Got my engine out out and I am feeling the waters for a 355 refresh. The cylinders look by and large good with some minor wear. Maybe I don't even need boring, honing may do the trick.

I am more interested in honing or 355 rather than 383, I don't have the money for a full blown 383 plus I still need decent MPG. My goal is around 400 RWHP and reving to 6400 RPM.

Here are my future specs:
LE2 heads
LE 1.5 cam
Impala head gaskets
LE ported intake
Rest of specs in signature

I am willing to trade some HP for longevity, I want a setup that will last and last plus I will never have juice or power adder. Please post suggestions on individual components or full rotating assemblies.

 

get it honed and put it back together with new rings/bearings/seals etc.... if your tight on money.

 

The stock pieces with ARP bolts and good bearings/seals should be good for a time to come. I plan on doing this when mine finally lets go. I have the money to do it up but i'd rather spend that money on other things.

 

I agree with this, but I would add forged pistons. I think those are prolly the weakest link after the rod bolts/bearings and before the rods. I'm doing a 355 with TRW forged pistons, stock rods with ARP bolts and stock crank. Plan on almost 400 rwhp.

 

If the engine was running good prior to the pull then I would not touch the factory hone or the pistons or the superior quality stock (mahle) rings.
I would put in new cam bearings, new rod and main bearings and I'd look the crankshaft over and have it polished if needed but only if needed. Then that should all last another 100K miles.

You did mention it won't see nitrous and or forced induction so the stock pistons and rods will be good. (even the stock rod bolts will hold up).

If the ring seal was not good prior to pulling the motor then heck, new pistons and new rings and new hone for sure, (the Mahle power pack is hard to beat for the money). That would be $500 bucks from Flatlander Racing for the mahle power pack. You could do the ARP rod bolts but certainly then you would need to have the rods re-sized/reconditioned.

With new pistons I would also take the rotating assembly to the balance shop. If you simply replace the pistons with factory pistons then a balance is not needed.

And of course yes do the new cam/rod/main bearings.

Maybe deck the block while you are at it to 9.005 or 9.010 so that you have around .035 to .040" squish with the .029" Impala SS gasket. Just a thought.

The reason I preach to keep the stock pistons and rings and stock hone is because I've been doing that on my LT1 350 for the last 3 refresh jobs. I took that advice from Terry Samakow the local Pro Stock engine builder hero. The advice was if it was good prior to the tear down then keep it as is. The factory hone is hard to beat. The factory Mahle pistons and rings are hard to beat too. That advice has paid off because I've never touched the cylinders and I still have the same stock rings, (but one replacement piston). The crank has had one polish job and I still have the stock rods with stock rod bolts. It's one of the strongest running stock bottom LT1 350's out there. Spins to 6800 rpm with ported LT1 aluminum heads and the GM 846 cam. Sure, it would be nice to decking it and getting quench down from .055" to .035" and have the nice forged Mahle pistons with their rings. Maybe one day.

But if looking to minimze money spent, then consider leaving all untouched accept bearings.

Karl

 

Asking for a friend, and I guess it's somewhat related to this post so I'll stick it in here.

What's the best route in replacing bearings on a stock LT1 that's on a stand... Remove each bearing, mic it for measurements, and replace accordingly? All that comes into play.. so just curious.

 

javier was asking for me. i have a 30k mile lt1 that hasnt run in probably 6-7 years just sitting in the corner. im planning on a gm847. should i go ahead and replace the bearings since its been sitting so long? as far as the heads go im going to have to stay stock for a little while. i will be using an impala gasket though.

quickss, im interested in what you think about the bearings in that motor. and the procedure as javier asked.

 

Clevite bearings aren't that much and are great insurance if you're gonna be spinning the motor as high as you'll need to in order to fully utilize that cam. It will also run MUCH better with ported heads.

 

I would just pull out the old ones and see if they are standard size or 1 over or whatever and buy the same size replacement of your favorite brand bearings. i wouldn't even mike anything. Heck, I don't know. Maybe you would want some more bearing clearance than the tight factory settings. Then maybe pull the crank and get it polished and mic everything.
Karl

 

Back on topic, my engine ws running very strong before renoval but had shot cam bearings. All bearings are definitely getting replaced.

So its whether to hone or not hone, the other benefit to honing is I can replace the rings which I dont mind. It sounds like I will just keep the stock pistons and rods however I would like to replace the rod bolts for high revving piece of mind.

Again a have a few minor grooves in a couple cylinder walls but I am not sure what is normal and what is not.

 

You have grooves in some of the cylinder walls?? My cylinder walls still had the cross-hatchings at 132,xxx when the bearings let go. Rent the honing tool (drill attachment with dangly *****) from Autozone for free, hone the cylinder walls, and replace the rings. If it doesn't get rid of the grooves, then it needs bored (which means a final hone and new rings). Try to get rid of the grooves first, before buying rings, because they'll be different if you need to bore it.

For anyone else asking, if you have the motor out of the car, then replace the bearings at least. Next on the list would be ARP rod bolts. If a motor has sat for 6-7 years, I'd replace all the vitals (rings, bearings, ARP studs and bolts).