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LS7 CRATE ENGINE + TRANS INSTALLED
As we were wrapping up one of the first in a series of "affordable" LS road race engines at HPR, we had a good grasp on the price and output numbers. This was to be a cathedral port, aluminum block, 383" LS stroker, wet sump road race engine - I gave the pricing to give Adam. I had one of these being built for my LS550 project and we could see a 450-550 whp power range depending on the cam, intake, and some other aspects.
This would take more than 2 months to build, due to the backlog of engines in process at HPR, plus some added delays due to Covid-19. This 383" long block would still need: intake manifold, fuel rail, injectors, throttle body, ignition coils, the Summit road race oil pan we talked about, water pump, pulley, flywheel and clutch - but it was still a very good package price. It was until he went and found these GM crate LS7 dry sump 525 hp 2015 Z/28 spec engines on "Coronavirus Sale" at $10,900...?! I researched this deal, which seemed unbelievable, but it was true.
I couldn't get the HPR 383 LS6 down to that price level
after I added in all of the extras that the crate engines come with, not to mention this has the LS7 dry sump oil pan, extended snout crank, and 2 stage oil pump. Just the bare LS7 block alone costs $3800 - GM must have needed some quick cash to slash these LS7s down to this price! These are the later 2015 spec so they have improved titanium rods, better valves, a bigger oil pan, and several other updates. We're not going to touch the engines internals or cam, and will even use the included flywheel and clutch. Saves time and money and adds displacement. And he can just tell the Ford Faithful it is a 427" V8... they can think its an "FE" series Ford Big block if they want, as long as he doesn't open the hood.
Of course getting a complete, dressed crate engine will save time on this build. After we unloaded the engine from the crate, Evan stripped off the intake and coils, so we don't damage them when installing the engine into the car. Brad and Evan put the long block and bellhousing in without drama using our engine tilter and engine hoist.
I was a little worried that the 2015 Z/28 oil pan might have some clearance issues but that was not the case - fit by a large margin. These LS7 dry sump engines still have a lower oil sump, so we can't lower this any more than we could our mock-up engine. Evan reinstalled the intake and coils with the engine back in the car for the last time before it fires up.
After testing the TOB engagement & input shaft depth, the transmission was fitted, as were the hydraulic Throw Out Bearing slave line and remote bleeder, with a quick connect on the pressure line. Had the pressure line made to fit the hydraulic clutch master cylinder Adam had installed for his T5 before. We then installed a new starter. This thing is ready to plumb, wire and fire!
We still have work to do - with the engine and aluminum radiator in place we can route things like the Cold Air Intake, pick a filter, and find a place for the dry sump settling tank. We have discussed the EFI system and digital dash options with the customer and that is on order, so it could be running in a matter of weeks.
WHAT'S NEXT?
I had a whole section on the fuel cell, but I will show that next time. It is a beautiful piece of engineering, with an internal surge tank. That was all assembled and mounted last week.
We also have the 18x11" Forgestar F14 Super Deep wheels on hand already. A bunch of new parts have arrived for the front suspension: S197 spindles, front hubs with ARP studs, the custom control arms we built, the 14" diameter 4 piston Brembo brakes, and the MCS TT2 doubles arrive later today. The custom camber plate & welded on strut top design are wrapping up as well.
This week we have made some good progress on the cage, and we were test fitting seats with Myles (5'11") showing how much head room we gained to the upper door bars with the lower seat mounting. This post is already running long so I'm going to call that good until next time - should have another tech filled post showing more progress on this car soon.
Thanks for reading,