So, I'm working on writing up an estimate of what kind of budget I'm going to need to plan for when I start working on pulling the engine this winter to rebuild/upgrade some parts in it.

From work, I've got this list of stuff so far:

Fel-Pro gaskets (all standard gaskets except for the performance intake set)
Clevite main bearings, rod bearings, and cam bearings
Clevite freeze plug set
ARP "Wave-Loc" rod bolts (are rod bolts for the LT1 the same as SBC bolts?....ARP doesn't list any LT1 specific part numbers, only LS1)
ARP main studs, same as for SBC? (already have ARP head bolts)
Dynagear high volume oil pump

All of that stuff comes up to about $230

That stuff should take care of most of the engine parts. I'll figure out what cam I want to use later, and I should be able to sell the CC306 to get a bit of that money back. I'll also most likely end up getting chromoly pushrods. The rest of the valvetrain should be fine.....I'll look at the lifters and make a judgment on those when I see them.

My big questions and concerns come with the pistons. I've been looking a bit, and there are only a few brands out there that carry "decent" forged pistons. Summit wants $550 for a set of JE's (wow!), Wiseco's are about the same. It looks like SRP's are made by JE, but I'm not sure. I also haven't found any suppliers for the SRP's, so I haven't seen any prices. I've heard the SRP's are pretty good....but does anyone here use or know anyone that uses them? Any horror/good stories? Also, what CC are stock LT1 heads? Are LT1 pistons different than SBC pistons in any other manner other than compression ratio? Would 9.5:1 be too much for 10-12 psi of boost?

And on the rings......which ones would be best? I have no idea what thicknesses to look for or anything. Same as SBC? As you can see, I have a lot of questions, some of them I know general answers to, but I want to make absolutely sure I'm putting the right parts in this thing so I don't have to do it over again too soon.

Probably will be ditching the FMU and getting bigger injectors and reprogramming the fuel tables. Any suggestions for a good brand of fuel injectors, and what flow I should go with?

The machine work shouldn't be too expensive for me. We've got a machine shop at our warehouse at work that I should be able to get good prices on. Hot tanking, boring .030 over, align honing the mains and cam, and deck cleaning are all on the list.

If anyone can point me to sites for the pistons and rings, that would be great. I'm on a pansy dialup, so skipping around between supplier web pages to search through their online catalogs is paintaking at best.

Any suggestions/comments/questions/advice would be greatly appreciated. I realize some of this should be in the Forced Induction forum, but I'm more interested in the rebuilding questions getting answered.

Thanks,
Bryan

 

I like Diamond pistons. They aren't really a budget piston though.

I used moly top, j-hook second, and low tension oil rings. Gapped at .023 top .023 second. I havn't done a leakdown test, but I have a breather and theres no apparent blowby.

As far as injectors, I use the Lucas 42.5's and they seem to be doing a good job.

How much power do you plan to make?

 

I'm looking at making around 475-500 RWHP with 12 psi of boost.

I think that's a reasonable estimate of how much I can make with a forged piston 355 setup....