There’s a slight change of plans. I thinking I’m going to go with the 5.3 instead of the ls1. After taking a good look at my 317 heads, there are some scratches on the surface that are concerning to me. Also, after I pop the first engine, I don’t want to have to start tuning all over from scratch. With the 5.3 I can have a JY block sitting on the shelf ready for install and be up and running within a couple days.
The last 2 days were useless for progress due to my overindulgence with alcohol. Tonight / this weekend I plan on swapping the springs on the stock 5.3 heads and getting the block together. I also need to get some 80lb or larger injectors as I’m pretty sure I want to run e85.
Man you got to work through the hangover! Bummer to hear about the 317s. You can have the surface cleaned up for pretty cheap. Let me know if you need anything else I can help with.
Thanks! I’m sure I’ll have some questions as things start to go back together.
A friend of mine has a face mill, I’ll probably have him take them down a bit, but I’ll likely end up selling them anyway, or saving them for a rainy day. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of disposable 5.3’s, especially after hearing what you put your 6L through haha.
Nope, not at all, both blocks are already torn down to the short block. I’m going to use the ls6 cam, ls6 intake, ls6 throttle body, and ls1 oil pan, along with everything above, ls9 gaskets, ls7 lifters, comp springs, arp studs, etc. Hope to have it together and on the k-member this weekend.
I listed the ls1 block (minus intake and oil pan) for sale. I have no idea what they’re going for now, but I saw a few high mile l33’s listed for $850. Hopefully I can get at least 700ish out of it to put towards a 4l80e or drag wheel setup.
This weekend wasn’t nearly as productive as I hoped, but I did get the valve springs changed out and the sealing surfaces of the 5.3 block and 5.3 heads cleaned up. I ordered gaskets from summit that should be here tomorrow.
The surfaces still aren’t as clean as I’d like, but after 5 hours of scrubbing I think I’m going to go for it as is.
I want some sort of contingency plan for when this 4l60e goes, I’m just starting to do some research. Between the options of th400 and 4l80e, which one would end up being more robust for the price?
It looks like a lot of people are running ~800hp with a stock 4l80e and transgo kit, I don’t think the th400 would hold up to this. I don’t care about over drive, and I’m willing to run a manual valve body if necessary. I’m looking for the cheapest route to hold the ~650+ hp I want to make.
If you do a lot of driving you might be better off with the 4l80e with overdrive however it would be much cheaper to get a built TH400 and just run a 3.27 or 3.08 or other low gear depending on your setup.
Itll be fine. PS soak your deck/head in wd40 and then clean it with acetone or brake clean. Works very well for me. I use a razor when needed but do not use and scotch brite or anything on alum heads.
Progress has been pretty slow, I spent my spare time snowmobiling the past couple weeks instead of working on this.
I did get the engine bay painted and got most of the stuff put back in the bay last night. When I ordered my ARP head studs 2 years ago I bought the kit for the 04+, so had to sell those off and replace them with a nice Chinese set haha.
So right now I’m looking to get some 80lb or larger injectors. I’m also looking to add a Walbro400 in the tank with my current 255. I think I am going to run the stock returnless fuel system and maybe put the 400 on a pressure switch…Or just run them both all the time and see how I do with fuel temps. Any issues there?
I had a pressure switch fail and obv didn’t notice. Not sure how many passes I made like that but I ran a pass at the track and logged 16:1 A/F and am very lucky the motor made it through in one piece.
Since that day I have ran both pumps(holley hp-1400) constant and have had no issues with fuel temps that I am aware of.
I am doing the same thing this year on a holley hp-1800
However this might be more of an issue with no return. Only person I know who ran it like you are wanting to without a return is Pat from Elma Auto so maybe someone can get him on here to chime in with how things worked and if he ran both pumps at once.
I’m just going to pick up an automotive relay 30-40 amp from autozone or somewhere and do the wiring myself. The racetronix harness looks nice, but no reason I couldn’t do the same and save a couple bucks. I’ve searched through ls1tech quite a bit, most agree that the stock fuel system can support 700+ whp, but don’t know how many of those guys are running a pressure switch vs having both pumps going at all times.
Still a possibility I’ll run a new feed and use the stock feed as a return, but that could add up fast by the time I’m done with all the fittings and the stainless line.