I need y'alls advice on a new motor...

[redneckengineered]

Ok, so I've been beating the buggy in its current form for 5 years straight now and honestly there isn't a lot I'd like to change. It goes great and climbs well but I'm at the point where I'm ready to make some tweaks. I went down to b-ham recently and talked to Dan about some ideas and he's onboard with a little bit of a "rework" hopefully this summer. He built the chassis the first time around and knows it inside and out.

As for the changes, the most major thing I want to do is ditch the AMC 360/NP435 combo and go with a Chevy motor and automatic. I've been an AMC guy literally since the first day I got into this sport so all I know about the Chevy stuff is what I've read in the past couple days doing web searching. Just from what I've read I've kinda narrowed it down to LQ4 or LQ9 or LS1 or LS2....I guess. Now I'm at the point where I need some direction. I'd like to keep the motor budget under $5000, cheaper is better obviously but I'm also looking for around 400hp (more is better obviously ) I think that about covers it. All that crap being said, what do you guys recommend.

Last thing, for those of you that don't know me and the rig this is going in it's your standard buggy chassis, 40 Creepys, 60s, 4.56 gears. Thanks

 

[s10me]

you could open a can of worms asking these guys for advise. there is a 6.0 for sell on here for a $1000., i would start with that, but then your either gunna have to have an adapter built or change your trans

 

[redneckengineered]

Well I know a lot of the guys on here run the setup I'm talking about and all wheel the same places I wheel and beat on their **** plus I know some of em so I figued it was a good place to start instead of floating it out on pirate. Also, I plan on changing transmissions anyways I will be ditching the 435 in favor of a chevy automatic so no issues there.

 

[CHASMAN9]

Of course, the easiest and cheapest would be the 350/350 set up. You can build a healthy small block up and a turbo 350 for next to nothing and parts are readily available for both. That's my setup and works pretty good for me.

 

[Marty]

I would get a 6.2 out of the new denali trucks/escalades if you could find one. If not, an LS2. That way you dont have to mess with the truck intake and oil pan. Both of those motors left alone with a tune are pretty nasty.

 

[bigsilly]

5.3, easy to find and will not break the bank. Can make it more powerful for not that much money. LS1, can find a good deal on them if you look hard enough. I would suggest leaving the LS1 stock though.

 

[BamaTJ]

The LS1 is the "hot" motor now, but they are not cheap and I don't like the all aluminum design, asides from weight savings. GStone has blown up 1 or 2 LS motors from lack of oiling, he can chime ine. Now those motors are hot as sht and sound great. By the time you buy a complete motor add headers, flash, fuel pump and maybe a cam. You will have about 4k or so in the motor. I would look for one of the variations of the 5.3 or 6.0 that has cast block and aluminum heads. Add the headers, flash and hot cam and you will be damn close to 400hp. A flash and cam change does wonders on the Gen 3 stuff. I was really thankful mine is all cast after KOH and running hot for so long. I have an old 5.7 vortec. Adding header, exhaust, cam and a flash to see what I can get out of it..

 

[redneckengineered]

The 6.0 seems like the ticket, and I was leaning that way when I started the thread but I'm worried about stuffing it into my chassis. From some drawings I've seen on the interweb it seems to be the biggest pig of the bunch. Right now you have to talk dirty to my 360 and lube it up real good beforehand to get it stuffed in there and that is with manifolds.

The 5.3s I've seen were all aluminum and I'd rather have more displacement. Lots of people seems to be using the LS aluminum motors, are others having oiling issues? I know Greg can be hard on his **** so I wouldn't put myself in his league at this point.

 

[BamaTJ]

GStone can break anything, that is a fact

Take it for what it is worth, but many moons ago I talked to Twisted Customs about building a buggy with my parts. They said don't waste money on an LS motor, for offroading a 5.3 or 6.0 will take more abuse and put out plenty of power. They have built a ton of rigs, and on most they run a regular old 5.3 or 6.0. They quoted me a junkyard 5.3 then adding their "make it run kit" (kevco oil pan, fuel plumbing & pump, wiring harness, computer flash, etc.), headers and an LS1 hotcam and valve springs, and I think it came out to be about $3k including the labor to add the parts. They said it would be good for 375-400HP. I have seen several 5.3's that will melt the tires. If you go 6.0 you can always add the LS intake to lower the top end down some. Either motor is a great choice, just find yourself a good deal and go from there

 

[redneckengineered]

Sounds like good advice, in which case I may go with the 6.0 and just drop it off at BTF and tell Dan to make it fit hehe. Do you think Twisted Customs would be interested in doing a 6.0 tuned up however they like and ship it to me or is that only if you are getting a chassis from them? Basically, I want to get as close to a turn key deal as possible. I don't have the time to spend piecing a bunch of **** together to make it run. I give mad props to the guys that can pull that off and save bank but it's not in the cards for me. I'd rather do it all in one place at once than try and get a motor one place, programming another, parts another, etc, etc. Also looking at this guy www.eastcoastengines.comhttp://
I saw him as a vendor on pirate, prices seem right and he offers complete setups, programming and all.

 

[Toddy]

Gregg just had a stock LS pan on his. Now I think he is running the Kevco pan. I was there at Wind Rock when he had the last motor problems. Didnt think it should have did that much damage but he said it wasnt the first time it had been run with little to no pressure. I think the Kevco pan will cure that though. That being said I would make sure to get the pan for what ever LS based motor you deside on.

Woodlee is using http://www.mastmotorsports.com/. Might check them out. Just find the best price on the most CU's you can afford. Like you said you can prob. build one for 1/2 what you will pay for a turn key motor but you dont have that option sounds like.

