will an aluminum small block hold on a daily driver? I have heard there are things i have to be careful about. What blocks would u recommend as a strong one dart, donovan, or motown?

 

You might want to do a search. This issue has come up before.

BTW, the LS1 is an aluminum block. Camaros, Corvettes, etc., are running aluminum engines.

What's your budget? There's a guy here in SoCal that's running a Rodeck block (Jerrywho), but he's the only one that I know of.

 

my budget just for block is 4k but i dont want a ls1 i have searched but havent really found anything on it. i spending a total of 7k on the engine so i am assuming it will come out pretty nice since i already have alot of parts

 

come on anybody?

 

What were your search parameters? The subject of aluminum blocks comes up regularly.

For $4,000, or thereabouts, you can get a variety of aluminum blocks. Your local Chevy dealer has two aluminum blocks for around $4,200, IIRC. One is for a large displacement small block (but a dry sump only).

World Products has some nice blocks that will let you build a large displacement small block (up to 454 IIRC). I think they call their aluminum blocks Motown Lite, or something like that. I believe their aluminum blocks are just under $4,000. Check out Worldcastings.com.

Can't help you with the Dart (although I think Summit says they can get them, they don't have a price. There are probably a variety of configurations available, and that will determine the price) or the Donovan. Ditto on the Rodeck. You might want to shoot Jerrywho a pm to ask how his Rodeck is working out.

I assume those extra parts you have are for a small block.

If you would like a 500 hp LS series engine, supposedly Chevrolet is going to be offering their new 500 hp Corvette 427 in short block form in the fairly near future. The short block, along with the related components should blow the hell right out of your budget.

Last, how about an all-aluminum big block Chevy? Chevy's ZL1 is, the last time I checked, available as a bare block. Again, the block, along with the related components should blow your budget and then some.

Are there some things you have to be careful about with an aluminum block? Probably the most important is to make sure that you do not overheat it.