Block
 

The first big decision of the week I'm blaming on Tim. :) During our recent conversation, he explained to me that it is possible to convert the LS7 to be a wet-sump oiling system instead of a dry-sump system. While certainly I would prefer the dry-sump for any sustained track action, that would be a big chance to TOW at the moment that I'm not sure if the path I want to take. I've been planning to add an Accusump to help protect the engine, so I think I'm going to stick with that direction for now.

That said, once I started thinking about the possibility of the extra cubes from the LS7 block, I've been searching for one. I mentioned earlier that I just missed one locally, but I've managed to find one on the east coast with some searching. This one was a dealer replaced unit that seems to have had some main bearing issues. I will have the block completely machined, including being line-honed, so I don't have any big concerns about that. And with less than 5k miles on it (he says 3k), it should be a great option!

I'm definitely taking a chance on this purchase, as I found this guy on a Facebook group of all places. But I'm using Paypal for the purchase for some level of protection. So here's what it started as:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...psc281dfae.jpg

After he stripped it down:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...psc2619449.jpg

(interesting engine 'stand')

And all boxed up for me:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps9f19c30b.jpg

It turns out that FedEx and UPS allow up to 150 pounds for ground shipments these days. So that's how it's coming. It's scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. Hopefully this all goes smoothly: I haven't always had the best luck with internet transactions. But so far, so good!

Cylinder heads and Intake
 

Next up: cylinder heads...

I finally was able to speak to 3 companies about their offerings. I found a brand new set of LS3 castings with springs and valves that I was all set to purchase and have worked over. This is when I 'outsmarted' myself though...

In typical engineer fashion, I created a spreadsheet to track my planned expenses for this little project. I was comparing the costs of buying the LS3 heads and working on them vs. buying an aftermarket casting. My math was telling me that I was only looking at a $500 difference. At that cost, it seems to make sense to just go for the aftermarket castings.

I ultimately decided to go with Chris Frank and Frankenstein Racing Heads. Chris has a long history in various forms of racing, one being NASCAR, and he branched out on his own a few years ago. He spent a lot of time discussing my engine, and specifically my two options (at the time) being either the 402 rebuild or the 427 upgrade. We left the conversation with me deciding whether to go with the LS3 or the Trick Flow GenX castings.

Based on my math above, I decided it was mostly a no-brainer and selected the TFS castings. Chris described 2 different port and intake valve options which I will select from, based on my displacement choice and desired engine usage/cam selection. He has also offered to tailor the port/valve combination as I need, somewhere between his two standard port selections. Since he starts with a 'head porter' casting, he doesn't have the limitations of the factory LS3 ports already being fairly large.

The other thing we discussed was my intake manifold. I'm going to have Chris port match and open up the runners a bit to match the ports on the TFS heads. He has 2 levels of porting he can do: this, which is a port match plus runner cleanup, or a full-on plenum modification to customize to my exact application. The latter is definitely overkill for me, so the port match / cleanup will be perfect.

One more nice thing about FRH is that they are located outside of Dallas. So when everything is ready, I can drive up there and pick it all up in person. I'm looking forward to checking out his operation and talking to him in person about some of the other things he does. For example, meet the Chimera billet LSx head:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps2adc071c.gif

Now, back to that engineer / spreadsheet comment I made earlier. I realized as I was tweaking the numbers near the end of the week that I screwed up and my math wasn't apples to apples. I almost wish I hadn't caught this, because it means the 'upgrade' to the TFS castings was a bit more of a step than I originally thought. Oops. :\ Oh well, I'm happy with the decision, just a little miffed at myself for missing that detail.

Crankshaft
 

I did get some good news on the crankshaft this week. ShafTech tells me that they don't feel like it needs to be turned afterall, that it simply needs to be polished. In addition, they tell me that this shaft WAS induction hardened instead of nitride hardened. This means that it will support several turns if needed and retain its hardness factor.

I'm not sure why Callies themselves didn't tell me this based on the serial number, but I'm glad to hear it. That means that I should have it back in my possession this week instead of the 3-4 week timeframe I was hearing. So, if they get it out on Tuesday, I'll have it Friday. With the block arriving on Wednesday, that means I will be able to get the shortblock started a bit ahead of my previous schedule (the 16th or so).

Wow you really are finding out how slippery that slope is...

So are you sure you want to spend money to UN-dry-sump the new motor? You are gonna want it at some point (just be honest with yourself :))... so really, why not now vs a band-aid Accusump? I don't think you are trying to make a deadline/event like you were before...

