Hey guys, i've picked up a 97 LT1 block from a friend of mine for 50 bucks that is in excellent condition. It only has about 115k on i and the cylinder walls still have cross hatching in the bores. So my questions is how would you guys build one from the ground up? I was just going to give it a good hone, install new bearings and call it a day. what would you guys recommend?

whats the goals of the build?

Rpms and hp goals?

an honest 350-400hp at the wheels, enough to keep up with most on the road today. I'm getting 2 sets of heads from him next week for 100 bucks (he's moving and is just trying to get rid of stuff out of the garage.) one set has a beautiful port job but needs a small bit of welding due to small hair line cracks in the rear exhaust ports and the other set is bone stock. I plan on going old school and using a Hot Cam with a ported intake.

Wont need to do anything special on that. Hotcam with good ported heads will do high 370's whp from most builds i've seen. Clean the block up, new bearings, make sure all the clearances are good and run it hard

Just check the bores for roundness and diameter if possible... that many miles i'd clean the bores up with a mild overbore for best dimensional uniformity and best ring seal. Hone only may leave alot of piston to wall clearance and hurt ring seal quality.

Depending on how bad the cracks are, you may not beable to save the head. May want to start with good castings and have AI or Lloyd Elliott do some work on them. Others out there can work the heads over too. Typical cam only LT1 is 330whp or so with the hotcam. Some abit higher since there are bolt on record cars as high as 330whp I've seen posted, but common to see 330-ish as bolt ons are commonly 280-300whp in a 6gear car.

My LT1 block still had cross hatching at 110k also, the factory rings are easy on the cylinders. If the cylinders are still round and within spec I would just hone.

Sounds good, what would you recommend on a rotating assembly? I've also been pondering a single plane conversion but that's a bit in the future.

Pick your poison, dont need anything special as far as parts go to handle the rpms the hotcam will give you. You can check your stock crank/rods to see if they are in spec and can be reused.
If you plan to do some crazy stuff down the road with big cam and singleplane intake, then build it strong now. Eagle makes a good forged crank for them, so do other manufacturers. I used an eagle in my sbc and it ran great to 7K rpms. I use callies/Compstar stuff in my 401sbc now.
Dont need forged if you dont turn much over 6500 rpm. Just get good rod bolts and cast crank and I beam rods will get you there.
Ohio crankshaft also seems to make good parts, they have a few 1pc rear main seal type cranks.

If you are going to rebuild the entire thing, might as well go with a 383 stroker crank, as a new crank is same price with different strokes. 383 will give you much needed torque in the low and mid ranges with that short runner LT1 intake. Car will run hard off the line with less converter/gear than a 350-355.

well the problem is all i have is the block,lol hence the whole "ground up" comment. would an Eagle rotating assembly suffice?

ohhh i see. in that case, yeah dont need to spend tons of money on high dollar forged stuff unless you want to do something crazy with the motor down the road. In that case i'd do the 4 bolt main splayed caps conversion but totally unecessary for a hotcam motor.

Eagle will do fine. Scat may make something too. Just need to browse around for whats available and the best deals.

dump it and buy a complete Gen 3 motor would be my advice if you have a bare block only. lots of money just to buy an opti, not counting harness, intake, sensors, etc

Not a bad suggestion either...gen 3 is definately a superior platform

There are many "recipe" or "guideline" threads for building a bang-for-the-buck budget 355 LT1 on LS1tech somewhere in the LT1 section. I would start by researching there.

I would have went that route but it seems like everybody around here that has one wants either 2k or better for it or its beat to hell and needs a full rebuild anyway. I chose the LT1 route due to the ease of installation, I can use my stock 700R4 as long as I get a TB from a 93 car. Parts around here are VERY plentiful and it shares alot with the SBC so internals and what not are a dime a dozen and I can use the exhaust I already have. Plus like I said, I'm looking for a 10 second car. An honest 350-400rwhp in a sub 2800lb car is more than enough for me.

There's tons of LKQ junkyard 5.3L motors all over that area for under $400 running with harness.

any links? Plus I'd like to not turn this in to a "5.3 vs LT1" argument. I already know the pro's and con's of each but the LT1 is the route I wish to pursue.

I was doing some searching and what do you guys think of this rotating assembly?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ESP-B13455L030/

I figured "Hell if I'm starting from the bottom up, I might as well stroke it!"

