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 [...]
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 [...]
Custom pistons are available in any configuration, but knowing what’s needed to order them requires careful measurement and sound decisions. Once the data sheet is accurately completed, your order begins to forge blank slugs. Initial machining begins with pin bore placement. Here the rod small end passage is machined, based on your reported small end [...]
MAKE A MOLD Simone also told me that Diamond Racing now offers a very cool epoxy chamber mold kit that can absolutely save the day in terms of what your application demands. The kit (an A-B pair of epoxy cans, a mixing stick, nitrile gloves and a spark plug hole plug) it sells for a [...]
ORDERING CUSTOM PISTONS When an off-the-shelf slug won’t do, you need to turn to the custom boys. by Mike Mavrigian photos by author Need a set of custom slugs to work with your new heads and your bore/stroke combo? A ton of info is required before a piston manufacturer can begin to execute your order. [...]
STREET PERFORMANCE & RACING PISTON TECH Insight into the world of go-fast slugs. by Mike Mavrigian photos by author It should come as no surprise that piston technology has evolved over recent years, largely due to superior material availability and the advent of precision CNC-machining capabilities. While a custom piston order may have once required [...]
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