**Prepare for long post**
Alright guys its been a while since a made a post update. work has been busy and i have been buying parts slowly but ive made good headway. i ran into some problems along the way. there was a ton of corrosion built up in my cooling jackets from poor care. it all ended up cleaning out and everything looked just fine. Also my cam bearings looked like crap and i wanted to put in new main and rod bearings. so i took everything back apart and had the block cleaned and cam bearings installed. also ended up cutting my wrist on the corner of one of the main webbings and had to go to the hospital. feel free to ask about that one lol. anyway, got the block back and started assembling it again. Have a look for yourself.
Did the Rocker trunnion upgrade. Snagged these trunnions from a guy for $90 and they only had 400 miles on them. I really like the increased range of lift, even though i will never need all that. For those that dont know, this upgrade is required for cams over ~.550" lift because if you look in the picture below, too much travel will destroy the outer bearing race and send needle bearings all over your engine. 32x16 needle bearings to be exact.
new setup on right allows full rotation
whats hiding under the outer race
On to the heads. Cant buy a parts washer in Hawaii without spending tons of money for shipping, and nobody sells parts cleaner, so a 30 gallon heavy duty storage bin and some kerosene for a heater from home depot did the trick. Soaked these heads and scrubbed them then lapped the valves. only lapped the exhaust. the intake valves and seats looked really good so i gambled on this one.
when i bought the LS2 heads, they came with Comp Cams .675" double valve springs. its WAY overkill for what i need, but i got a good deal, and my cam doesnt make enough lift to have to worry about too much spring pressure on the stock rocker arms. i still plan to upgrade to roller rockers in the future.
stock vs double springs
with the heavier springs i was concerned about my timing chain being strong, and i didnt want to spend $130 on a double roller, or $150 on a Katech chain, so i settled for what is supposed to be a mid-grade chain. Its an Iwis (German made) seamless roller chain. supposed to be very strong. i got mine off eBay, but it is also sold by Lingenfelter Performance. Theirs is $85, i paid $67. the part number is 3SR60-2 For those interested.
With all the valve train upgrades i upgraded to LS7 lifters. the lifter body comes down over half of the roller, where as the stock 5.3 lifters just extend on each side. just felt like these would be stronger, and plus everyone else uses them so there has to be something better about them. at $60 i couldnt complain. pulled them off a guy that bought them and ended up never using them (atleast thats what he told me)
Stock 5.3 on Right
Before i dropped the oil soaked lifters in, i wanted to put the oil pan on. Then, disaster struck. at just 18ft-lbs (someone please confirm this torque spec) the oil pan cracked. so now im on the search for a new one. in the meantime i have a couple bolts holding the pan on just so i could put the lifters in and heads on without oil going everywhere.
in an effort to keep things moving i kept on with the top end. i bought head studs from speedmaster. also known as Pro Comp. i chose these over TTY factory bolts so that i have the option to re use them, also, this engine could end up seeing boost one day. i have no clue how reliable these are. i have read mixed reviews. but im a gambling man on a budget and at $107 shipped (VS $280 for ARP) im willing to try them (atleast until one snaps off in my block)
Funny story, i was using a cheap O'Reilly $20 overhead spring compressor. nowhere near the best tool for stiff double valve springs. needless to say i had a spring go flying multiple times and i was left searching for retainers and keepers. luckily i got all of them on, but not without having a spring shoot up and smack me in the forehead......hard lesson learned. nevertheless, heads are assembled and on the motor.
At this point, i couldnt resist setting the intake and valve covers on. They arent permanently on yet because i need to clean up the intake and put new intake and valve cover gaskets on, but i just HAD to see the final product. Also, im swapping to a cable throttle body in so if anyone wants an electronic throttle body its up for sale.
**The Throttle body is up for sale**
i still need to order pushrods to finish off this engine build, and then i can start on the transmission build. I hope that i have been able to help provide ideas for everyone.
For anyone who cares, im currently at $1820.40 in this engine with the purchase of the engine itself included. With Everything i have in it, brand new i could be around $2500. I dont think im doing too bad.
This build is Basically a cast iron L33. i have the following:
stock LM7 crank
L33 floating rods and flat top pistons
LS2 243 heads with 2.00" intake valve and 1.57" exhaust. 210cc intake runner. 64.45cc chamber
comp cams XER273HR-14 cam. 224/230 with .581"/.588" lift
Iwis Seamless roller timing chain
Comp Cams 26926 Double Valve springs with titanium retainers
LS7 lifters
horsepower estimate........anybody???.............my guess is ~415 at the crank. 320 at the wheels through an automatic.