moespeeds

My LS1 now has 113k miles on it. Runs great, burns very little oil, I had an oil analysis done and it came back great. This economy is strangling my business, and money is super tight right now, I simply need to save every penny I can. The car also needs a cage, and I've made that a priority. I've also got a one off custom chopper I spent the last 2 years building that needs a paint job, a basement bar that is only half finished, 2 bathrooms that badly need remodeling, and last night my garage door literally fell off the hinges (rotted out). So you get the picture. 3 things that I do have are mechanical ability, time, and space to work on the car. So my original plan was to drop a crate motor, LS1 or LS6 in there over the winter, (about $7k for the motor and the lift to do it) but how about digging into this motor to freshen it up? What would I need, and how much can be done without taking the engine out of the car? I do not have a lift. If I could freshen it up, next season hopefully things will improve and I could start doing some mods to increase the HP. Any advice is appreciated, the garage door falling off was a real wake up call. It's either I take a year off from the sport, or come up with a more affordable solution.

Black89Z51

Put a cage in the car and leave it alone. If you want some peace of mind, put an oil cooler (with thermostat if street driven) and an upgraded radiator.

If the oil analysis isn't showing abnormal wear products, the engine is healthy. Save your money and put it someplace else where it's needed. Like a new garage door.

sothpaw2

I would not touch the motor if you are pinching pennies and have other spending priorities. If you cam it you will have to change valve springs annually.

moespeeds

The car is track only, with about 6,000 track miles. I've already got a RD radiator/oil cooler, and my temps are good. I've been short shifting the motor, 5500 RPM max, but now that my lap times have stabilized I'm going to start pushing it more. I was thinking to maybe do the HD timing chain, and the valve springs at the very least, but I'm a super noob when it comes to these engines. Some friends are telling me to just beat it until it blows but that's got a whole other set of problems like dropping oil on the track, etc. I'd rather start next season fresh with confidence in the power plant. I would also like to do some ST2 racing next year, but I think I'd need to juice it up a bit to be competitive.

fred_S

Out of curiosity, which oil analysis firm did you use, I'm thinking of having an analysis done myself.

CHJ In Virginia

At 100K + miles, I would do a "minimal" freshen on the engine. New timing chain and gears, Oil pump, water pump and valve springs. If you are not showing any abnormalities in the oil analysis, are not burning any oil and the compression in all cylinders is good, leave everything else alone. If it ain't broke - don't fix it !!! Use available funds for the real necessities.

Z06trackman

How do you know if its "broke"? Have a shop do a Leakdown test. This is cheap and it will determine the condition of your engine, and it will further determine, if work is needed, whether it needs rings or valve work. (if it needs rings, it still may need valve work, but you will do that anyway when tearing it apart for a ring job)

If it passes the leakdown, LS motors like fresh valve springs, and the older ones like fresh timing chains. These are not hard to do, and cheap. Letting them fail is expensive.

Why run it until you break it when it is so easy and cheap maintain it? Even if, worst case it needs a ring job (unlikely since you aren't buring oil), that is cheap compared to a new motor.

rbl

Car runs great ... burns very little oil. So sure it makes total sense to tear the motor out and rebuild/replace it ...

What do you need a cage for? ... to be cool or are you going to race?

So ... fix the garage door. Then fix the bathrooms and then go to the track and have fun.

The car will go just as fast without a cage ... don't give me the safety BS please.

You simple DO NOT need more power. Are you already out-driving what you have? ... nope (I heard you say that). That car will be capable of going much faster and turning much faster lap times than you can drive for several more years ... just enjoy it.

moespeeds

I want to go race NASA ST2 next year, and in my 5 years racing motorcycles I saw 2 people die not 50 ft in front of me and 2 get paralyzed. I'm big on safety, that wall isn't going to care if you are doing a track day or a GT race, it's going to screw you just the same. I think the guys out there with seat belts in their cars are insane, this isn't a video game. On the engine, I do need more power if I want to go race next year. I'm down about 60hp so that will be a real issue. I still am not driving the car to it's limits with my setup, but that will come quickly, especially if I go racing.

