Ummmm. He forgot the beer. :unibrow:

Is that seriously your new block?? :_paranoid

Well, new to me block.. it had a screwed up cylinder wall so we honed it out bit.. maybe too much? lol

The new Darton MID sleeves are now in place and the block is all happy again.

Trust me.. the guys at Best Of Show NEVER let me forget the beer.. :cheers:

Steve, I may have missed it so here it goes. Who is doing the machining?

So when do you return emails? LOL

Can't wait to see itcome together again... again (?)

:D

The main work (install Darton sleeves, dowel main caps, deck, deck for oil pan, rough hone, rod/piston pin hone, notch for rod clearance.. was done here:

www.raceenginedevelopment.com

Steve REALLY knows his stuff and when it comes to putting in sleeves you want someone as meticulous as possible.. that's why they have a bad rep sometimes.. poor installation. Finished dech height was 9.235" which will yield a compression ratio of 11.3:1

The line hone and finish hone is being done at Turn Key Engine Supply.

Yea, I know.. been on the road everyday until today.. tomorrow will be even worse.

Call me tomorrow or I will call you :)

Actually Steve did the Machining on my block as well, I have a ls7 with darton sleeves. I was just curious.

Nothing but good about RED
Can i ask what was the total cost?

Thanks Steve this is my new screen saver

Ok, I will admit it.. I'm lost...

Total cost of what? lol

Hey, I'm old and tired.. I get lost..

of the entire build starting from day one and dont leave anything out.....:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cheers:

"Ok, I will admit it.. I'm lost...

...

Hey, I'm old and tired.. I get lost.."

hahaha, that's a great line. The car is amazing! You're going to El Toro right? ...I hope so.

-Dave

Lol
To buy & install the Sleeves by RED?

Ahh..

They've just dropped the price on his.. I want to say parts and labor is now about $2300.. but I need to confrim this.

The block cost me $200 since it was screwed up.. so the over all cost isn't much more than an LSX block and less than a new LS7 block.

The key to this making good $$$ sense if finding a deal on a core block.

dowel pinning the mains and cutting the rod reliefs would add a few bucks. Decking the block is included.

Thanks Steve

I got an answer lol

penny keeps changing
 

Fantastic build and as always the info and insight is over the top. so with all the changes, what is happening to the old parts, anything for sale?

rich

You can contact Steve at Race Engine Development for exact pricing quotes.
So I wont list them here.

Dry liner vs Wet liner
Wet liner would run you about 600.00 more
Machine work to install and deck block, Wet liner about 300.00 more
Vibratory stress relief of block, done twice during process, around 175.00

Optional work;
Boring within honing range, around 100.00
Cutting rod clearance notches in the lower end, around 100.00
Same cost weather dry or wet sleeved

Wet liner can be done using a block that has a cracked cylinder wall since its machined away regardless. This is a perfect example of finding a damaged block cheap to do this set up. plus the cylinders will stay much rounder in an MID wet sleeved block than dry liner aluminum blocks. Size range for an LS7 is 4.125 to 4.200", 4.185 being the most common overbore for ring availability reasons. Maximum permitted bore size for dry liner is 4.185. If your going to supercharge the engine they do not recommend using that bore size. If you stay at 4.125 bore you'll be ok.

Thanks for the info.. I will add that doweling the caps is $75.. Darton did just drop the price on thier MID kits.

The nice part is that you can use a "junk" block to help bring the cost down in line with other options. For example I paid $200 for my LS2 block.

Also, the cylinders should stay round and true, which will save money.

Lots of work done today.. fuel tank is in and we started final fit on the new inner fenders. The new core support and oil system is done and you can see it here mocked up.

Engine build is now set for Tuesday with install starting on Thursday. We hope to have her ready for Del Mar Goodguys.

http://i42.tinypic.com/1z2q4x4.jpg

Found a few interesting deals during the teardown.

One was that the driver side sway bar arm on the splined sway bar was VERY loose.. just sorta flopping around. I'm sure we tightened the hell out of this. More that likely didn't help in one direction of turning.

The clutch master rod was bent all to hell.. we will add a stop to prevent over compressing the rod. No wonder it kept getting harder to get in gear.. A new clutch master from Speed Tech is now in place. Also add the Ring Brothers new clutch reservoir.

http://i44.tinypic.com/i1e7iv.jpg

Steve,
That's the trouble with splined arms, there's a lot of torque on them. If you can't get a good clamp on them you can saw cut into the arm opposite the split a half inch and it will clamp down better. Those arms are so thick it's hard to get movement when you torque the bolt.

That's a good idea.. I was shocked how loose they were on the driver's side. Time to do some sawing.

Steve- You mentioned that you got a ring brothers clutch resivoir, I got one as well. I noticed it doesn't come with a rubber splash boot in the cap or a baffle in the resivoir. I was wondering if its necessary to have something in it, your thoughts? If you have a source for somethng could you let me know- Thanks Rich

This car is awesome, I wish I had the money to do it to my car:faint: I hope I can see it at one of the Goodguys events this year to get the full affect of it in person:)

Yea, if you make it be sure to say hi and introduce yourself.. and the best part of the Goodguys shows is giving rides. The course feels faster in the car.

Nope.. not neccessary.. It has the microscopic vent hole and that is what's really important.

However.. since it doesn't have the rubber boot inside you need to be more mindful that it doesn't run low on fluid.

Steve--does this mean Penny isn't going to make it for RTTH?

Check your PM's

Doug

Nope.. won't make the RTTC.. I refuse to rush and half ass it to get there. But I will be there in the 2010 doing coverage.

Does it suck? yea.. but life is like that at times. Should make the Del Mar GG show/autocross.

I can't believe it-----that's very dissapointing-----was really looking forward to seeing you wheel her around there. I understand not wanting to rush through just to make the event---it still sucks though---glad you will be in the 2010 Cam making laps and that you will be behind the camera doing your thing as well---

Doug

Doug ---

I've seen him behind the wheel -- trust me -- it ain't that big a deal... :rofl:


Sorry to hear you won't be there Steve. I'll have to wear my BP Tshirt in your "honor". :D

lol.. I'm not that bad.. my car just exceeds my skill level, but I'm working on it.

See ya in El Toro...

Built the engine today over at Turn Key Engine Supply..

Penny's new alum 454:

4.185 bores using Darton's MID sleeves. Wiseco pistons.
http://i44.tinypic.com/2nc408o.jpg

454 Ready to head off to Westech for dyno runs on Wednesday.. any guesses? 72cc TF 235 heads with 9.235 deck height and Cometic gaskets should yield 11.3:1 compression.
http://i43.tinypic.com/10rmzi8.jpg

Will start the install on Friday. The Canton oil pan is off at our tig welder getting a little mod.

Now that's nice!! :thumbsup:

That is a sick motor Steve.

I'll take a stab and say 650 crank hp.

I would be happy with that.. but I think it might be a bit more. More curious on the torque and when it comes on.

Tough with out cam specs , 660hp/620ftlbs, did you have the ports and chambers done on the heads? It looks great!:thumbsup:

Rich

The TF 235 heads are CNC ported... supposed to flow pretty well.

Cam = 243/259 .624 lift and 114 LSA

Dang---You need to rename the car to "Bad Envy"---awesome setup---

Doug

Great looking stuff! Interested to see how it works out.

It blows my mind that it's a 454.. hell.. next to Track Rat's 327 LS engine it looks the same size except it's 117 cubes bigger.. lol

Right now it should be named "bad headache" since doing this thrash is a PITA. :yes: