ok guys i am extremely new to this GM stuff, i have been with ford my whole life and have only had the SS for a few months. i bought an lt1 motor from a friend out of his 97 ram air when he put his 383 in. it is completely stock, and i am basically going to use it for a build-up to cut downtime with the car. i am looking at usin the LE2 heads/cam, along with supporting mods but i have read the stock shortblock just isnt up to reving 6500+ rpms, so i am gonna build up the shortblock. basically the questions i have are is the stock crank ok since i am sticking with a stock bore/stroke shortblock, and what kind of rods/pistons do i need? all i ever see are small block chevy stuff...will these work or do i need lt1 specific parts? any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated...thanks and sorry for the long post.

mike

 

Actually, there are more than a few 400+ rwhp cars running around with a stock shortblock.

The closest thing to a weak point in the stock block are the pistons and even there it's not so much that they're weak it's that they are stock cast pieces.

If you're stock engine is in good condition, you can feel safe going ahead and getting an LE2 package.

I personally would feel safe using an LE3 package with just forged pistons. (I think the Mahle Power Packs are a good value.)

The stock crank stands up to 500+ fwhp, which statement I base on the bragging of a great many people around here. The rods are strong too. Stronger than the famous "Pink" rods of MY generation.

Finally, the basic block, with good prep and at least a partial fill, can handle over 1,000hp.

Everything I've said, you can find by searching and reading threads here. I merely summed up a couple of items.

 

Just get some nice forged pistons, the stock rods n crank will hold if you dont push it much further past 500fwhp. Just make sure you get the oiling right and use main studs.

Steve

 

If you don't plan on spraying I'd just have the stock stuff reworked and use good bearings like the Clevite H series. If you have some extra cash laying around get some Mahle forged pistons.

 

ok but the pistons are just standard smal block chevy stuff? or is there some lt1 specific pieces?

 

Mahle forged pistons/scat ibeam rods...yes standard sbc 350 stuff.