BUILD THREAD 87 Cutlass EFI build: 9/13/23..NEW STUFF!

[Injectedcutty]

Honestly, I am not completely convinced they are looking at this properly with respect to your goals.

If you are planning to run an unported 241/241/799/317 type casting with boost and conservative RPM levels there is no benefit to running a cam with lift that is beyond the as-cast peak flow figures, in fact what you want is a cam that spends more time at/below that peak number in the low and mid flow lift ranges (every time the valve opens and closes it sweeps through these area twice) to better fill the cylinders. The longer you hang the valve open (duration) the more air and fuel you can combust. The exhaust ports on the stock castings are a bit of a choke point, hence the need to favour them in an NA application. Add in turbos and the backpressure considerations between the valve, manifold, turbine housing and wheel, downpipe and mufflers - you may find that the narrow split isn't enough even in a 5.3L.

Buying a shelf cam for a custom build isn't the best solution - it is just an opportunity for Tick to move inventory off the shelf at your expense. I believe a custom cam from a guy like Martin Smallwood (who left Tick to strike out on his own) or Kip Fabre at Cam Motion would have netted a different result.

Without knowing exactly which head you are going to choose I would see a 222/230 .590/.585 114+3 cam to be more suited to your goals for a typical cathedral port head on a 5.3L - it would be as smooth as glass.

That being said, and for the sake of comparison, I am putting a 226/230 .605"/.609" 113+3 in my little turbo 4.8L - it is going to be pretty raunchy; and our LS1 has a 228/234 .624"/.614" 112+3 in it.

I am on the hunt for a good set of 243 heads to work with. They will be ported to maximize as much flow as possible. Obviously, the springs will be upgraded to handle the lift, new seats, possibly Ti retainers, trunnion upgrade, hardened pushrods, new lifters, etc.
I'm still undecided on whether to run the truck intake...its ugly but i will have a cover made to hide it. The beauty is, i have time to iron everything out as i get to each phase of the build. My overall goal is, and always has been for everything to work well together.
My buddies gave me sh*t back in '02-'03 when i was building the gen1....they couldn't understand why i did so much research to ensure the engine was stout! That was until it was running and kicking their asses when they shut up lol!
My buddy thought putting a 850 demon on his 357sbc was a great idea, until he couldn't keep it running because it was flooding the motor. DA wouldn't listen to me when i was running a 650 demon and had no issues whatsoever. He had to jet that 850 down so much it becane essentially a 750.

 

[motorheadmike]

Use tool steel retainers, and get a trunnion bushing kit (nothing that is coming from Comp, Summit or BTR is holding up) - I strongly recommend Straub. Hardened pushrods are not as important as diameter for column strength - I would recommend 11/32" units from Trend (or Manton) with 5/16" ballends. You can use 3/8" if you open up the guide holes.

I hear you on the rest - 90% of a build's performance potential is in the cylinder heads, a cam is designed to suit them and the application.

Whatever you do - don't watch the costs escalate it is painful.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Just finished up another LS yard scavenger hunt! Pulled all the front and rear cover bolts, valley pan cover bolts, knock sensor harness, cam and crank sensors, and a set of injectors to have as spares. Ima try decapping them and figured it'd be good to have extras in case i mess up one or two.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Use tool steel retainers, and get a trunnion bushing kit (nothing that is coming from Comp, Summit or BTR is holding up) - I strongly recommend Straub. Hardened pushrods are not as important as diameter for column strength - I would recommend 11/32" units from Trend (or Manton) with 5/16" ballends. You can use 3/8" if you open up the guide holes.

I hear you on the rest - 90% of a build's performance potential is in the cylinder heads, a cam is designed to suit them and the application.

Whatever you do - don't watch the costs escalate it is painful.

Thanks for the heads up on the tool steel retainers and trunnion kit. I kept reading on LS1 that Ti was the way to go....your advice just saved me like $80! I had the summit trunnions saved on my wishlist and was gonna order them soon....thanks for that! They had better reviews than the comps. I like straub products, not cheap, but you get what you pay for!
I will look into those pushrods, I've always heard great things about trend.

Lol on the cost thing! Trust me, i quit adding receipts up ALONG time ago! I've had the cutlass almost 16 years now, i remember doing the 1st motor swap... started adding receipts-got north of $10k real quick and became nauseous lol!!! That was probably 12 or 13 years ago. Since then, i see what i need, acquire the funds, order, and move to the next part.

 

[Texas82GP]

Is it necessary to machine the rods if you replace the bolts?

 

[Injectedcutty]

Is it necessary to machine the rods if you replace the bolts?

Not 100% sure, i have some reading up to do on that but haven't had time yet. I recall seeing a build where the rod bolts were just swapped out.

 

[motorheadmike]

Is it necessary to machine the rods if you replace the bolts?

If they are sound, nope. Just measure for stretch.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Soaked all the bolts and rocker arms in schmutz remover (aka purple power) for about 20 minutes with minimal cleaning other than using my hands. The liquid was damn near black when i poured it out. Sacrificed a house collander to rinse them (wife wasn't thrilled so i told her I'd buy another one) lol!

Overall, the results are great! The parts need another round and they should be good to go.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Woohoo...came home to a couple more boxes. Kind of boring delivery though, just some felpro gaskets and a GM windage tray. The exciting part is that I'm closer to having everything ready. I need to get some more hardware, and some engine paint.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Woohoo! Got the last main part in for the LS short block. As i alluded in the other thread, i ordered a timing cover with turbo oil drains already welded in.

It showed up today and looks nice, but will get painted along with other parts to match the theme properly. The tig welds look solid so i have no worries these fittings will last a long time.

Speaking of paint, i picked up some VHT as well as some assembly lube to try and get this thing together. I've got a mini vacation coming up soon and plan on knocking this short block out while i have the chance with no interruptions. That is if the wife doesn't try to fab up a honey-do list lol!