Has anyone seen an LS and 4L60E in an FMJ body car?

89.Fifth

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I've checked all the local yards and they don't keep anything that old. 42RE, sure, but not RH. Dunno why.

Even the rebuilders I'm finding only list the RE.
 

Duke5A

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I've checked all the local yards and they don't keep anything that old. 42RE, sure, but not RH. Dunno why.

Even the rebuilders I'm finding only list the RE.


Even if you have to spend $200 in gas to get one you'll be over a grand ahead. Hit Craigslist and search outlying areas. That's how I found both 518 transmissions for my Dad and I.

Hell, drive out to Michigan across Canada and I'll help you pull one from the local pick and pull. I think they charge $150.
 

89.Fifth

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I get what you're saying. Neither is happening any time soon unfortunately. I got other stuff that's budgeted way before I get to that.
 

Opticon77

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Have I seen it? Yes.




My locals. The only reason I won't do it (besides feeling dirty) is that plebeian exhaust note. It's starting to grate on me like Vtec noises by the late 90s.
 
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Oldiron440

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Have I seen it? Yes.




My locals. The only reason I won't do it (besides feeling dirty) is that plebeian exhaust note. It's starting to grate on me like Vtec noises by the late 90s.

Now that's cool!
 

Duke5A

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470 HP/Torque at the wheels? That ain't nothing to sneeze at!
 

Opticon77

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Only on 12psi intercooled pump gas and through the stock 8.25" rear.

This is why whenever somebody actually cares about going "fast for cheap" in 2019 the only correct answer is a turbo Chevy LS. End of story. No you shutup. Chevy built a 1000hp capable V8 and filled junkyards with MILLIONS of them. They won.

... Which is coincidentally the same reason I stopped caring about being the fast or cheap. Just build what you know/can afford and enjoy it.

Because out here $80k SRT Demons are getting beat in the 1/4 mile by LS swapped Volvo wagons.

 
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Duke5A

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You know, I've seen some of the crazy shit Cleetus has been doing on his channel with factory short block LS engines. This is just insane, I love it.
 

Oldiron440

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You know, I've seen some of the crazy shit Cleetus has been doing on his channel with factory short block LS engines. This is just insane, I love it.
I've been watching it also, he can blow stuff up.
 

Opticon77

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Ruby was some of the wildest carnage I've ever seen in a block with no holes.



Pistons, rods, and cam bits all ground into pieces and locked solid inside the intact block. Probably because he slammed the car into neutral the very moment it popped instead of blending up the internals on decel.
 
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Oldiron440

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They do allot of what you shouldn't do before they do what should be done.
They should have opened up the ring gap on that motor first, it should be done with nitrous also. Most of us could not afford to trash the parts they do, in the next video they show how even the turbo is junk.
 
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Jonnyuma

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[QUOTE="Opticon77, post: 88760, member: 2133"...]coincidentally the same reason I stopped caring about being the fast or cheap. Just build what you know/can afford and enjoy it...[/QUOTE]

I'm 100% with you on that. Fast for cheap is great and a fun goal, but as we've seen from numerous builds over the years "low buck" ain't exactly what it used to be... it's pretty easy to get 7-9 thousand into an engine combo even when using junkyard and second-hand parts.

I've got a friend with a partially dismantled Ramcharger that I may scavenge the drivetrain out of (360/727/9.25")... even if I get it for $0, I'll still be into it for more than the cost of my car by the time everything fits. Pretty easy to get upside-down w a $2000 vehicle.
 

mirada mike

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once again the cheap shivvy spector raises its ugly head. first it was how great the 283 was-then the unbeatable 327- then every racers dream the 4 bolt main 350-and the king-the 355 now the LS is the focus of everyone dreaming of shivvy power. I realize price is always a factor BUT mopar drivelines make as much power as anybody else and you don't have to hack everything to make it fit or work. by the way topfuel shivvy funnycars run HEMIs not LSs.
 

BudW

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I am not a fan of the LS engine. The oil pickup screen O-ring shrinking (causing the engine to suck air instead of oil), the roller lifters coming apart eating camshafts, and valve covers sucking oil into the intakes. It seams like (to me) stock LS engines self-destruct around 80-100k miles. I don’t fully understand why the factory made it, so you must remove the cylinder heads to replace a lifter (or camshaft). There are so many ways I could think this could be done without having to remove the cylinder heads. OK, rant over.
With that said, things could also be said about the new Hemi’s (not the same problems, though) and with other engine families.

A person could build any engine to run very well - but it always takes $$$. For some reason it takes less $ to build a Cheby engine.


I was talking to a person who builds 1200+ HP Pro-Charger engines. He said the Pro-Charger kits cost less money for LS’s than other engine families and the parts to build engines (pistons, rods, gaskets, etc.) also cost less $. He said of the engines they have built, 8.5 of every 10 engines are LS based. The other 1.5 are new Hemi’s, or others. With electronics and everything else used in his builds, the HP is all about the same, on the popular engine families – however the cost is not. His 1200 HP LS build’s cost about $12k (depending on options) out the door. His 3-G Hemi build is about $13k (US). A Chrysler big block (non-Hemi) is about 14.5k but it can make even more HP but also takes more parts/labor to get it there (crank position sensors and other parts to get electronics to work).

I don’t see the need for that much HP. If I did, I wouldn’t use a LS. The LS isn’t the issue, though. It is the supercharger and electronics and the skill to get it working together. It just happens to be the LS is the most cost-effective means to get there.

Oddly, he recommends to his clients with 3-G Hemi’s for Pro-Charger setups, to add his parts to the stock engine - but to obtain a spare engine. He said stock pistons are OK but not the best and the thin piston rings won’t hold up long term. He recommends building the replacement engine up while driving the car with modified original engine, so when it gives up, it is an easy swap to get back on the road.
I thought his advice was a bit odd, for I would rather stick the original numbers matching engine under the bench and build up a replacement engine to stick in the car (to play with). That said, I don’t have any experience with Hemi’s nor with racing them – so I can’t say much.
BudW
 

Oldiron440

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The cam bearings rotate so the oil hole is covered. So you must change bearings but the problem is half go in from the back of the block so you need to pull the motor.
Still more work, at this point where do you stop?
 

Opticon77

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If you're "building" an engine for a reliable 1200hp all stock engines are crap and you're going to be deep into the "well while I'm in here" money trap. But if you were just looking for something to bolt your chinese turbo to and make 700hp for a while, the LS is by far the least expensive giggle bomb. Bonus points for gapping the $12k engine guy and making him salty.
 
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