How would you do a budget LQ4/LS3 build?
03-12-2009, 12:50 PM
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Staging Lane
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How would you do a budget LQ4/LS3 build?
Here is my build, thoughts and advice would be great! This is going to go in a weekend cruiser 65 Chevelle, and am working with little to no money so I'm trying to do it the RIGHT way for as little as possible. I want to reuse as many of the stock parts as I can. The car will have an LS1 T56 with 3.55 rear.
I have a chance to pick up a complete 6.0 motor for $600, with 120K miles. I already have a set of 821/LS3 heads that I picked up for $600 complete I have looked at a couple cams, the Comp XR281HR, TS v.2 to name a few, but haven't made up my mind on that yet. I will be running the GMPP L92 carb intake with MSD 6010 box.
I want to reuse the complete shortblock, can I get away with just putting in new rings/bearings, or is there really no way to tell until it's pulled apart? The 6.0 is currently running and seems to have no issues. I would rather not have to bore it and get new pistons if at all possible. What about the cam bearings?
Thanks all, I got the idea for my build from MuscleCar I think it was. They took a stock 6.0 with 100K miles, drill honed the block, reused the piston/rods/crank with new rings and bearings, and added a cam if I remember right. The motor put down some pretty decent numbers
Here is the car currently!
I have a chance to pick up a complete 6.0 motor for $600, with 120K miles. I already have a set of 821/LS3 heads that I picked up for $600 complete I have looked at a couple cams, the Comp XR281HR, TS v.2 to name a few, but haven't made up my mind on that yet. I will be running the GMPP L92 carb intake with MSD 6010 box.
I want to reuse the complete shortblock, can I get away with just putting in new rings/bearings, or is there really no way to tell until it's pulled apart? The 6.0 is currently running and seems to have no issues. I would rather not have to bore it and get new pistons if at all possible. What about the cam bearings?
Thanks all, I got the idea for my build from MuscleCar I think it was. They took a stock 6.0 with 100K miles, drill honed the block, reused the piston/rods/crank with new rings and bearings, and added a cam if I remember right. The motor put down some pretty decent numbers
Here is the car currently!
03-12-2009, 12:52 PM
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Also, I can find 60-70K mile LQ4's for around $1000, would it be better to just buy one of those and slap my heads/cam on it and not touch the shortblock?
03-12-2009, 04:22 PM
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the question is, what are your expectations with the setup?
HP/TQ goals?
1/4 times?
What are you looking to get out of it.
This will help all of us answer your questions...
HP/TQ goals?
1/4 times?
What are you looking to get out of it.
This will help all of us answer your questions...
03-12-2009, 08:05 PM
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I doubt the car will ever see the drag strip, so 1/4 mile times I don't care about too much. I am looking for something that has good street manners, and can drive 150 miles trips with no issues if needed.
03-12-2009, 10:47 PM
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just find a basic 6.0 with decent miles...
It should serve you for a long time, just like the 5.3's do.
There is plenty of them running 250k and over with no issues.
the lq4 is a 325hp, the lq9 is a 345hp...
if you want the big musclecar sound, get an ms3 with a 112lsa and some 5.3 heads, and that would be a great combo.
if you ever want that extra kick in the pants, you can always put some n2o on it.
It should serve you for a long time, just like the 5.3's do.
There is plenty of them running 250k and over with no issues.
the lq4 is a 325hp, the lq9 is a 345hp...
if you want the big musclecar sound, get an ms3 with a 112lsa and some 5.3 heads, and that would be a great combo.
if you ever want that extra kick in the pants, you can always put some n2o on it.
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03-14-2009, 12:34 AM
#8
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Sorry for the delay, I've been out of town on business and haven't had the luxury of time to read through my messages.
Fun little project you have right there.
My first and most important suggestion comes from a saying my father used to preach to me and I now preach to my sons. Reliable. Fast. Cheap. You can only have two of the three. If you can't afford reliable and fast, extend your dead lines until you can afford to do it the right way. Rushing a build on a small budget and expecting miracles is doomed from the beginning. So again, reliable, fast or cheap? Pick two.
Second suggestion. Mount the tires on the right way. In that picture, the driver rear tire tread is either mounted the wrong way or you have that wheel/tire on the wrong side of the car.
Third suggestion. If you're going to rely on this drive train to get you places far away, think less about power and think more about reliability. Focus more on proper cooling, a strong rear end, seats that are comfortable...ect.
Fourth...keep the build simple and the cam small. Your heads are where the power is at so a large duration camshaft is unnecessary. You mentioned the XR281 high lift, which I think would be the largest cam this motor would see if it were my build. You said the car will most likely never see the 1/4 mile so build for pleasure. There's more to the 6.0L's power band than 3400-7000. I'd look into the TR224. Unless you're hot rodding around racing everything with a loud exhaust, most of your driving will be below 3000, especially with those 3.55's and double overdrive gears in the T56.
Fifth...for longevity, replace the cam, rod bearings and rod bolts. Don't even loosen the main caps. If the miles on the motor are low and oil maintenance was adequate, leave the main bearings alone. Replace the rod bearings only because the rod bolts are going to be loosened for stronger ARP bolts. The cam bearings are easy enough to replace if you can get the short block to a machine shop.
Fun little project you have right there.
My first and most important suggestion comes from a saying my father used to preach to me and I now preach to my sons. Reliable. Fast. Cheap. You can only have two of the three. If you can't afford reliable and fast, extend your dead lines until you can afford to do it the right way. Rushing a build on a small budget and expecting miracles is doomed from the beginning. So again, reliable, fast or cheap? Pick two.
Second suggestion. Mount the tires on the right way. In that picture, the driver rear tire tread is either mounted the wrong way or you have that wheel/tire on the wrong side of the car.
