Just another build thread.

[racesloth]

That seems like a reasonable price.

[RupertPupkin]

Been waiting for all the parts to get shipped to the shop. Sucks waiting, and the anticipation is killing me. The state lockdown doesn’t help also.

Me looking at threads and videos has me wanting more power.... How much more? Maybe 1000rwhp. I know El has a thread for the Dart blocks, but I can’t drop that kind of $$ due to my wedding. Looking for a budget build to support that power.

What is the most bottom of the barrel engine mods to “safely” support that? Pistons/Rods/crank?

How bout transmission upgrade? I’m assuming a clutch swap will suffice? Anything needed to beef up the rear end?

Sorry for the noob questions... this is uncharted territory for me.

[eLeSthree]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

Been waiting for all the parts to get shipped to the shop. Sucks waiting, and the anticipation is killing me. The state lockdown doesn’t help also.

Me looking at threads and videos has me wanting more power.... How much more? Maybe 1000rwhp. I know El has a thread for the Dart blocks, but I can’t drop that kind of $$ due to my wedding. Looking for a budget build to support that power.

What is the most bottom of the barrel engine mods to “safely” support that? Pistons/Rods/crank?

How bout transmission upgrade? I’m assuming a clutch swap will suffice? Anything needed to beef up the rear end?

Sorry for the noob questions... this is uncharted territory for me.

I could see this coming. The stock ls3 block will support 1000whp with a piston/rod upgrade. Hell, lots of turbo people do that on stock piston/rods. But since you're engine will be making about 1200 Crank horsepower to make 1000whp since you have to spin that blower, and it puts a crazy amount of stress on the crank snout, it's highly suggested to get an aftermarket forged crank as well.

I started looking at a nice set of pistons and rods ($1200ish) and a rebalancing of the stock crank. That means the block has to come out, tear it down, take it to the machine shop for a balance, make sure the holes are good for your new pistons($500), plus you said you're paying labor($1000?). Of course you will need a new bearing set ($200) At that point, might as well spend another $500-1000 on a forged crank and do it right. Once you add all that up, you might as well have just bought a complete shortblock by one of the many companies that make a living purely off LS builds. They're quite a few out there who do it well.. TSP, Thompson, LME, Katech.
Then you can resell your stock LS3/L99 for about $3000-$3500 given its condition.

Best bang for the buck is the LY6 iron 6.0 block stuffed with a forged rot ass. But you gain 100#s from the iron. With arp studs top and bottom you should be good to go for life. But that will run you about $6000, unless you find a sale. Which TMS happens to be running right now. They are not a sponsor here, so just google them.

Problem is, you cant make 1000whp with that blower.

and yea, you will need an expensive clutch if you run a drag radial (which you will need), and if you wanna 60' the car you'll be looking into the ZL1 rear end very soon. Thats another $3000.

There is nothing wrong with an 800whp blower street car. Its a blast. Stick to your goal, go get married and enjoy it for a while. Because it snowballs real fast. $$$$$

[Big Biscuits]

Originally Posted by eLeSthree

I could see this coming. The stock ls3 block will support 1000whp with a piston/rod upgrade. Hell, lots of turbo people do that on stock piston/rods. But since you're engine will be making about 1200 Crank horsepower to make 1000whp since you have to spin that blower, and it puts a crazy amount of stress on the crank snout, it's highly suggested to get an aftermarket forged crank as well.

I started looking at a nice set of pistons and rods ($1200ish) and a rebalancing of the stock crank. That means the block has to come out, tear it down, take it to the machine shop for a balance, make sure the holes are good for your new pistons($500), plus you said you're paying labor($1000?). Of course you will need a new bearing set ($200) At that point, might as well spend another $500-1000 on a forged crank and do it right. Once you add all that up, you might as well have just bought a complete shortblock by one of the many companies that make a living purely off LS builds. They're quite a few out there who do it well.. TSP, Thompson, LME, Katech.
Then you can resell your stock LS3/L99 for about $3000-$3500 given its condition.

Best bang for the buck is the LY6 iron 6.0 block stuffed with a forged rot ass. But you gain 100#s from the iron. With arp studs top and bottom you should be good to go for life. But that will run you about $6000, unless you find a sale. Which TMS happens to be running right now. They are not a sponsor here, so just google them.

