so far its around $7500 without the machanic work. this thing is killing me. thats without the moser rear end, tranny upgrade, brake system, and all the sub frame and chassis upgrades.

 

wow......i am inexpirenced....so for me it would be around wat 11k or 12k....yea im gonna wait until im out of school before i start that project lol

 

it can cost less, i just got a lot of the extras, your beter off just doing head and cam work for the best bang for the buck.

 

the alternater pulley isnt big, its the same size as the original. the pulley in the alternaters place is a little bigger. and it will still move to the same speed. and the alternator is 180amps, stock is 140. if anything it will spin quicker because i had to go to a smaller belt because the alternater is futher in then the ac compressor was. a lot of 4 bangers dont have and never have had a damper. my 400rwhp 240sx didnt have one. thats the way they are made. also i went with mid length headers because i droped the car 1.75 inches. i know people thats had a smaller drop and dented up the long tube on there z. thanks

 

the engine went in today and everything is hooked up. all thats left is some wiring and the exhaust.

 

how or who is going to tune it>

 

the machanic has a $3000 plug in machine to tune it. then after the break in i will have it dyno tuned

 

Make sure you get the harmonic dampner on there. If you can't right now, make sure the mechanic didn't use the bolts that came in the kit to bolt just the aluminum pulley on. If so, first startup up of the engine will destroy the opti. Just a word of warning. Also, the alternator's positioning has nothing to do with how fast it turns. It has to do with the smaller crank pulley you put on there turning ALL of the accessories slower. I have the underdrive pulley and stock alternator pulley and I've never had a charging issue, but the car idles at 1000 rpm vs 600-700 for stock.

 

CamaroRacing12, You can build strokers for less, if you can get a good deal from a guy getting rid of his stuff he never used/ sold the car etc. I got 4 bolt splayed block, ported Aluminum heads, new springs, Forged i beams, forged pistons,timing chain, pistons rings, new 1.6 RR for $2000. I bought a crank from ADperformance.com for $500ish and got the machine work done for $450(hook up from a buddy at a shop). With a mail order tune from PCMforless for $175, new Comp Cams "306" for $300. Total comes out to $3500 plus install for another $2000ish with gaskets etc. So you can do it all for less, you just have to bide your time and shop for the best prices. I frequent this board, ls1tech, and impalassforum.com. But if you're in school like me, you don't wanna get spending this kind of cash unless you have a good amount already saved, or you work a good part time job. If the price you are talking about (11-12K) is including trans upgrade, gears, stall in auto, etc, thats a good estimate.

 

i talked to the machanic about it. and he said that the hole engine assembley was balanced with the pulley, and the pulley itself was balanced. he said i dont need the damper because of this. he has been building camaros since i was in dipers and his dad before him. his own camaro 383 does not have a damper on it and he said he has had it like that for 5 years and never had a problem. he just went to a smaller pulley and had it balaced just the same as mine and he is pushing out near 800hp with a 200 shot. also the machine shop said it would be fine and they do this for a living. they do the best work ive seen. you dont even know the car is runing when they get done with there balancing. and the smaller pulley helps in balacing it out also. he said that we would know when we start it up and test drive it if we need to put the damper back on. the car will have a shake in it.

he used shorter bolts because the bolts that came with the kit were to long because they were suppost to be used with the damper. i should not have a charging issue either because the alternator is 180amps. what does the opti have to do with the bolts?(bolts to long)

 

Not trying to poke my nose in, but I just can't let this one ride...

First off, the harmonic damper has absolutely nothing to do with the balance of an LT1 engine. If this were a 400, then yes it would, but this aint a 400. The damper isn't involved in the balancing process, the flexplate/flywheel is. The damper is there to damp the harmonic vibrations that travel through the crankshaft like a tuning fork every time a piston fires. The harmonic damper (a LOT of people mistakenly call it a harmonic balancer) is neutral balanced on an LT1 (put it on a spin fixture by itself if you don't believe me). All you accomplishing by NOT using a damper on the crank snout is limiting the life of the bearings, crank, rods, rod bolts, oil pump, etc... GM knows a heluva lot more about this stuff than ANY machine shop, and they saw fit to put it on every production engine they've ever made. You really think they would go through the expense of tooling and building them if they weren't necessary?

It's your engine though.. Kill if you want to

Dave C.

 

What he said! Just because he's a mechanic doesn't mean he's a knowledgable one. Call Chad at Golen Engine Service and ask him if you should put a damper on it or not. All he does is build LT1's all day.

Ken R.

 

Please put a neutral balance dampner on there , please please please, You will save yourself some money and headache.

The crankshaft moved around alot from vibration and just spinning. something has to help the crank from flopping around too much.

Balancing just puts the bob weight close to the weight of the pistons and rod small ends (along with rings, oil etc) it doesnt keep the cranks bending forces in check.

 

Why would such a 'reputable' shop balance using a small aluminum underdrive pulley? That pulley should already be zero balanced from the manufacturer. Seriously, the dampener (also zero balanced from the factory) needs to be on there. Look at it closely and note the layer of rubber that is sandwiched between the outer ring and the inner ring. That is what absorbs the harmonics. Do as you wish though...

Exactly.