tirebird
01-01-2006, 07:26 PM
It was time to rebuild my LS6(a quart every 400 miles) so, it was not without a lot of trepidation, that I took the beast to Victory Automotive in San Jose for a tear down.
Friday we got some great news. The bottom end was still perfect. No significant wear on the crank, cylinders, and bearings. The top end was another matter. We're getting new valves, hardware, etc.(A 14 72, casting#: 3964291) because, most of the oil consumption was due to valve guides and seals. We're polishing the crank and boring the cylinders :30 over and buying the best new forged pistons but keeping the rods which, we know, are pretty stout on the LS6.
We're also going with flat top pistons and hydraulic lifters with roller rockers to lessen valve train wear and make the engine much more pump gas friendly.
The big question, which we'll find out tomorrow, is if we have to deck the block and by how much. I don't want to lose the (T0417CRR) marking and if we can possibly take only .010 off the top then the stamping will probably stay.
But, because it's more important to do the job correctly, we may have to take more off which means that we'll lose the stamping. We're taking every possible picture of the rebuild, including the stamping, so that we can document what was done and when. That should be enough to quell any questions.
By the way, we did solve one mystery. I couldn't get a good look at the engine date stamping until the engine was pulled. It's "C 27 72" on a four bolt main #3999289 block. Some of you may remember that this was a "warranty replacement" LS6 bought from Berger in 1972 and installed the following year in the "Tirebird" by Tom Senter.The cross drilled crank looks perfect and I'm really looking forward to getting back driving the beast.
Happy New Year everyone. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif
Friday we got some great news. The bottom end was still perfect. No significant wear on the crank, cylinders, and bearings. The top end was another matter. We're getting new valves, hardware, etc.(A 14 72, casting#: 3964291) because, most of the oil consumption was due to valve guides and seals. We're polishing the crank and boring the cylinders :30 over and buying the best new forged pistons but keeping the rods which, we know, are pretty stout on the LS6.
We're also going with flat top pistons and hydraulic lifters with roller rockers to lessen valve train wear and make the engine much more pump gas friendly.
The big question, which we'll find out tomorrow, is if we have to deck the block and by how much. I don't want to lose the (T0417CRR) marking and if we can possibly take only .010 off the top then the stamping will probably stay.
But, because it's more important to do the job correctly, we may have to take more off which means that we'll lose the stamping. We're taking every possible picture of the rebuild, including the stamping, so that we can document what was done and when. That should be enough to quell any questions.
By the way, we did solve one mystery. I couldn't get a good look at the engine date stamping until the engine was pulled. It's "C 27 72" on a four bolt main #3999289 block. Some of you may remember that this was a "warranty replacement" LS6 bought from Berger in 1972 and installed the following year in the "Tirebird" by Tom Senter.The cross drilled crank looks perfect and I'm really looking forward to getting back driving the beast.
Happy New Year everyone. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif