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 [...]
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 [...]
All main studs are installed finger-tight, with just an added scooch to make sure they’re seated. The main caps slid on easily, with no stud splaying interference. Be careful when installing the main caps. Each cap is numbered for location, as is the block. Be sure to install caps with cap numbers on the same [...]
LS PROJECT, PART 2 BLOCK PREP AND BALANCING by Mike Mavrigian all photos by author We swapped out the OE torque-plus-angle main cap bolts for a set of ARP studs. This will provide added strength and will eliminate wear on the block’s female threads during future servicing. I recently visited Gressman Powersports where Scott Gressman [...]
CARBURETOR/FUEL PLUMBING Our big-gulp carb is Holley’s Ultra Dominator (P/N 0-80673), an 1,150 cfm race carb that features billet metering blocks, three-circuit metering, mechanical secondaries and oversized sight windows for easy float adjustment. Recommended fuel pressure is 5-7.5 psi. The anodized billet metering blocks feature changeable idle feed restrictors for easier tuning of the idle [...]
CRITICAL: BUY QUALITY Performance aftermarket fastener manufacturers offer much higher tensile strength fasteners that are specifically designed for racing applications. ARP, for example, offers threaded fasteners that boast 170,000 psi, 190,000 psi and 220,000 psi. In other words, instead of hitting the local hardware store or Internet source for imported who-knows-what-or-where-they-came-from fasteners, stick with reputable [...]
The upper intake manifold plenum box gasket is stainless-steel reinforced and provided a perfect fit. The upper plenum box is secured with 1/4″ x 20 x 3/4″ stainless socket head cap screws. I applied a dab of moly to the threads prior to installation. I tightened all screws to 60 in-lbs using a criss-cross pattern. [...]
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