Aftermarket LTX blocks?

[95ImpySS]

2000hp on a stock lt1 block...idk about all that lol

Wishful thinking hahaha

[joelster]

Isnt the 414 dangerously close to the water jackets? I think I was reading somewhere that it was REALLY bad at overheating and had problems with warping too. This is partially why I was looking so hard for that particular block, It would still have street manners that I could tool around, but have the torque to get down and dirty when the time called... Living in Miami is a LOT of stop and go traffic, hence my issue with the 414 for fear of overheating.

My block is NOT clearanced any more than a regular 383. It's in no danger of going into the water jackets, the block is not half-filled or anything like that either. The key is with the rods that are used. They are smaller on the cap end than a typical H-beam rod. That's why the block doesn't need to be opened up any more. They are Scat Pro-comp I beams. The shop did a little grinding on them, but nothing major. I run a small base circle cam (.900") but a mild .950" will fit too. My car runs about 20-30 degrees cooler right now than it did with the stock shortblock motor that was in the car before.

[BLK95-Z]

My block is NOT clearanced any more than a regular 383. It's in no danger of going into the water jackets, the block is not half-filled or anything like that either. The key is with the rods that are used. They are smaller on the cap end than a typical H-beam rod. That's why the block doesn't need to be opened up any more. They are Scat Pro-comp I beams. The shop did a little grinding on them, but nothing major. I run a small base circle cam (.900") but a mild .950" will fit too. My car runs about 20-30 degrees cooler right now than it did with the stock shortblock motor that was in the car before.

Whats the stroke on the crank your using? How did you get that much ci?

[joelster]

4.060" bore with a 4.00" stroke

[Bullitt]

Joelster, you mind if I ask how extensive (cost) the work was in the bottom end to have it all balanced, honed, etc? And also, Im assuming your setup is track only right? What I am looking for is dual purpose. only reason why I make that assumption is because of the size of your stall in your sig...

I guess Im asking for too much to be able to find a nice 4.120 unfinished bore block thats tall decked for a stroker and can squeeze a 4" stroke crank in it all while having 350 mains and be predrilled to accept LT parts...


Anyhow, heres my set up at the moment:
355 LT1, running a LT4 HOT cam with 1.6 roller rockers, Edelbrock heads and intake running a 58mm BBK throttlebody. Ive got the K&N cold air, Granatelli MAF sensor running Edelbrock headers and a 3" y to a single flowmaster. Its got the M6 (borg warner,,, not that tremec garbage) with a stage 2 clutch and a short shift with 3.42 eaton gears. I have the LT4 knock module, VATS delete, TB coolant bypass, MSD coil, and opti, and I KNOW I need a tune, and Ive been thinking about just buying the Jet DSA. aside from a few odds and ends and needing a suspension upgrade (PO rigged the car horridly) I think Im at the point where to get MORE power I'd need to spray the motor, but with 170k on the ticker, Im not comfortable dropping a 150 shot on it.... especially considering I dont know who did a lot of the work, or if the bottom end has any work done to it. Hence the reason I want a new block...

[joelster]

Joelster, you mind if I ask how extensive (cost) the work was in the bottom end to have it all balanced, honed, etc? And also, Im assuming your setup is track only right? What I am looking for is dual purpose. only reason why I make that assumption is because of the size of your stall in your sig...

I bought it fully built from a guy on LS1tech for $2169, lol, with a bunch of extra stuff thrown in for free. Yes I got a smoking deal. The block has typical machining for a stroker application which runs around $800-$1000. Boring, honing, aligning the mains, decking, drilling for 4-bolt main caps, etc, etc. That stuff is normal and your local shop can get you a price. The pistons are Mahle and run around $750 in Summit Racing, the crank is an Eagle forged crank which is around $750-$800 at Summit, and the rods are Scat Pro-comps which are $375ish at Summit. They took quite a bit of metal off of the crank to get it to balance. The pistons are very light and the I-beams are lighter than an H-beam. If I had to guess i'd say it was around $300-$400 for the balancing. The guy I bought it from probably had $4500 minimum tied up into the shortblock. A fully forged 383 will run you at least $3500 (if you find a smoking deal) and more than likely will be over $4000 as well.

My cars driveability is actually pretty good. The stall is mid-level and it is tight. It acts like a stock converter until you mash the gas. The cam I run is fairly big and could use more converter. I could easily throw in a hydraulic cam in the mid 240's and cruise this thing daily. I'm not sure how good it would be on gas though.

I guess Im asking for too much to be able to find a nice 4.120 unfinished bore block thats tall decked for a stroker and can squeeze a 4" stroke crank in it all while having 350 mains and be predrilled to accept LT parts...

You'd have to come up with some funky cooling lines to get an sbc block to be reverse cooled. There are GM Raceshop blocks out there still but be expected to pay $4000 when they pop up, and they will still need to be machined.

Anyhow, heres my set up at the moment:
355 LT1, running a LT4 HOT cam with 1.6 roller rockers, Edelbrock heads and intake running a 58mm BBK throttlebody. Ive got the K&N cold air, Granatelli MAF sensor running Edelbrock headers and a 3" y to a single flowmaster. Its got the M6 (borg warner,,, not that tremec garbage) with a stage 2 clutch and a short shift with 3.42 eaton gears. I have the LT4 knock module, VATS delete, TB coolant bypass, MSD coil, and opti, and I KNOW I need a tune, and Ive been thinking about just buying the Jet DSA. aside from a few odds and ends and needing a suspension upgrade (PO rigged the car horridly) I think Im at the point where to get MORE power I'd need to spray the motor, but with 170k on the ticker, Im not comfortable dropping a 150 shot on it.... especially considering I dont know who did a lot of the work, or if the bottom end has any work done to it. Hence the reason I want a new block...

If the oil pressure is good I would have no problem running nitrous through it. Especially since you won't be taking it to real high rpm's with the hotcam.

[Bullitt]

The oil pressure on the idiot gauge is around 20 to 25 psi at idle (1000 rpm) and will quickly rise to close to if not above 40 psi on acceleration. I have a sneaky feeling that a head gasket is getting ready to blow though. It is starting to lose compression and a little bit of coolant and has a small stumble. So a rebuild is going to be in order fairly soon. I agree with you on the 383 block, but I guess that Im just looking for a deal that isnt to be had :/. Your set up sounds killer and you got a hell of a deal on that motor!!!

[joelster]

Check the classified sections on the boards. With the economy the way it is, it isn't uncommon for brand new shortblocks to pop up for sale for a song every now and then.