Rileysperformance

Hey guys,
Ive been building cars for about 15 years and I got a one off (I Think) project. Ive got a C5 in the shop that has been set up for road racing, namely the Texas Mile and NASA sanction racing. Now the customer has raced in these classes already with the stock suspension and chassis but we are now upgrading the engine to 900+HP engine with SB2 heads. We are also going with a custom dry sump oil system with a custom oil pan. I have cut out the factory motor mounts and added a motor plate. My one true enemy is space availability in the chassis of this car. I'm having a problem adding the dry sump oil pump. There isn't any real rum for it on the lower passenger side of the engine. Any of u guys ran into anything like this or have u seen anything so unique. I have pics but I haven't figured out how to post them but if you email me I'll be glad to share for some ideas.

zeevette

This is way over my head, from a mechanical point, but you're the first person that I've ever heard converting a C5 to SBC. First question is why?, and then your goal of 900+ HP, with a SBC, and no power adder?

manley845

I was curious about the use of a Gen I in the C5 too. What led to this combo?

Rileysperformance

Well basically it comes down to what the customer wanted. He had already had SBC in the car done by someone up in Dallas. He also wanted to keep the car Kiss as far as electronics and what not. The engine we built for him is actually a common one we build that has made 900+HP consistently and no it doesn't have any power adders. Just never stuck one in a freaking corvette chassis. We offer many different high horse power engine for a lot less money than other shops.

ICUALL

Have only seen 1 C-5 running a dry sump and they Moved the Battery to the back compartment and mounted the sump where the battery used to be...

Jnape

I saw a modded car that cut out the front frame cross member for the bumber and looped it forward for more clearance. This obviously required many more one off issues for mounts ect.

Bill Curlee

Why would anyone want to reverse technology and use a less able SBC head???

LS2 and LS3 heads are much better design than any Gen1 SBC head. Then you have even better AFR or Twisted Wedge heads.

Any LSX engine can be converted to a Carb as easy as a manifold swap..

Hell,,, the electronics are not really that complicated and the PCM can be configured to run a carb only tune.

My 2 cents

BC

zeevette

I'm very skeptical about your claim of +900 HP from a NA SBC. If you could spin it to 12k RPMs, then maybe, but still, the ancient tech heads are a big limitation on a SBC. I'm not informed enough to call , but I believe it's not a great idea to mix that motor in a C5.

chevy406

The SB2.2 heads he is using aren't 1st Gen SBC design. They are NASCAR heads, and they can easily flow 400+ CFM.

099blancoss

Have to agree with bc no one goes backward, there are LS heads that flow 450 and 410 is not that uncommon. Its also more cost effective to have an Ls engine re-sleeved and go big cubes and keep the rpms reasonable. But to each his own

Bill Curlee

Oh,,,,,,,, I see.... There NASCAR heads....... And they cost HOW MUCH compared to a good LS head??????????????

AU N EGL

Put the dry sump tank in the passenger foot well or behind the passenger side dash board down in to the foot well. Just make sure it is in a safety box around it in case of a oil leak

chevy406

When GM revised their NASCAR engine program beyond the SB2 head, the market became flooded with them. You can find a set on Ebay for $2,000, but you will also need matching intake and shaft rockers and headers. I would dare say you can still build a comparable HP SBC cheaper than an LSX. There is just such a huge market for SBC it has helped bring the prices down. I have no doubt Gen III and IV engines will become more and more affordable to build too. In all my defense of the SBC, I am still not advocating putting it in a C5... quite the contrarty - I am putting an iron block Gen III in my 69 Nova to replace the SBC.

Flash68

How did this project turn out?

I am building a stroker sbc with SB2.2 heads as well.