Another question I have is will the Hotcam be adequate for a 383?

From what i have read the lt4 hotcam would be limiting you if you have ported heads and a 383, im sure you would still reach your goals but with that rotating assembly and ported heads you might as well bump up the cam to match better so your not choking your setup. its not going to cost much more and you are already in there. also if you go hotcam don't use the springs that come with the kit. as for the cracked head hope you know a good tig welder... and machinist

Luckily there are a couple of good welding shops here in town. I talked to the machine shop owner and he wants to flux and pressure test the heads once i get them. One of the shops he uses for welding is highly reputable here in town. He tells me if anyone can fix it they can. What size cam would be recommended?

CC306 is a common LT1 cam that works pretty good in 383's. Ported heads it will do 400-420whp capable. Kinda similar to the cam I ran in my 383, except i had more lift and tighter LSA.

10's in a 2800 lb car, high 300's may get you there. 400whp definately should as my 3450lb setup was a lower 11's capable ride. 600 lbs out would definately run high 10's.

Im running a cc306 with LE2 H/I in a forged 355, I havent been to the dyno but it suppose to be good for 400+rwhp. I know there are better cams but I like the sound of the 306.

Or order a package from LE or AI

what kind of power would you guys guess I might be able to get with a 383, A good set of ported stockers (2.00 int 1.50 ex) and the CC306 cam? would my 3200 stall be enough?

400+ rwhp

Well I thought I'd post up pics of the heads I was talking about. You'll notice I circled where the cracks are. Do you guys think these will be fixable? I think the port job on the heads look great.

A couple more

Another question I'm asking is what are some good injectors that would be good for me?

Ok I have another question, I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what rotating assembly and it's busting my *****. From reading on LS1LT1.com everybody there says that the Eagle and Scat kits suck in "cast steel" form and swear by forged castings. While I agree forged is great I don't have the kind of cash to fit the bill on a forged assembly. What would be good for me with out spending a fortune on a stroker kit? Should I go with Internal or external balancing?

Anybody? I hate the sound of crickets......

What's funny is I hear them outside right now.

Hello?

I cant comment on the heads if they are fixable or not or even if those minor stress cracks are a cause for concern...may need a more experienced engine builder/head porter to look at them.

a good eagle/scat cast crank can work out fine..just need to do some quality inspections on them and a good balance job. If you dont turn alot of rpm then it shouldnt hurt them at all.

I'd go internal balance. Neutral balance flywheel/flexplate and balancer to match. They are more common in this form.

Ok I've narrowed it down to these 2 kits and I'd like a little feedback if possible.

Here's the Scat assembly
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-1-91050-1/

And of course the Eagle one I posted earlier
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ESP-B13455L030/

I was reading up on rods though, from what I've read it's better to go with a longer (6 inch) rod when going to a 383 but I also read that it requires the use of a smaller base circle cam and some more clearancing of the block and rods. For the power level I'm aiming for would I be ok with just using the 5.7 rod? What true benefit does the 6 inch rod have over the 5.7? One more thing is also the I-beam vs H-beam argument. What do you guys suggest?

I dont think it really matters for 400whp. 6" rod mainly gives you the ability to use a lighter piston which is better for higher rpm capability. For 400whp and 383, you dont really need to turn high rpms to achieve that but I'd still go 6" rod. 6" rods also make it easier to balance the crankshaft, according to some engine builders I've talked to. I have 6" rods in my 401 motor and had 6" in my 383.

I beams are more than enough for 400whp and those 6500 rpm and less ranges you'll be turning. H beams are good for much higher hp/rpm ranges. Good I-beam like scats with 7/16 rod bolts are a strong rod.

Dont necessarily need a small base circle cam with 6" rods and stroker motors. It helps but only if you really need it. If you have large lift lobes maybe need a small base circle but may not be necessary. I think the eagle rods are designed for strokers in mind so they have much better clearance around regular cams.
But a small base circle grind isnt any difference in price if you bought a new cam. If you used a shelf grind like LT4 hotcam, cc503, cc306, GM847, etc, may be an issue but alot of guys have done that so more than likely wont be an issue.

Sweet, exactly the kind of answers I'm looking for. As far as pistons go, I'm not too familiar with the smaller stroker pistons. What would be a good brand to go for? I don't need forged, hypereutectic will work just fine for me. I'm looking for probably 10.1 compression for pump gas. one more thing......Orr, didn't I buy a cam from you a couple of years ago? I believe it was a L98 cam.

You may have bought my stock L98 cam, I dont recall.

Piston will depend on head chamber size. Need a dish to get 10 to 1 with 64 cc heads. LT1's I believe are 58cc factory and if ported they may have been decked so they could be 54-58cc. In that case, you will need a much bigger dish. Most flat tops are -5cc valve reliefs and give 11 to 1 with 64cc combustion chambers on 383's. With 58cc, 12cc dish gives 11 to 1 just about. 16cc dish gives 10.5 to 1. 20cc dish gives 10 to 1 with 58cc heads.

If you ran a hotcam or larger, you could do 10.5 to 1 or even 11 to 1 with a LT1 and still live on 93 oct just fine.

heres a good 383 kit. 18cc dish pistons. includes flexplate
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-1-91100BIE/

Alittle more money with 16cc dish forged pistons
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-1-91255BIE/

if you have problems finding a kit, just piece it together.

I have a ton of LT1 parts NEW that you can save hundreds on and get you into the 400hp range.

I have all the internals for a 383 LT1 build but chagned over to a procharged build at the last second and got all new internals. So i have everything that was installed but never turned. PM me for details. the listing is in classifieds.

I'm bringing this back from the dead to ask a few more questions. First this is the kit I got and want to know if it will work.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/esp-12110030

Second, I was wondering if I could run a stock style harmonic balancer with the march underdrive crank pulley I have. I'm only running the alternator so I'll be making a custom low mount bracket for that. Here's the final plan for this engine

97 LT1 block Built bottom end using the above rotating assembly
Single roller timing set (I don't feel like I really NEED a double roller)
XFI280 camshaft ( I've heard nothing but good things about this cam)
LS7 lifters (luckily my 305 had them already due to it being a scoggin dickey motor)
Fully ported heads to a 1205 gasket by Endgame Performance (that's actually my company lol so yes I ported them)
2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust PEP stainless and swirl polished valves
Comp 918 springs for LT1 heads
Hurricane EFI intake ported to 1205 and rails with 36lb injectors
CSR electric water pump
and a modified 454 ported TBI base with the Transdapt adapter plate I already have. (from my calculations the engine only needs 683cfm to turn 6500 so this unit will work perfect).and to top it off it's going to be run with the EBL Flash with the port mod and a standard distributor. All I have to add is the eight injector wires and I'm good to go so no new harness needed.

So that's it for the engine side of things. What do you guys think? any more help would be awesome.

anybody?

Looks good. Rather see a different valvespring with that cam tho. If you want a beehive i'd go PAC springs maybe the 1519's or 1219's/1219x's. A bit better quality and more pressure to control those lobes

Or run a good stiff dual spring

hmmm, I'll look into those

So going back to my other previous question, would the stock SBC balancer work with the LT1? Again I'm only using the Alternator and nothing else with an electric water pump.

Idk for sure. I really dnt see why you couldn't, especially since your making your own custom alt bracket. All in all its just a 350...Right? Somebody else may say hell no you can't do that... Are you stupid, but it really seems like you could.

iF its internally balanced you need a neutral balanced balancer. If you are doing a performance build you should look into a better than factory balancer

Well I thought I'd post up an update on the progress of this monster. The bottom end is FINALLY put together!!! enjoy..









Man I am so stoked lol. So now here's another crazy question. Snice I'm going to be running an electric water pump and don't need the gear that the cam turns for the regular water pump could I get away with using a regular SBC timing set? I've used this one in the past with good results..
https://sdparts.com/details/gm-perfo...parts/12371043

Also, will the oil pan from the 305 work for this engine?

Your build looks nice. I have a question about it, just because I don't know. Will this still have the reverse flow coolant since your running a tbi intake? Forgive me if this is a dumb question lol.

Oh it's all good, I'm not running a TBI style intake. I'll be using the procomp single plane efi intake with a modified 454 tbi unit converted for MPFI use.

Gotcha. I saw 454 TB and automatically assumed. It sounds cool. So... Yes or no on the coolant?

Looking good. Even though your running an EWP, id still stick with the original timing gears, should probably upgrade the timing chain while your at it.

What shims, locks and retainers should I run with these springs?

Yes it will still have the reverse style cooling system.