The camshaft was checked with a degree wheel. Crane did one heck of a nice job grinding this bumpstick. Lift and timing moments were dead-on to the cam card. With our crank snout pinned for the damper, the timing cover was installed using ARP’s front cover kit (12-point stainless). The front coolant balance tube assembly [...]
ROCKER COVERS AND COIL BRACKETS Instead of using a pair of boring OE rocker covers, we opted for a pair of Moroso welded aluminum cuties. These beautifully tig-welded covers accept the OE type formed gasket seal (each cover features a CNCed groove on the mating surface). Each cover is secured to the head using OE-type [...]
PROJECT LS2, PART 4 This has proven to be a fairly easy build. The LS series-both Gen III and IV-shows definite promise. by Mike Mavrigian all photos by author Our LS is now ready for induction and ignition.At this point, our LS2 is a complete longblock. Here, we’ll cover a number of subjects leading up [...]
All head studs were installed finger-tight. Our taller-than-OE Crane roller lifters required the use of spacer washers between the block and lifter buckets. The oiled roller lifters are inserted into the OE plastic lifter buckets. These register flat-to-flat, orienting the lifters properly for roller bearing operation at the lobes. With all four lifters snapped into [...]
Our JE forged pistons included wire locks for floating pin securing. The wire locks are installed by working your way around the lock with a small screwdriver. A nice option for wire lock installation is Lockintool’s W-927 installation tool. It takes some getting used to but, once you develop the knack, it’s a real time [...]
I opted to install the crank gear at the zero timing mark, but this gear allows adjustment +/- 4 degrees. Our timing chain setup installed. With No. 1 rod pin at TDC, the timing dot on the cam gear is at 6 o’clock, and the ) mark on the crank gear is at 12 o’clock. [...]
Goodson reluctor ring installer jig is an absolute must for installing LS crank timing wheels. The Goodson tool indexes the ring via the 8mm hole in the ring face. The 8mm dowel is pictured here. It’s attached to a tang on the outside of the tool. An internal dowel in the tool engages into the [...]
PISTON/ROD INSTALLATION With the cylinder bores wiped clean with a lint-free towel, apply a light coat of engine oil to the walls. After making sure that the connecting rod and cap saddles are clean and dry, install the rod bearings to the rod and cap and coat the exposed bearing surfaces with oil (I used [...]
PROJECT LS2, PART 3 Assembly of the short block and cylinder head installation by Mike Mavrigian All photos by author INSTALLING THE RELUCTOR WHEEL The reluctor wheel features a series of teeth that provide crankshaft position signals via a sensor to the ECM. The wheel press fits to the rear of the crank, immediately forward [...]
The side relief design provides additional clearance for the crank’s reluctor wheel. Without this added clearance, No. 8 piston would hit the reluctor wheel. Here’s an underside view that clearly illustrates the side relief/short pin design. Naturally, this also reduces reciprocating weight as a bonus. As you can see, the compression height resulted in the [...]
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