My background is in mechanical engineering and aluminum casting.

It would be a major project to build an aluminum LT1 Block, but not out of the realm of possiblity.

If I built it, would they come?

I am guessing here, but I think a 20-50lb weight reduction would be possible.

I would expect that iron sleeves would be needed.

What features would people want?

Things that come to mind are.

1) Taller deck height

2) Greater bore dia. potential.

3) Compatiable with existing LT1 heads / cranks and accessories.

What would be a reasonable price for a bare aluminum block?

I realize LS1 has stolen the thunder when it comes to NA smallblocks and aluminum construction.

But for some reason an upstart LT1 aluminum block seems interesting to me.

What do you guys think?

Z28

 

"If you build it they will come"

Go for it man.

 

I think it would be a nice upgrade, but the cost would far out weight the coolness. I just don't think the demand would be high enough to justify the cost of a major project like this. If you do decide to takle the project, you should contact Darton and see if they could cook you up some of there wet sleeves. If your gunna do it, you might as well have the best parts in there.

 

If I could get a good bore size and a decent price I would run one

I only want to make 1,000RWHP with it so the foundation would need to be stable

 

I would be very interested also. Especially if you can get more cubic inches and not overheat.

 

Thoughts:

As an ME you realize that the aluminum block can't just be a line-for-line copy of an iron block with sleeves added. Material has to be added in all the right places to approach the strength of the stock iron block, which is one of the weak links in very high hp LT1s. A $2500 GMPP iron CNC race block is a hell of a lot stronger and at least as accurate as an LT1 block which has been, massaged, steel-capped, filled, bushed, align bored and honed for nearly the same $. The GMPP Bowtie is probably also stronger than most or maybe all aluminum SBC blocks now available. Even aluminum sprint car engines don't get into the 4-digit power levels some of the blown or nitoused drag race LT1 guys attempt.

If you are familiar with multiple-cored aluminum castings, you appreciate the tooling expense involved. Few folks buy raw block castings and fully machine them. So, in order for this to be a viable block, you need to have it fully CNC machined. You might contact the company that CNC machines GMPP Bowtie blocks. They would probably give you and estimate for machining.

Look at Brodix aluminum SBC blocks. True they are not LT1 specific but you'd at least have to match their stuff for quality, design and price. Try P/N 8B1050 or 8B1150. I suggest that if there was a market for LT1 specific aftermarket aluminum blocks, someone like Brodix could economically change their existing SBC blocks to be LT1 compatible. I don't think there is the market even at their prices, especially for street guys.

I may be a wet blanket here, but upwards of $10,000 per block would seem the minimum to attempt to recover your costs. I may be WAY low on that price estimate, depending on how many you can sell initially. At 1/2 of that you probably won't have many takers. At twice that, the market approaches zero, IMO.

You asked.

 

Hehe

I was very tired when I was typing last night and came back to address the strength issue. Looks Like OldStroker kind of beat me to it

 

if its like a dart block i would buy it but not if its not stronger than the factory block

 

adapt a 400 block to use LT1 accessories. One of my little projects right now. I already have the opti mounted, just need to fix the waterpump issue. Everything else is a go

Anything's possible when the aftermarket doesn't make what you need. I plan on having a 406 LT1 hybrid running in my other '94 by the end of the year. If I can I'll let you guys know how I do it

From what I've seen, aftermarket aluminum SBC blocks weight about 95-105 pounds.

 

Quite frankly with the ease of installing a LSx type engine, the cost would vastly outweigh the gain.. IMO.

 

Yup

LT1 cars are crap now

 

Hi,

Thanks to everybody for taking the time to post.

A number of good posts and related points where brought up.

I did not know that Donvan made or converted LT1 blocks.

The LS1 engine does make the LT1 engine somewhat obsolete.

LS1 to Lt1 is not an easy swap, but very possible.

The last time I worked for a foundry A356 aluminum was around $1.00 a pound.

So the raw cost of the aluminum would not be that bad. Perhaps $100.00.

The tooling and the machining would be the real costs.

The block would have to be redesigned to use aluminum, which would reduce weight savings. Since you would have to use more aluminum than iron.

The use of cold box type cores and plastic tooling could greatly reduce the tooling cost. Not the approach an OEM would take, but for a limited production engine, possible.

The market would be very price senstive, at around $1000.00 they might sell, but much above that and I agree the market would fall off quickly.

The current alumium blocks sound a little high priced to me. But tooling costs could really add up.

It doesn't sound like a sure thing.

Thanks

Z28

 

Man, you're so right Ellis!!! They're ALL so slow!!!

 

LT1 is a dying breed, Too many see the easy potential of the LS1, So I would say it would be too hard to sell enough blocks, Im sure some would sell......

 

forget the block, focus on a 18-15* head and matching intake that would level the playing field with LS motors
something that bolts right onto existing stock parts and doesnt require the need for offset lifters and specialized valvetrain

my $0.02, if you're gonna undertake a major project atleast make it something that power can be gained from. especially since the LT block is a stout factory piece