combo.
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Stang2Goat (09-26-2023)
09-19-2023, 09:01 PM
#64
Just stumbled across this thread, I don’t know if you remember me or not but we met a couple of times. I had a different user name on the GTO forum.
Glad to see someone else still hanging onto their CGM, but I’m afraid my days are numbered. Wife and son both driving Cadillacs, time for me to keep up 😢
Glad to see someone else still hanging onto their CGM, but I’m afraid my days are numbered. Wife and son both driving Cadillacs, time for me to keep up 😢
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Stang2Goat (09-26-2023)
09-26-2023, 11:49 AM
#65
On The Tree
Thread Starter
Housewolf!!!! (Randall) 😈
Your CGM was always a huge inspiration to me when it was a SBE LS2 running bottom 11s @ ~122 and pulling the front wheels at SAR.
I especially enjoyed the article GMHTP (or was it Chevy HP?) did on your car, with all the build specs on the 454ci motor that came after your LS2.
You deserved recognition for what you were doing with this platform early on. 🍺 ❤️
Good to see you on here - please don't ever get rid of your CGM (and keep it as your avatar).
Your CGM was always a huge inspiration to me when it was a SBE LS2 running bottom 11s @ ~122 and pulling the front wheels at SAR.
I especially enjoyed the article GMHTP (or was it Chevy HP?) did on your car, with all the build specs on the 454ci motor that came after your LS2.
You deserved recognition for what you were doing with this platform early on. 🍺 ❤️
Good to see you on here - please don't ever get rid of your CGM (and keep it as your avatar).
09-26-2023, 11:51 AM
#66
On The Tree
Thread Starter
Thank you for reading, friend! You have excellent tastes (Holden + GTI). 🍺
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Pulse Red (10-27-2023)
10-10-2023, 05:55 PM
#67
Housewolf!!!! (Randall) 😈
Your CGM was always a huge inspiration to me when it was a SBE LS2 running bottom 11s @ ~122 and pulling the front wheels at SAR.
I especially enjoyed the article GMHTP (or was it Chevy HP?) did on your car, with all the build specs on the 454ci motor that came after your LS2.
You deserved recognition for what you were doing with this platform early on. 🍺 ❤️
Good to see you on here - please don't ever get rid of your CGM (and keep it as your avatar).
Your CGM was always a huge inspiration to me when it was a SBE LS2 running bottom 11s @ ~122 and pulling the front wheels at SAR.
I especially enjoyed the article GMHTP (or was it Chevy HP?) did on your car, with all the build specs on the 454ci motor that came after your LS2.
You deserved recognition for what you were doing with this platform early on. 🍺 ❤️
Good to see you on here - please don't ever get rid of your CGM (and keep it as your avatar).
Sorry -
I imagine I’ll keep it a bit but in the spring I’m going to get serious about selling it. I’ll part it out if I have to, engine/trans/roller
Im out of room
