Block filler is a hardener that is added to the block. You pour it in the water passages right up to the water jackets, and it will harden. It increases the strength of the bottom half of the cylinders (where the most stress is). It's really for race cars, since some people have overheating problems after it's done on street cars, but there are pleanty of street cars that run it fine.


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1996 WS6 TA
1968 GTO

 

ARP claims that a stock 2-bolt block will live (reliably for approx 70k+ miles) with stock caps and bolts producing 375 hp and a max rpm of 6000 rpm. With the addition of ARP main studs, those numbers are boosted to 450 hp and 6500 rpm respectively. Of course, your stock engine can put out 600 hp but may not last 40,000 miles depending on how you run it. These ARP numbers are approx from my memory.

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1987 Trans Am GTA WS6
5.7L SuperRam
4L60-E Trans
3.73 SRD

1987 Pontiac Fiero
3800 Series II SFI
4T60-E Trans
3.33 Final Drive

1987 Chevy S-10 Ext. Cab
4.3L Vortec TBI
4L60-E Trans
3.42 Final Drive

1966 Plymouth Belvedere II
318 Semi-Hemi 2bbl
Torqueflite 727 Trans

http://dtcc.cz28.com

 

A local engine builder was putting together an LT1 for a Caprice in Kuwait. He had it on an engine dyno, and when he hit around 600hp, the block cracked in the lifter valley and flooded the crank and bearings with water, screwing up the crank surfaces.

It was a Callies forging, and after it was reground, I bought it for 250 bucks

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SSMOKEM

1995 Impala SS "Cherry Bomb"
Best ETs: faster than my '65 pickup
Mods: 93% stock

My Super Impala SS Website

[This message has been edited by George Debski (edited July 28, 2002).]

 

Me thinks he had to run either aftermarket straight caps or at least GM 2482 caps opposed to the POS 3412 caps that came with factory 4-bolt LT1 blocks.

Can you please clarify, Fred?

 

Jim:

Unfortunately, I don't know "everything"..... (I just pretend I do.... )

 

That makes you a much better pretender than I. LOL

 

Local car making 650 - 700 hp on the stock 2 bolt main block, had all the ARP fasteners. After 3 months he popped a piston, unrelated matter, when they tore down the engine there was evidence of metal transfer on the main cap surfaces.

They were moving around down there, also the main bearings were worn in a squirrely kind of way, suggestive of the crankshaft worming around in the journals. ...

So ... bad things are happening at 650 hp, maybe 550 is near the max for 2 bolt mains.

Hope this helps

LWM

 

can anyone site an example of an LT1 block breaking from shear power (as opposed to bad tuning)? what are the 1200hp limit-estimates based on? i plan to keep pushing on mine unless i hear a good reason not to... i've got callies billet splayed caps so that should buy me some extra insurance...

 

Jeff, what are you making for hp? any dyno graphs?

 

no scanned graphs... with the auto tranny and 4000 stall it makes right at 700rwhp... with the 6-speed it would be probably 850rwhp... when i swapped from the T56 to the TH400 i lost 144rwhp (i've been told that high stall converter mess with dyno readings pretty badly)... also, that was at a lower boost level and with no nitrous... anyway, its all a bunch of number games and guesses, but i'd have to say the motor is putting about 950hp to the flywheel... but what concerns me is that a blower setup like this is supposed to consume about 150hp... so that would mean that as far as cylinder pressures and strain on the block i'm basically at the 1100hp mark... and now i'm looking to add another 125-150hp in nitrous... so there you go, right past the "magic" 1200hp mark...

 

Just to clarify, both engines that were "judged" to be approaching the "perceived" mechanical limits of the block were blower engines... George had a Vortech on his engine, and yes, they figured it was pulling 200HP off the snout of the crank, in addition to the 1,125HP at the flywheel measured on an engine dyno. I think he may have bumped fwHP up a little more after that. Brian/Madman's engine used an ATI S/C. Both George and Madman broke the billet hub on their ATI Super Damper with the blower pulley load.

I think in George's case, the "perception" that the engine was on the edge of its mechanical limits was based on measuring the block and comparing it to a Bowtie block before deciding to exceed 1,000HP at the crank, and then on the ultimate examination of the block after the engine was "decomissioned" and torn down.

 

well, in that respect, i figure that adding the extra power through nitrous is an advantage for me in that i will get most of the power to the flywheel... vs. the blower situation where adding another 100hp of boost may add 150hp worth of strain... i'm still running an 8-rib serpentine belt for the blower so i wouldn't think that i'm putting *that* much stress on the crank... the belt should slip before that happens i'm guessing/hoping...

 

Well, while we're on the subject of block strengths:

If the iron LT1s max is 1200ish, what would(or is) the max of the LS1(being a softer aluminum)? I'm looking to build a monster in the future and have wondered this; especially since some people tell me that the LT1 will NEVER be as fast as the LS1.
Here's why I want to know-
I had one dude tell me that if you were to do a "complete build-up" of an LT1 and an LS1(to make the most hp possible), the LS1 would ALWAYS make A LOT more power. I called BS in his face on the grounds that an aluminum block would fail before an iron one; other than that, its all a matter of money as to who would be faster. Please tell me I was right.

 

i don't think its as simple as aluminum vs. iron... i'm sure the Dart Aluminum block is stronger than the LT1 iron block... as far as the clear superiority of the LS1's... well, you'd kinda hope so... otherwise GM is incompetent... obviously when one performance platform replaces another you'd hope its because it performs better... that being said, i think some of us LT1 guys are holding our own against the almighty LS1...

 

Jeff, do you have any pics of the Spearco you're using? I'd like to see the monster that will flow enough for that amount of hp.