http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=34202

....the owner seems to think it's pretty quick. Faster than a TTA? I doubt it, but it'd still be cool to have!

....what exactly were the specs on these motors?

 

I believe they were the same as a 'stock' LB9, just balanced and blueprinted out the wazoo, instead of 'close enough'.

 

And spots of white paint on the fasteners to detect tampering.

 

I think I would pass on this $3500 LB9. Players Cup motor sitting for 12 years, Yea. Paint marking are a nice touch.

 

The Players cars were considerably higher horsepower then the 225hp the stockers had but not only because of the engine. The Prom was a non emission custom burn from GM that required a $5000.00 deposit and was only "loaned" to the car for the season and then it had to be returned. They also ran a true dual open exhaust and yes the engines were fully balanced and blueprinted.

This engine is indeed pricey but man if you needed one to restore a Players car its not too far out of line. The seller is on serious crack if he thinks one of these cars would come close to "blowing away" a TTA but a fresh Players car would likely roast most other stock offerings. Still pretty cool to see someone kept one of those engines nice and untouched all those years. I wonder if it will sell?

 

so what all was done to these? i have heard rumors about these 305s before. i have heard these "Players" cars and the other showroom stock classes ran these motors, i even heard somewhere that they had like 400 horse. i always wondered what had been done to these motors as far as head porting and intake porting, cam selection, ect. the rest of us 305 guys should be able to recreate one of these motors pretty easily. i guess i was just wondering what GM did to hotrod the LB9, they obviously have alot more money and dyno time than any of us lowly 305 owners.

 

There never was an "official" horsepower number that the engines had to meet. The most important aspect for them was that they were all dynoed to be the same. If one was too high or too low in output they threw it into a regular production car and used another one. Imagine the lucky few guys who got one of those unknowingly eh? The whole idea was that it was a drivers series and all the cars had to be equal in power. The most common rumour is that they were 300 horse with the open exhaust and prom and that sounds reasonable but it would be nice to get one dynoed just to see for sure.

 

300hp at the fly wheel seems reasonable with an open exhaust and decent tunning. Remember these cars used the stock "Log type" exhaust manifolds.

400 hp would not even be possible with stock TPI (even extrude honed) on a 305.

87roc_t56 is right they were built to be consistent from engine to engine to keep all the cars the same like the IROC series.

- Dave

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=252613

 

The engine on eBay is really a piece of history. It's one of those things you read about in a car magazine about 10 years from now, sorta like picking up a magazine showing a 1969 302 cross ram. It's cool stuff, but purely historical. Quite honestly ... it would be a shame to bolt it in anything other than a genuine Player's race car. That's just my opinion ... but I am quite bias about Player's cars ... :-)

The Player's engines are unique in a few ways. They were all created equal. This was no small feat. In the early days, variations were huge, and as a result all engines were built using the same cast molds. Rotating assemblies were matched with equal weighted parts. Fuel injectors were flow tested. Cam lobes were checked. And so on. By the end of the series in 1992, GM learned alot about the variations in manufacturing engines and as a result the regular production line benefited with tighter controls.

As to the HP ratings. If you ask anyone who has driven a Player's car ... they do seem much quicker than any other 305 powered car. I recall discussions in 1986 about a lead racers car. Back then the L69 HO motors were factory rated at 180 (or was it 190) HP. On a chassis dyno, the Player's car put out 185-190 rear wheel HP. The lead driver's car ... for some reason ... put out a whopping 220HP at the rear wheels. Not bad for a stock 305 with cast iron exhaust.

I have a magazine test (Canadian race mag) that compares a players car against a stock Iroc. It was in 1989. The race car was "prepped" and had the race exhaust, but no race PROM. The cars HP rating were 225HP for the stock car and 250 for the Players car. The Race PROM would have added 10-12 HP more. The Speed density version would have had similar results.

In the Ebay ad ... it does not nightlight what the white sticker on the driver's valve cover says ... It read's ...

"This part has been specifically designed for Off-Highway applications only. Since the installation of this part may either impair your vehicle's emission control performance or be uncertified under current Motor Vehcile Safety Standards, it should not be installed in a vehicle used on any street or highway. Additionally, any such application could adversely affect the warranty coverage on such an on street or highway vehicle".

Cool eh?

If I had the spare cash, I would buy the engine and just keep it for years to come. It would look great in my living room!

Mark.

 

Gee, I really don't want to Void my warrenty now... hehe...

John