Hey buddy, Texas Speed is one of the best. If it bothers you, then you could ask them about reliability. It shouldn't bother them to answer some questions with you spending that much.

For 5k, I hope they'd re-sleeve the engine and use longer ones that go past the bottom of the block, just like the LS7. Good pistons are important here too, and with good clearances combined with new liners, you shouldn't have a problem. That would be some purpose-built parts with tight tolerances, not just some parts slapped together.

For 5K I'd rather have an LS3 with some goodies, but maybe you could change your order if you change your mind.

Keep in mind, if you are doing the 1.8s, and you want to see any benefit, you'll need a tune. Aside from the rockers, a tune will get you a majority of that power anyways. So leading to power gains, you'll get more horses at the wheel, which will then again threaten your transmission more. Good rockers aren't cheap, and power dangers start to become a steep hill on the automatics. It might seem like I'm saying you can't even add 20 or 30 rwhp without being in trouble, but I'm not too far off. Some people have had them blow at 340 to 350 rwhp, and even stock. Good luck with what ever you choose!

 

2nd gear is notoriously weak
on these trannys I blew it out
on a dyno! There are alot of
good performance tranny builders.
Go to LS1 Tech forum for ideas.
Good luck

 

Already have the engine lol. I did ask them and they said it would be fine, I did the engine on there recommendation anyways, but after watching that video link I was feeling nauseated! Its not resleeved for 5k. Its just a bored out 5.3 clearanced for the stroker crank/rods. And as for 5k and an LS3 it would have been more than that. Now if I had spent it all at once when I did all the initial work and then the stroker I may have been able to have done the LS3 swap but not for the 5k alone. Is what it is at this point. I would just like to have the car back but right now its at the shop and if it can break it seems it is right now. Just one thing after another. Should have left the whole car alone, sold it, and bought a 12-13 grand sport and been done.

 

I believe you need to contact a tuner. That is key. If you don't have one near you, I am told Chuck at C. O. W. Does quite a solid job remotely. And if you stick to a common build, very easy to set up.

That said...
Maintenance:
Ls7 lifters for cheap, or Johnson
Pac 660 springs
Straub or Che trunnion kit (factory rockers)
Valve seals
Ls2 chain
Ls2 Ps pulley
Ls2 water pump (or 2004 pump, which is ls2 with c5 giant bell pulley)
New oil pump. High pressure is safe. High flow is not for your block.
If motivated, ditch pcv for catch can.
Balancer. Anything but factory
New radiator, tubes, thermostat. Keep factory thermostat temp range, have tuner set fans to kick in a little lower though.

That's a lot of money and effort to keep that car going happily well past 200k for you.

For the happy juice..
Absolutely a small cam at least
Headers
Ditch the cats, these cars are clean.
X-pipe is a must, rids the car of the motorboat firing order sound of the LS
Cat back of your choice
If adding cam, then sure Dorman ls2 intake and a TB... But if no cam, not worth the money for minimal impact.

 

I hadn't considered just doing a tune. Reliability is important to me--I love that my wife and I can jump in the Corvette anytime, and drive 1000 miles with confidence. It seems like a tune would be the best upgrade, in terms of protecting reliability. Plus, I could drive it to the tuner on the stock tune, and drive home with a few extra ponies. Would 5 or 10 RWHP be a realistic expectation from a tune?

 

Thanks! I'll check that out.

 

I love the sound of an X-pipe. I forgot to mention earlier, but I do have a Borla cat back (only mod).

 

I'm looking at head bolts, and there's a huge price range. If it's one of those things where you get what you pay for, I'll buy the expensive bolts. If not, I'll buy the inexpensive FEL-PRO bolts and put the $100 toward something more interesting.

 

Regular ol head bolts are fine for none to mild upgrades. The FelPro will be fine.

 

I feel I need to insert the observation that reliability, which keeps coming up as a loose term, is almost solely based on tune for anything from stock to sinister. Finding a good tuner is the key to survival.

The engine hardware itself will take quite a bit of abuse. Especially if you are already seeking to eliminate weak points such as factory lifters and rocker needle bearings. Springs and a cam make sense while you're in there. If you are skeptical of durability, just know that there exists an entire league of beautiful hooligans on Sloppy Mechanics who change springs, gap the rings, add cheap Chinese turbos and boost even 4.8s and 5.3s to insane numbers (600 to 800+ on junkyard quarter million mile engines) and they take it.

 

Yes 5-10rwhp could be had from just a tune, but those simple tunes can start at $200 in my area depending on what you're doing. The quality of tune is not what determines reliability though on the automatics. Let's get rid of the possibility that it's a horrible tune and for example use a good or even perfect tune. This raises HP and torque which is the killer of the 4L60E. Just something to keep in mind

 

Your point is well received. After giving it some consideration, I realized I should clarify what reliability means for me. Essentially, it means stock, or close to it. With a stock engine, I know my maintenance intervals, and which parts will fail and when. All I have to do is stay ahead of the game in the maintenance department; and I'll be 99% sure to reach my destination.

I'm not an experienced LS1 builder, so I get my "experimenting" fun with my SCCA Autocross car... although it does tend to put me in faster classes, which isn't always desirable.

 

This is very good info. Thank you!

 

I thought I'd post a progress update. All parts have been received. I went with AC Delco for everything, except the intake manifold gaskets and the head bolts (FEL-PRO for both). The harmonic balancer is being difficult--it's killed 2 pullers so far. I'm about to order a pulley puller that's specifically for the LS1. Hopefully it holds up.

Next step: parts washer. I'll try to post another picture once it's clean.


Sorry for the poor image quality. I apparently had grease on my phone.

 

The engine is all clean!

 

 

No problem!

And wow what cleaner did you use? Did you also use those rubber bristle attachments?

 

Thanks! I'm fortunate enough to have a relative at the local Chevrolet dealership, and he cleaned it for me. He used a hot pressure washer with a strong cleaning chemical, followed by the solvent tank, and then he put everything except the block in the parts washer for 20 or 30 minutes. It took a few hours, but I think it was worth it.

Now, I just hope I put everything back together correctly.