Third suggestion. If you're going to rely on this drive train to get you places far away, think less about power and think more about reliability. Focus more on proper cooling, a strong rear end, seats that are comfortable...ect.
Fourth...keep the build simple and the cam small. Your heads are where the power is at so a large duration camshaft is unnecessary. You mentioned the XR281 high lift, which I think would be the largest cam this motor would see if it were my build. You said the car will most likely never see the 1/4 mile so build for pleasure. There's more to the 6.0L's power band than 3400-7000. I'd look into the TR224. Unless you're hot rodding around racing everything with a loud exhaust, most of your driving will be below 3000, especially with those 3.55's and double overdrive gears in the T56.
Fifth...for longevity, replace the cam, rod bearings and rod bolts. Don't even loosen the main caps. If the miles on the motor are low and oil maintenance was adequate, leave the main bearings alone. Replace the rod bearings only because the rod bolts are going to be loosened for stronger ARP bolts. The cam bearings are easy enough to replace if you can get the short block to a machine shop.
03-14-2009, 05:50 PM
#9
Staging Lane
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Sorry for the delay, I've been out of town on business and haven't had the luxury of time to read through my messages.
Fun little project you have right there.
My first and most important suggestion comes from a saying my father used to preach to me and I now preach to my sons. Reliable. Fast. Cheap. You can only have two of the three. If you can't afford reliable and fast, extend your dead lines until you can afford to do it the right way. Rushing a build on a small budget and expecting miracles is doomed from the beginning. So again, reliable, fast or cheap? Pick two.
Second suggestion. Mount the tires on the right way. In that picture, the driver rear tire tread is either mounted the wrong way or you have that wheel/tire on the wrong side of the car.
Third suggestion. If you're going to rely on this drive train to get you places far away, think less about power and think more about reliability. Focus more on proper cooling, a strong rear end, seats that are comfortable...ect.
Fourth...keep the build simple and the cam small. Your heads are where the power is at so a large duration camshaft is unnecessary. You mentioned the XR281 high lift, which I think would be the largest cam this motor would see if it were my build. You said the car will most likely never see the 1/4 mile so build for pleasure. There's more to the 6.0L's power band than 3400-7000. I'd look into the TR224. Unless you're hot rodding around racing everything with a loud exhaust, most of your driving will be below 3000, especially with those 3.55's and double overdrive gears in the T56.
Fifth...for longevity, replace the cam, rod bearings and rod bolts. Don't even loosen the main caps. If the miles on the motor are low and oil maintenance was adequate, leave the main bearings alone. Replace the rod bearings only because the rod bolts are going to be loosened for stronger ARP bolts. The cam bearings are easy enough to replace if you can get the short block to a machine shop.
Fun little project you have right there.
My first and most important suggestion comes from a saying my father used to preach to me and I now preach to my sons. Reliable. Fast. Cheap. You can only have two of the three. If you can't afford reliable and fast, extend your dead lines until you can afford to do it the right way. Rushing a build on a small budget and expecting miracles is doomed from the beginning. So again, reliable, fast or cheap? Pick two.
Second suggestion. Mount the tires on the right way. In that picture, the driver rear tire tread is either mounted the wrong way or you have that wheel/tire on the wrong side of the car.
Third suggestion. If you're going to rely on this drive train to get you places far away, think less about power and think more about reliability. Focus more on proper cooling, a strong rear end, seats that are comfortable...ect.
Fourth...keep the build simple and the cam small. Your heads are where the power is at so a large duration camshaft is unnecessary. You mentioned the XR281 high lift, which I think would be the largest cam this motor would see if it were my build. You said the car will most likely never see the 1/4 mile so build for pleasure. There's more to the 6.0L's power band than 3400-7000. I'd look into the TR224. Unless you're hot rodding around racing everything with a loud exhaust, most of your driving will be below 3000, especially with those 3.55's and double overdrive gears in the T56.
Fifth...for longevity, replace the cam, rod bearings and rod bolts. Don't even loosen the main caps. If the miles on the motor are low and oil maintenance was adequate, leave the main bearings alone. Replace the rod bearings only because the rod bolts are going to be loosened for stronger ARP bolts. The cam bearings are easy enough to replace if you can get the short block to a machine shop.
And I hear you on R F C saying, that is why I mentioned I want to do this build the RIGHT way, but as friendly to my wallet as possible
I will check out that TR224 cam, thanks for the reply!
03-15-2009, 12:18 AM
#10
I noticed the L/R tire also lol...
Seems like a fun build, I love those old Chevelles. There's alot of different ways you could go about this engine. You could buy the $600 one and send it to a reputable machine shop to be freshened up, or you could pull the heads off of it and notice that it looks pristine and do as SynergyV8 said, only I'd use Katech rod bolts as I've read of some fitment problems with the ARP's causing the rod caps to warp. If you're wanting have the project done sooner than later, you could spend a little extra on a lower mileage LQ4, install a cam along the lines of Synergy's suggestion, and drop the mill in there. Tough to say which is the "best" route, but I'll say that I have read alot of threads about machine shop rebuilt GENIII engines that fail in one form or another.
Seems like a fun build, I love those old Chevelles. There's alot of different ways you could go about this engine. You could buy the $600 one and send it to a reputable machine shop to be freshened up, or you could pull the heads off of it and notice that it looks pristine and do as SynergyV8 said, only I'd use Katech rod bolts as I've read of some fitment problems with the ARP's causing the rod caps to warp. If you're wanting have the project done sooner than later, you could spend a little extra on a lower mileage LQ4, install a cam along the lines of Synergy's suggestion, and drop the mill in there. Tough to say which is the "best" route, but I'll say that I have read alot of threads about machine shop rebuilt GENIII engines that fail in one form or another.
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