I think I may be close to joining "The Club"

About a week ago I was driving home and noticed some smoke coming from my engine bay. It was some white smoke coming from the valve cover breather.. I took it to my friend and he told me it is probably blow-by.

So if I am not mistaken, that would be a sign of my piston rings going bad.

I figure either way it is a sign. So I would like to start buying the parts here and there for a rebuild. I don't want to do anything spectacular, just something that will handle the boost and pass CA smog.

I was think along the lines of a 355 and droping the compression to around 9.5 so I could up the boost. I am definately going with forged pistons, but would a forged crank be worth it?

My buddy works at his dad's garage. They are mostly mercedes/porsche but they know what they are doing. He did my plugs/wires in a little over 2 hours. He will pull the motor and put it in when it is done free of charge(other than beer and pizza). He said he would assemble it, but he thinks it would be a better idea to go through the guy they send their motors to and get it balanced/blueprinted.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would like to get a pretty good idea of what to get, so that I can start buying a part or two per paycheck. Kinda on a budget.


Thanks,

David

The first thing to do is to decide what you want to spend on this. It can get expensive in a hurry if you dont watch what you buy. You'll be looking in a catalog and say I want this and this oh wait this one is just a little better how mch more? Okay Ill take THAT instead. And before you know it, you've transformed your car into a near strip only car. LOL Ask me how I know.

A forged crank would be good insurance but it depends on what kind of power level you plan on running. Forged pistons are a defenite requirement if your rebuilding. Select a decent ring manufacturer and plan on gapping them a little wider since you are using a blower and under boost, they will expand more than an engine without a blower. You may look into replacing your rod bolts as well. Ive heard of some failures on the LS1 motors and its cheap insurance to replace them. And it isnt that tough either.

Otherwise, good luck! Sounds like a pretty straight forward project to get into. May want to get some opinions from guys with LS1's. Im by no means schooled on those motors but the basics apply to all motors.

Curt point about deciding on a budget upfront is a very good one. In addition, you need to decide what you are building a motor for, instead of buying parts piecemeal as you suggest. You really need to think this through in advance. The alternative is not only spending too much, but getting parts that don't work together. If you aren't sure what you are doing, it's easy do things like buy rods that are too long for the crank, for example

The most efficient way to get a rotating assembly is to buy it as a unit, already balanced. And what parts you get in the rotating assembly will also depend on the heads you are using (to get the desired CR). That illustrates the point about deciding what you want in advance.

Anyway, as far as your specific question goes, if you aren't planning on anything wild you may be ok using the stock crank. It's heavy, but pretty strong. You new new pistons and a decent set of rods though.

Rich Krause

Originally posted by Guido
The first thing to do is to decide what you want to spend on this. It can get expensive in a hurry if you dont watch what you buy. You'll be looking in a catalog and say I want this and this oh wait this one is just a little better how mch more? Okay Ill take THAT instead. And before you know it, you've transformed your car into a near strip only car. LOL Ask me how I know.

That's so VERY true. My rebuild started as a "mild" 383 w/ good heads and a nice cam. Now it's a large lift cam, big heads, a $2000 fuel system and a TH400 w/ a brake. The people at Summit Racing love me and the UPS man keeps asking me what I'm building. lol

Which car is the charger on? The LT1 or LS1? When you say 355, I think it's on the LT1, but just to be sure. If it's on a budget, SRP pistons, Eagle rods and stock crank would work for the bottom end. Have the assembly balanced and blueprinted, replace the bearings and you should be good.

If it's on the LS1, then it's a little different story. Diamond makes a decent stock-sized forged piston for the LSx cars. I'd go with that, new rods and the stock crank.

*whew* :)

Originally posted by rskrause

The most efficient way to get a rotating assembly is to buy it as a unit, already balanced.
Rich Krause

Rich,
I agree with all your points except for this one, buying the rotating assembly as a unit is a good idea but have it balanced locally.

I tried this with my motor and will never do it again.

I ordered my entire rotating assembly from Callies (Callies crank, Oliver rods, JE pistons, rings, bearings, flex plate and balancer) and when my engine guy was starting to assemble my motor he was furious of what Callies did. They never checked any weights they used the weights on the side of the rod box.

When I had a local machine shop check it over the weights were off and I had to have the crank re-balanced.

After complaing to Callies and going back and fourth I was only able to recoup half of my money back on their piss poor balancing job. I am not disputing their products, just thier piss poor balancing job.

Marc

Originally posted by 1st and goal
Rich,
I agree with all your points except for this one, buying the rotating assembly as a unit is a good idea but have it balanced locally.

I tried this with my motor and will never do it again.

I ordered my entire rotating assembly from Callies (Callies crank, Oliver rods, JE pistons, rings, bearings, flex plate and balancer) and when my engine guy was starting to assemble my motor he was furious of what Callies did. They never checked any weights they used the weights on the side of the rod box.

When I had a local machine shop check it over the weights were off and I had to have the crank re-balanced.

After complaing to Callies and going back and fourth I was only able to recoup half of my money back on their piss poor balancing job. I am not disputing their products, just thier piss poor balancing job.

Marc

That would make me change my opinion too! The thing is, I got the impression that the original poster was pretty new at this. Most people in that group may not have someone reliable locally to go with and I think that in that circumstance, buying the rotating assy as a balanced unit would be the way to go. Not from Callies, I guess!

Rich Krause

Lol.. I don't have a LS1, I think my signature may be confusing.. I have 2000 SS rims =]

I would like to figure out most of what I will need before I purchase anything. With help from people on here I would like to figure out a plan of attack.

The guy that my buddies shop goes through has been building race engines for over 20 years and has an awesome reputation. That is why my buddy suggested having him assemble the shortblock when we are having it bored/etc with him.

But before I buy anything I would like to know everything that I will need. I mean atleast most of it: crank/pistons/cam/comp. ratio/rods/etc.

I have never began a project such as this, and it may be a small project to some, but to me this is huge. Any input would be greatly appreciated.. I would like to put down around 450RWHP when it is done. I don't know if I am shooting too high. The car will need to pass smog, but I have a few places that will help it along if it is close enough.


Thanks for all the advice,

David

David, I have a GM steel ZZ-3 (one-piece rear seal - will work in LT-1) crankshaft that is offset ground to 3.50" stroke (.020" under also).

I also have a set of 5.7" 4340 Eagle H-beam rods.

Also, a set of 25cc dished forged Wiseco .040 over pistons.

These parts have about 4000 miles of non-supercharged, non-nitrous miles on them.

I'm selling because I'm building a 6" rod 383.

Are you interested?

If so, then e-mail me at: wrenchheadmike1@yahoo.com

Mike