219,000 miles and a hole developed in the side of my engine , I'm guessing a rod broke and went through the side, cannot see the hole yet just chunks of engine block sitting on top of the ac compressor.

Looking for some options on replacements to present to my wife. So far I have not been able to find any crate ls1 engines/long blocks, are there any out there?

Here is what I have so far:
~4,000 Ebay LS1 with 50-80k miles
~7,500+ Ebay LS3 with 50k+ miles (unsure if my stock t56/diff would hold up to the ls3?)
~7,699 Blueprint Engines GM LS3 530 HP, 495 FT.-LBS (estimated ship date end of year)

 

You can get an LS2 short block from any number of speed merchants and use your existing LS1 heads on it. As long as the engine's out, take the opportunity to upgrade to the C6 Z06 clutch - not too expensive and very streetable.

 

Crate LS3 straight from your dealership's parts counter. That's what I threw in my car. Total price was $7100 plus tax for a brand new, zero mile engine with a 3/36 factory warranty.

 

Thanks for the input, I'll look into this. I had actually put a brand new luk (same as ls7) clutch in it ~150 miles ago!

I'll have to check with my local dealer that I have a wholesale account at... but last I heard there are no LS3s available right now from GM - I thought I would have to get one from a 3rd party e.g. Blueprint.

 

Not sure about current availability, you'll have to check. Chevy still has them listed on their website, but nothing about ship dates. When I ordered mine it was next-day delivery, but that was coming up on two years ago so I'm sure things are quite different right now.

 

Just got off the phone with a local dealer, they said the inventory out of san antonio is low, but they could get one in 3-4 days. At a cost of $13,764, after my wholesale discount $9,772.... sounds a little rich. Part number 19369326 https://www.chevrolet.com/performanc...engines/ls/ls3

 

$10,000 is a lot less than a new car, THAT'S FOR SURE!

 

shop around.

 

WOW-Over $14G for an LS3, and over $10G with a "discount", after taxes??! Sheeesh, that's LS7 territory, and closing fast on LS9 territory!!!! At least, pre-pandemic!! Amazing....

 

That may be an old part number. Search for 19419862. Some vendors claim that they have it in stock but who knows.

 

Yes, Speedway Motors and SDPC both have it for $7,848.59. Now, whether they have one in stock.......

 

As for the LS2 I have found short blocks for $4200-5400 built by ATK, Hawks, and Wolverine. Seeing as the car has 220k miles on it I think I am leaning toward the more budget-friendly ~$4k used LS1 engine, my wife is not keen on dropping 10+ grand on a car that was probably only worth 10k before the engine blew... This way I won't have to worry about replacing the rest of my drivetrain as well...

 

https://www.texas-speed.com/c-3188-a...x#Pr4797_9528|

 

Might need a little modification for this big block: https://www.chevrolet.com/performanc...g-block/zz-632

 

Ls364-450 horse made to drop in but iron block. My son put one in his nova excellent engine and good price

 

The best engine of all time IMO is the 2005-2007 L33 5.3L
It is a world record holder, record breaker, with stock bottom end
It has been successfully used by Corvette owners to make over 1200rwhp reliably
I have tuned a bunch of them locally 800rwhp to 1000rwhp some have over 200,000 miles (Including 50k over the last 4 years at 800rwhp)
The engine is approx $1200-$1800 , buy two because the price will be increasing and 10 years from now when you want to go again it wont be available.

Also it uses all Gen3 electronics which makes it ideal for swapping into any chassis.

 

Interesting comment about the 5.3. In cubes, most round it to a modern 327. Coincidentally, a LOT of older guys will tell you the 327 was the best SBC ever built, too.

 

There are a lot of engine options less than $4K, pretty much all of which can be worked with the get the power up to LS1 standard or better. You just have to accept that inexpensive and aluminum block don't go together very well. If you go with any of the later Gen IV engines, you'll have to factor on the 58x reluctor, which means a converter of some sort, and a retune. Keep it at Gen III or early Gen IV with the 28x reluctor and cathedral heads and you can swap over the parts you have to (intake manifold, oil pan, etc.) and it can run well for significantly less money.
Weight difference between LS and cast iron is 90 pounds. Not to be ignored for certain, but sometimes neither is the budget.
And there is no denying the original 327 was good -- I had two in my youth (65 Impala SS and 68 Chevelle) -- but that they were the best of the small blocks is very arguable.
If you do a search on LQ9s in the C5 forums you will find some have already gone this path.

 

The closer you get to pure drag racing, power is important, not displacement.
I like to ask this question:
"How much power can a 122 cubic inch engine make with a 1000hp turbo?"
A: 1000hp

Now,
"How much power can a 500 cubic inch engine make with a 1000hp turbo?"
A: 1000hp

Thus, when power output climbs and holds quickly (as with drag racing, high stall converters, the RPM is up with power) The displacement of an engine is meaningless quantity with no sway over the outcome besides the simple fact that larger, heavier engines tend to contain more rotating mass and inefficiencies which robs extra power due to friction and energy investments. In other words, the lightest, smallest engine internals with the most power output is ideal.

So what is engine displacement good for then? Why even use a V8 when Inline 6 cylinder such as 2jz-gte can supply 800rwhp easily?
Torque at low RPM is considered "fun" and can easily spin the tires and accelerate quickly for "fun" (no competition) when riding around city streets, where the engine isn't sitting on a max power high RPM all the time like in professional drag racing.
In other words the large displacement cars aren't strictly drag cars, they are daily drivers, street cars with a broad torque curve that means you don't have to stress the engine to such a high RPM in order for the vehicle to respond and feel fast, for the purpose of fun.

With the right size turbo or other forced induction you can further tailor the torque curve to be broad instead of focus on drag racing, even with a small displacement.
For example with any positive displacement blower you can easily have big block'esc torque early as 3000rpm with very small displacement, as 4.8L, lets see...

That curve is from a 4.8L Engine with a blower and stock engine internals, perhaps 200,000 miles, Look up "sloppy mechanics 4.8 G35" for more examples

 

Great discussion guys, thanks for the input. I was looking into an iron block for a minute until I realized the 90 lbs makes a big difference in handling. I think I am going to delay my gratification of an LS3 for some years and go with the used 50k mile LS1 or a rebuilt long block LS1 I found on ebay for $3700. I figure a few years down the road if I still want to swap the drivetrain to an ls3 I can always sell what I buy now and recoup most of my investment.