MIKE1444

I was looking on the Brodix website, and was specifically attracted to the 5.0 bore spacing aluminum blocks. The specs say you can get as much as a 4.7" bore and a 5.375" stroke which is good for 800 cu in. That made me giggle like a fat kid with an ice cream cone.

HOWEVER, it says that it has a 1/2 filled water jacket. See, I kind of wanted to do an 800 cubic inch, street driven, saturday night special sleeper type of thing with sewer pipe exhausts. But I interpreted that water jacket thing as a water jacket that is full of... something, I don't know what... that wouldn't enable me to run full coolant for street use. Is that what 1/2 filled water jacket means?
I really don't want to plunk 40K into an engine that I can't drive like my 4.3. I don't care about idle speed or fuel economy. But I want the capability of going on a 12 hour road trip if I feel the need. I don't want a "little" big block. No less than 700 cubes.

fastgmc53

iTrader: (33)

yeah aint gonna happen.... it means you have to use filler compound to fill the jackets to strengthen the block for the overbore. I have never heard of a 12 hour 700+ cu in capable motor. Check into Hot Rods power tour but I don't see it happenin. I know there was a guy with a beautiful 69 or 70 GTO that put a huge hemi out of a dragster...over 200mph car and drove it on the streets. He got 2-3 mpg so a 12 hour ride would really only be 6 hours with the fuel stops....

Gadgetized

iTrader: (9)

You can use a 1/2 fill for street use, but it is not that practical. The biggest street driven motor that would be practical would be a 632. You could make plenty of power out of a 632 to do whatever you wanted to on the street. It is hard to get enough spark out of one plug to fire a combustion properly out of a 4.7 bore. A top fuel dragster uses a 500 CI, and they make about 7500hp.

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

You can get into the 7xx now with a proper big block. But there's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to ci. You can go that big but you can't spin them, the bigger you go the less they will want to spin so the less power your gonna make. Just food for thought.

SILVERADO11

some really good info!

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

You'll end up with Torque like diesel with torque like HP. Not really ideal IMO.

MIKE1444

Of course, there's the option of going with a high revving small block. I need something special for my '98 Sierra that can't be matched. I has to be track (road course) driven too, hence the Light front end efforts of aluminum. What's cooler? 7xx cubes, or 8500 rpm with lots of head maintenance?

TurboBerserker

iTrader: (1)

TBH, everything has been done. What will make your truck special is what you think is special. Both of the options you described sound like no fun to me -- I want something I get in a drive on the street without calling a tow truck every third outing

Now, race truck... hell yeah (except I'd make up the difference between 4xx cubes and 8xx cubes with a coupla turbos...)

Remington H.

iTrader: (2)

x2. When I think road course, I think 6 speed manual transmission with a huge flat torque curve. Having a truck wanting to do road courses is kinda backwards IMO, but if thats what you want and you have the cash then go for it. If I were doing a power monster road course setup, I would go with a built 6 speed behind a forged 383 ls1 with a pair of turbos feeding it. Still light weight with the alluminum block, great power, and more power is just a turn of the dial as long as the engine is built right. Or I could also see myself going with a forged/twin turbo 6.2(l92 or ls3)/6l90e with a paddle shifter setup. With an auto you can shift, it will reduce the shock to the drivetrain compared to banging through the gears with a 6 speed.

brent1976

iTrader: (1)

Get an lsx block, make a 502(just an example), and put a single turbo on it. If you are on a road corse, it will always be up in the rpm's, I'd think a single would almost be spinning constantly.