Also, are you still married to the single plane due to the shaker? What did Frank the Tank have to say about that? (just curious)

I don't think anyone needs a spreadsheet to tell you that math was/is off. :twak:

Other pieces...
 

Let's see if I can summarize the rest of the parts and pieces...

Camshaft - again after talking to a few different vendors, I've decided to go with the one who did the cam I currently am running. Geoff Skinner from Engine Power Systems is going to spec the cam using his lobe design and have it cut by Cam Motion. I can't say enough good things about Geoff and his willingness to educate me and evaluate what I want/need. Similar to Chris Frank, he spent a lot of time on the phone with me explaining air flow, pressure differentials, MCSA and why I care, camshaft event timing and its impact on engine performance. I geeked out on this a bit.

After multiple conversation, we settled in on a grind that's slightly bigger than the cam I was running, and it should offer very similar manners due to the extra displacement. I'm excited to get this up and running with this new combination of parts!

Rocker arms - after even more research, I've decided to upgrade the GM rocker arms with the Harland Sharp trunions. Whether this is a necessary step is up for debate, but it's worth the peace of mind to me on this engine to just go ahead and do it. I've shipped them off and should have them back around the 17th or so I think. HS prices the kits about $20 cheaper than it would be to just have them do the work, so it's a simple decision. Off they go!

Lifters - I'm going to replace mine, again for peace of mind, with a set of Morel drop-in styles that will also use the GM lifter trays. Ordering those tomorrow.

Pushrods will be ordered once everything goes back together and I can determine the correct length.

I mentioned above that I'm going to add an Accusump. I've ordered that up and will work with Eric on getting it mounted. I plan to locate it just in front of the engine on the cross-tube that the sway bar passes through. There is a port on the front of the LS block that is a perfect place to tap into the system, so I'll do that using their electric control valve. I'm going to change the wiring from my Holley HP EFI to enable/disable the valve as needed, meaning that it will enable when the engine is not running (pre-lube) and also when above 2k rpm (when the oil pressure is above the pressure setting of the control valve). Canton agreed that was a good setup.

Hopefully that's it other than little things like gaskets, spark plugs, oil, hose and fittings, etc. I did research some aftermarket dry sump systems, specifically the Dailey unit that has the pump directly attached to the pan, but then I smacked myself back to reality for now... :)

I am going to replace the clutch as I previously mentioned. I am planning on the Monster Clutch street twin disc that Steve (gernon) is running. He seems to really like it. I need to confirm whether it will work with my current hydraulics though, I'll do that tomorrow.

And for the moment I've talked myself out of the Ultimate Headers that I was considering. That is going onto the post-March project list.

Very, very slippery...

Well, the only change is the oil pump and front cover in my case, both of which I have. I would have to go purchase an LS7 oil pump and cover, and pump, and even then I'm not sure that it's the setup I would really want to run.

I'm actually trying to be honest with myself about what I really want to do with TOW. I have some cogs turning in my head about what my next project might be, and if I go that route, TOW wouldn't be the one to see serious track time.

That said, I might well still run the Accusump even if I did run a dry-sump, for even more insurance. So if I ever do go that route, I'm not sure I see this as wasted effort at this point...

Everyone, myself included, agrees that I'm giving up some mid-range to use the single plane. I could change some things and use a composite intake and still physically keep the shaker, but I really like having something a little different. And Geoff thinks I can regain most of that torque back with the right cam combination, so I want to try that path for now... Again, the next project will probably take a different path. :)

I was surprised too the first time I saw the numbers, and the second time. It took me a few days to catch it, and then DOH! Oh well, decision made now. :)

I already tried to talk him into the dry sump....:snapout: :lol: :hello: :poke: I'm guessing that's why the Dailey conversation happened.... :G-Dub: It's a pretty major expense and undertaking to package it into the car, ask me how I know :weld: :hairpullout:

I converted the dry to wet on my LS7.

You need to change the pump and the drive gear and drill hole for the dip stick

Actually I thought you did a pretty nice job of packaging everything in your car, although I'm sure there was plenty of work done. ;) You did tell me that you built that particular tank yourself, right?

I really did go back and forth on this, but there was just too much involved in the dry-sump conversion for this car at this point. I give you all permission to :twak: me in a few months if I'm doing this all over again and I have to say I told you so. But hopefully between solving my catch-can issue and adding the Accusump, I'll be in good shape with this setup for what I'm planning to do with it. :)

The nice thing is that I already have all of the LS2 pieces, so the conversion should literally be just the dipstick hole drilling. That's my plan at least!