My plan of attack so far is to do a leakdown and compression test. If all checks out OK, then a heavy duty timing chain, and maybe an underdrive pulley and mild cam. I have some research to do there. New springs for sure, maybe LS6 springs? Again, have some research to do. If the budget allows, LT headers. Laydown radiator since I'll have everything out anyway. What else? Any suggestions are appreciated!

Black89Z51

If you're going to disregard rationale then why even ask the question? You literally acknowledged everything everyone said, and then said "Makes sense, but that's not what I'm going to do."

Let's lay this out:

"I'm broke and my garage door literally fell off the hinges because it was rotted so bad."

"Both of my bathrooms are in dire disrepair and require a rather immediate remodeling."

"My business is suffering due to the crappy economy."

"I want to paint my custom chopper."

"I need to finish my bar that's only half done."

"I want to spend between $6,000 and $7,000 rebuilding an engine that had oil analysis done and showed that the engine was in tip top shape and had no abnormal wear products."

So, logically, we should definitely rebuild your engine and while you're in there, definitely upgrade the cam for more power that you won't use for a while.

I don't like to be harsh, but there it is laid out in your own words.

Let's be real. Keep your car as it is and fix your house. If you are oh so desperate on doing something to the car, add the cage, change your timing set, and valve springs. Leave the rest alone.

moespeeds

Maybe I'm missing something, but where did I say I would spend 6-7k rebuilding it? $7k will get me an LS6 installed. About a third of that will get me a really nice rebuild. Remember, I will do all the work, all I need are parts, and nothing I've discussed will require pulling the motor. I've also gotta use some fiscal common sense. If I take the time to pull the timing chain, and the compression is good, I should do the cam, it just makes sense. Beyond that it will all depend on the leakdown.

NASAblue

heads (milled to 62cc on stick rings), cam, valve springs, and supporting intake/ exhaust headers...

Minimal, valve springs. If you just did valv springs and want the effect of a little more cam, I have some lightly used YT 1.8 roller rocker arms for use with valve spring change I can make you a good deal on.

If you intend on spinnng the engine up to 7000k think about rod bolts.

2 GTOs

If it were me, and I wanted to race, I would do the cage and whatever else you need to pass tech, and leave the engine alone. When you race for the first time and lose, you can blame it on the engine. I would consider the first year racing more about the experience than really being competitive. Regardless of what you are driving, I'm going to guess that you were probably not going to end up on the podium your first few races. Note: I am not a racer so others may have a different point of view.

Have fun with the car and pace yourself. When the engine starts giving you problems, then decide whether to freshen or replace. At that point if you are seriously competing, you may replace to be competitive, if just having fun, then spend as little as possible.

Just my 2 cents and the approach I am taking.

Painrace

If you are really going to track the car and get what you can out of it take the engine to a road race engine shop to freshen it up including new pistons and piston squirters. If a shop tells you that you don't need the squirters find another shop. If you are just going to play around, just change oil!

Jim

sperkins

My track only LS1 has right at 150,000 miles and I've been beating the snot out of it for 3 years. Don't mess with a good thing. Leave it alone and worry about the other crap you'll need to go racing. You have no idea how fast all that safety stuff adds up. There are things that you'll need to spend money on that you don't even know about yet.

moespeeds

Ok thanks for all the advice guys. The cage is a given, I can do it myself, but I still haven't decided if I want to since I know it's gonna be a royal pita. I guess that will depend on how much time I have. I'll rethink the engine upgrades in a few months, after I catch up on some other stuff. I'm a hardcore, obsessive tinkerer. No matter what, this engine is coming apart this winter, if for no other reason that I want to know what makes it tick. Car engines are completely new to me, and now I've got a serious hardon for learning them. I'll hold off on buying anything until I get into it and can make a more educated decision.

sperkins

All the more reason to leave it alone. Go pick up a junkyard motor if you want to tear one apart to see what make it tick.