Problem is, you cant make 1000whp with that blower.

and yea, you will need an expensive clutch if you run a drag radial (which you will need), and if you wanna 60' the car you'll be looking into the ZL1 rear end very soon. Thats another $3000.

There is nothing wrong with an 800whp blower street car. Its a blast. Stick to your goal, go get married and enjoy it for a while. Because it snowballs real fast. $$$$$

I agree except the getting married part. Now everything is twice the price.

[RupertPupkin]

Thanks... DAMN this mod bug.... Bit me hard.

ATI Balancer... Do I need 1? If so which setup?

[RupertPupkin]

Spoke to the builder. Getting an ATI balancer. Still waiting for all the parts to come in. ECS needs to haul ass.

Also got a quote for forged block, stock crank, forged rods, pistons, stock heads with all the miscellaneous parts, and labor for 7k. Idk if this is a good price. I’m assuming so, since an iron block through Thompson motorsports was 7936$

[eLeSthree]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

Spoke to the builder. Getting an ATI balancer. Still waiting for all the parts to come in. ECS needs to haul ass.

Also got a quote for forged block, stock crank, forged rods, pistons, stock heads with all the miscellaneous parts, and labor for 7k. Idk if this is a good price. I’m assuming so, since an iron block through Thompson motorsports was 7936$

Did you see their sale? It was $4300 base price this month. Follow on instagram.

[RupertPupkin]

Originally Posted by eLeSthree

Did you see their sale? It was $4300 base price this month. Follow on instagram.

I remember you posting that, but i didn’t know what social media it was from. Finally saw it on their website, just had to scroll down more. 4250$ for 408 iron with rotating assembly.

[RupertPupkin]

Been 7 weeks, since I placed the order for my build. Builder said he’s waiting on the ECS kit. Do you guys know if it’s suppose to take this long? I would figure the parts would be on hand, or are they a special order piece? Maybe this whole pandemic is slowing things down.

[bayarea408]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

Been 7 weeks, since I placed the order for my build. Builder said he’s waiting on the ECS kit. Do you guys know if it’s suppose to take this long? I would figure the parts would be on hand, or are they a special order piece? Maybe this whole pandemic is slowing things down.

cancel that mess and join the turbo religion

[eLeSthree]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

Been 7 weeks, since I placed the order for my build. Builder said he’s waiting on the ECS kit. Do you guys know if it’s suppose to take this long? I would figure the parts would be on hand, or are they a special order piece? Maybe this whole pandemic is slowing things down.

Did you ask if they had everything in stock when you purchased? I know Big Biscuits already got his ESS Tuning kit, installed it and is currently tuning.

Originally Posted by bayarea408

cancel that mess and join the turbo religion

Thought crosses my mind every single day...

[RupertPupkin]

Originally Posted by bayarea408

cancel that mess and join the turbo religion

Might be a little too late.... I might have to swap out my cam (233/248 | .627”/.612” | LSA113+5), and get some shorties.

Meaning..... more money needed. Lol

Originally Posted by eLeSthree

Did you ask if they had everything in stock when you purchased? I know Big Biscuits already got his ESS Tuning kit, installed it and is currently tuning.

He mentioned that they have to order the parts still. I figured it would be 2 weeks minimum, 3 weeks max, but not 7.

[RupertPupkin]

Finally got a message from the builder. Should have the blower at the shop by next week.

This past week I was heavily considering swapping everything over to a turbo setup. But, with swapping the cam, getting shorty headers, and more money towards the labor, I couldn’t bite the bullet. 750-800rwhp on the street doesn’t sound too bad.

Now I’m looking for recommendations on a clutch. Keep in mind this is 100% street, so I don’t even know if I’ll need 1. I was looking at monsters lt1sc to handle the power, but that might be overkill. I can get that installed for 1576$, not bad imo.

[Big Biscuits]

I would keep that cam. It should run great in a centri or turbo setup. I run a n/a cam on my setup and couldn’t be happier. I would run it on Twins too if I get tired of this setup. I wish I would have gone twins right off the bat sometimes, but I really like my setup so far. Very impressive. ESS has more coming out soon as well. Upgrades are affordable.