Toddy

 

[patooyee]

All the LS series engines take up roughly the same amount of space. The blocks and oil pans are all pretty much the same size from what I hear. So fitting the 5.3 isn't going to be any easier than fitting a 6.0.

EVERYONE I've ever heard that burnt up an LS due to oiling issues was running a shallow Corvette oil pan. I've never heard of anyone that was running the deeper truck pans burning an engine due to oiling issues and I've even asked a couple running them if they've ever had oiling issues at weird angles and they said no. My theory is that the masses who chose to go the corvette pan due to fitment issues in the chassis refuse to admit that that is why they have oiling issues because the mods that would be required to run the truck pan would be extensive. That's my THEORY anyway and I'm sticking with it.

LS1s are old school now, IMO. I see lots of them go for pretty cheap now that the LS2s are becomming more common. I'm building my buggy right now with an LS2 out of an SSR. I've never compared the intake to a truck intake but I believe that it is taller than the corvette intake but shorter than the truck intake. I plan to make it fit. I also put a truck oil pan on the bottom because I didn't want to deal with the oiling question. I'll just build around the pan somehow. I'd rather do that than be constantly questioning if I am going to burn up my engine.

I will openly admit that one of the aluminum engines is probably a waste of money if the 100lbs or so doesn't matter to you. I just knew my buggy was going to be a heavy bitch with rockwells and 47's and I needed to cut weight wherever possible and that's why I went with the LS2. That, and I wanted 400+ hp without mods. I have no doubt that I would be just as happy with a 6.0 if I didn't care about the weight though.

J. J.

 

[redneckengineered]

Thanks for the replies. Patooyee, I was interested in what you had to say because while searching for information I kept coming up with your threads so I knew this **** was fresh on your mind since you just basically went through the same process for your next buggy. I'm really leaning towards the LQ9 motor because like you said I don't care about the 100# and I know the cast iron block is tough. Plus from what I'm reading you can get over 400hp on them without much work at all. While I was searching around I found this place
http://www.southernperformancesystems.com/products_used9.html
Anyone know about them? They are close enough I could pick up from their warehouse (no shipping). The LQ9s they have listed are low mileage and come with the transmission and all the other crap. I don't know if those prices include a custom tune however which is what I liked about the www.eastcoastengines.comhttp://http:// guy. But, he wasn't including the trans and I'd have a few hundred in shipping. Any opinions there? Thanks

 

[hinton]

i am running a ls1 with a fairly large cam put i did swap the stock f body pan for a truck pan and i have never had any problems with it and i drive it like it owes me money :****:

 

[patooyee]

Seems like pretty good prices to include the trans to me but I will also say that people find those engines a lot cheaper pretty regularly.

I put a lot of value on knowing where my engine came from, that it is backed by a warranty, and has documented low mileage. When I bought mine I was able to see pics of the car it came from with closeups of the exact damage that totalled the car out and how it might have affected my engine. In fact, it even came with a video of it running with a vacuum guage and oil pressure guage attached to it in the chassis. It was from a company that sold TONS of engines this way and had links on their site to each individual vehicle's info, vids, and pics. To me, that kind of info is worth A LOT of money. I have heard of people who have gotten some good deals through various sources that I thought were shady that didn't document **** and make a lot of claims that couldn't be backed up. A couple of those engines have burnt up quickly and a few of them weren't even what they said they were. That's not to say that mine won't burn up the second I start it up, but at least it'll have a warranty on it at that point and I know where to call to fight about the warranty. I may even have issues getting them to honor the warranty, but its better than having no other option. Some people make fun of me about my obsession with this info but I won't buy a hi-po engine without it and it seemed to serve me well with my last engine which lasted me through 3 buggies and years of wheeling and was running just as good the day I sold it as the day I bought it.

J. J.

 

[redneckengineered]

I hear you dude. Not only do I not know enough about these engines to piece together a junkyard deal I feel the same way about buying from a reputable dealer that offers a warranty and service and I will pay extra for that. That's how I bought my last motor and it has been to hell and back and is still going strong and should make the new owner (whoever that may be) very happy. Do you mind passing along where you got your LS2? Sounds like the kinda place I want to do business with. I saw a company doing something similar on ebay, it may be the same one, and I was impressed with the attention to detail. Shoot me a PM if you'd rather. Thanks

 

[BamaTJ]

Check around local to you and see if you have any reputable yards. When I was looking I found a guy in town that all he did was specalize in Chevy Cars. so yeah he had 100 LS motors in the warehouse and they were all certified mileage. You may find one of those yards that specalize in GM trucks in your area. I know a lot of folks go the turn key route, most of the time that means way more money, but a lot of the crap work is taken out of the equation that way. If you are wanting to buy turn key and drop it off with Dan then just find the best deal on a motor you want and get it to him. For me the hardest part is making up my mind on what to do!

 

[jrhall]

Ls-1 or 6.0 handsdown for the money

 

[EOR MFG]

Lq9 motors run great and are easy to get to the numbers your talking about.
I will not hardly mess with any other stuff after installing quite a number of Gen IIIs you really get spoiled on them.

 

[patooyee]

I hear you dude. Not only do I not know enough about these engines to piece together a junkyard deal I feel the same way about buying from a reputable dealer that offers a warranty and service and I will pay extra for that. That's how I bought my last motor and it has been to hell and back and is still going strong and should make the new owner (whoever that may be) very happy. Do you mind passing along where you got your LS2? Sounds like the kinda place I want to do business with. I saw a company doing something similar on ebay, it may be the same one, and I was impressed with the attention to detail. Shoot me a PM if you'd rather. Thanks

All that info is in my paperwork at home. I'll send it to you tonight when I am off work.

J. J.