my number 7 piston went the exact same way. even broke at the same location. I did the LS3 (416) conversion as well...stupid stock cast pistons

 

You did a great job !

Thanks for posting

Care to post build cost start to finish ?

Thanks, & Happy New Year to all

Von

 

Putting a dry sump in too?

LS3 Oiling issues - Click here

 

Good point, it is a bit tight back there. Thanks a lot for answering all the questions. Very helpful - Merry Christmas everyone.

 

Very

 

I don't road race, so that isn't a consideration. Thanks for the info though, if I decide to down the road, I'll throw one in!

 

Let's see....

Core engine: $800. I did a preliminary cleaning and teardown removing cam, pistons, crank, etc. and brought the block and crank to my machine shop. I was hoping to reuse the stock rods and pistons, but my particular core was victim of a dropped valve and it created a bit of carnage.... 3 pistons were beat and one of the cylinders had a scratch in it that required a .005" hone. Also, to stay with a shelf flattop 4.070" piston with valve reliefs, I needed
a 6.125" rod as opposed to a factory 6.098" rod to keep the quench correct. Having to hone the block contributed significant additional cost, but now I have forged rods and pistons.

Pistons: $670ish if I remember right. Mahle power pak with pistons, pins, rings, and retaining clips.

Rods: $550ish for Eagle rods, ended up with another $150 in machine work for them to get the big end clearances right. Maybe I should have bought the compstar rods instead?

Bearings: $200 I think for main and rod bearings, Clevite 77 stuff, not H series.

Machine work: $1100 ballpark. 8 cylinders honed .005" over, block cleaned and deburred, edges knocked down, DOD holes tapped and plugged, mains align honed, new cam bearings, rotating assembly balanced.

Timing cover: $165 through Jegs

Headgaskets: $80

CNC Cylinder heads, intake rockers and rocker stands: $1475 from TSP.

Mill heads some more: $100 (.020" milling was ~ 2.5 cc from 70cc unmilled, .040" was ~5 cc total, we stopped at 65cc).

LS3 Intake manifold, injectors, fuel rails: $400 on ebay.

Wiring harness adapters: $150

Hex A Just LS2 2x cam gear: $150

LS3 valley cover: $30 on ebay

Theres some other stuff that I don't know off the top of my head... front and rear main seals, 24x crank sensor, valley cover gasket.

I saved a BUNCH of money doing the removal, assembly, and install myself.

 

Great post Andrew! Thanks for sharing the information for putting in a LS3 in your Z06.

FSTFRC

 

Just came accross this thread when doje reroute me, man amazing job thanks for sharing.

 

I just installed my LS3 418 with the heads on. I left the cradle a little low (3/4") until I finished connecting all the wires and installing the intake. I found it much easier to do all the head work with the motor on the stand.

I like the intake valley lift plate!

 

I'm just about finished doing the same thing and am getting a Throttle Position Sensor Fault. Did you use an LS3 Throttle Body or LS2?

 

Nice work Andrew.

I've been running L92 heads for almost 4 years now. First on my 403 and now 427. I've used 4 different cams in that period. You were smart to avoid throwing a big donket dic cam in there and ruining the beaty of the L92/LS3 heads - great average power. I'm going to bet your tip in is very strong and the car is just a blast to drive. Too many people have tried HUGE cams with these heads only to make less HP and and be much less fun to drive. The sweet spot on the intake side seems to be in the 230 degree range for best average power.

How much timing were you able to crank in? The heads LOVE spark lead.

Well done,

Kevin

 

was 447rwhp and 429rwtq the end results?

 

I used an LS2 throttle body, but I believe they are interchangeable. Assuming that you got the proper conversion harness from Casper's, it should work. HOWEVER, I have found that it is SUPER easy to bend the pins in that thing, you should check yours and make sure that every pin is making a good connection... you can check with a voltmeter on continuity on both sides of each connector without taking it apart.

 

I want to say that I was able to get 28 degrees total timing in my tuneup... at that point there was no spark knock, however the power quit increasing as well so I figured I'd leave well enough alone.

 

They are the current results, but not the end.

I purchased an LG G6X3 cam that I'm going to try to see if I can get closer to 500 rwhp, plus the spinmonster cam isn't rowdy enough for me. I guess I'm not as old as I thought I was? lol

 

The G5X3 cam that I have in my C5 is a little more cam than I would like to run on the street myself. It reminds of the 60 era muscle cars.

 

I'll double check for bent pins but so far I'm finding the later, 09+, LS3 tb's (PN GM 12605109) may have issues. There isn't a harness adapter for these so I'll assume someone knows it's not just a wiring issue.

 

Interesting. My buddies with '08 LS3 cars have borrowed my (stock) LS2 throttle body to dyno against their ported stockers to see if there were any gains. There weren't.

I had to use this wiring harness to hook up my LS2 TB to my ECM:

http://www.casperselectronics.com/st...oducts_id=1087

Maybe the '09 TB is different?

I have gotten the code you mention once, it was because I forgot to plug the TB in. :embarrassed: