ShortCircutLS
Dedicated LVC Member
about 2 States over ! From Chicago. Lol
Lookin for a Junk Motor
- Thread starter lsdarkshadow
- Start date
FASTLLS
Dedicated LVC Member
FML!! lol.. I could have swore that's what you said
ShortCircutLS
Dedicated LVC Member
Look on the left side of all my posts under the pic of my LS There's a line that says
Location : Columbus. LOL!!
Tru-Blu
Dedicated LVC Member
That's a pretty hefty project, Dark. Hope everything works out for you. I admire guys like Quik who have definitely pushed the boundaries of the LS' performance. I just don't have the moolah to do that and all the aesthetic/comfort changes that I want done - without ensuring a permanent bed in the garage. 
It's gonna be tough enough to justify the summer wheels, tinting, and rotorpros brake upgrade that's scheduled for this year.
Tru
It's gonna be tough enough to justify the summer wheels, tinting, and rotorpros brake upgrade that's scheduled for this year.
Tru
FASTLLS
Dedicated LVC Member
I was thinking of Columbus, IL.. Quit picking on me.. :lol:
ShortCircutLS
Dedicated LVC Member
Sorry ! I couldn't pass on that one ! Lol
XxbmxlsxX
Well-Known LVC Member
you said you wanted to build it with "higher compression pistons" then you said you will most likely supercharge it. those two dont go together. not sure your that familiar with high horsepower or boosted motors.
that motor has high compression already
unfortunately, since ive tried this route as well in the last 8 years, i believe this is another pipe dream and id say whoever is telling you they can do this is blowing smoke, or likely inhaling alot of it. you will need a custom made crank, pistons,rods everything. the crank will be well over a grand, so will the pistons, and so will the rods. machine work on the block alone could be near a grand. the heads have no upgrades available, porting and valve jobs like has been said do very little, no "stiffer springs" are available, custom cams are around a grand and since their regrinds their not much different than stock. ceramic coating headers doesnt add 15hp
rebuilding a stock motor to stock again sucks also because once they spin bearings alot of times the cranks are so out that if they machine them you cant get a bearing that will work anymore. been there done all that.
motor swaps arent too tough in these cars, doubtful you have the means or knowledge to pull it off judging from your previous posts, but that would be cheaper and better than your "custom" motor
juice your motor until it blows then buy a used motor that hasnt been apart and try to see where you went wrong and give it a go again. you can probably run 100hp of nitrous on your motor for a few more years if you knew how to set it up and werent overrevving the motor. using nitrous on a gen 1 is your best bet since you only use it a few times a year your not really abusing the motor all that often. and the air assisted injectors, etc... where as a boosted engine you will no doubt put your foot in it everytime you drive it and could potentially blow it and their are other hurdles to overcome. tranny may have issues but thats another story all together. used motors that have never been apart ever are your best bet.
but i dont think you or your buddy really know what your doing or what your getting into, modifying cars isnt for everyone, sorry but these things have been discussed at great lengths before. it would be cool if you could prove me wrong, buts its unlikely.
good luck
that motor has high compression already
unfortunately, since ive tried this route as well in the last 8 years, i believe this is another pipe dream and id say whoever is telling you they can do this is blowing smoke, or likely inhaling alot of it. you will need a custom made crank, pistons,rods everything. the crank will be well over a grand, so will the pistons, and so will the rods. machine work on the block alone could be near a grand. the heads have no upgrades available, porting and valve jobs like has been said do very little, no "stiffer springs" are available, custom cams are around a grand and since their regrinds their not much different than stock. ceramic coating headers doesnt add 15hp
rebuilding a stock motor to stock again sucks also because once they spin bearings alot of times the cranks are so out that if they machine them you cant get a bearing that will work anymore. been there done all that.
motor swaps arent too tough in these cars, doubtful you have the means or knowledge to pull it off judging from your previous posts, but that would be cheaper and better than your "custom" motor
juice your motor until it blows then buy a used motor that hasnt been apart and try to see where you went wrong and give it a go again. you can probably run 100hp of nitrous on your motor for a few more years if you knew how to set it up and werent overrevving the motor. using nitrous on a gen 1 is your best bet since you only use it a few times a year your not really abusing the motor all that often. and the air assisted injectors, etc... where as a boosted engine you will no doubt put your foot in it everytime you drive it and could potentially blow it and their are other hurdles to overcome. tranny may have issues but thats another story all together. used motors that have never been apart ever are your best bet.
but i dont think you or your buddy really know what your doing or what your getting into, modifying cars isnt for everyone, sorry but these things have been discussed at great lengths before. it would be cool if you could prove me wrong, buts its unlikely.
good luck
FASTLLS
Dedicated LVC Member
lol..
I agree with the compression statement.. The LS has a high compression already and adding more compression and boost will not mingle together well..
If you followed Cam's footsteps and started with an AJ engine, minus the high compression, added everything your thinking; you could have some serious power..
This is what im gonna say.
Its a Jaguar engine.
It may be the ford version but its still a jaguar design and being so its not an easy engine to work with compared to really common engines such as the chevy 350, nissan VQ series, or fords modular 4.6. and all these mods you want to do are gonna be expensive.
Im pretty sure quik has over $10,000 invested in his ride and he isnt even making 400hp yet, it more like like 350hp. Even with cheap labor the parts alone will cost more than the engine itself.
Its a Jaguar engine.
It may be the ford version but its still a jaguar design and being so its not an easy engine to work with compared to really common engines such as the chevy 350, nissan VQ series, or fords modular 4.6. and all these mods you want to do are gonna be expensive.
Im pretty sure quik has over $10,000 invested in his ride and he isnt even making 400hp yet, it more like like 350hp. Even with cheap labor the parts alone will cost more than the engine itself.
lsdarkshadow
Dedicated LVC Member
All great advice.
Here's the deal though. I have the right people, shop resources, and time to do this. I don't want a different engine. I want the best version possible of the 3.9 motor in there. Best parts, custom if nessecary, and the three guys working on this have been planning this since i Bought the car three years ago. I will be more than happy to post pictures and results once I start. I will post all the info, facts, design specs, and everything for you all to read and look at. I am by no means an expert. My brother, my cousin, and his friend, however, are. I am quite certain they know what they are doing. With there machine/engine shop at my disposal, most of this work is being done at cost of material, which is the only reason to even make this project worth it.
I realize a lot of guys have tried to do what they can with their engines with no success. I can understand the doubts. That isn't going to prevent me from doing this.
Maybe the pistons are fine and I will get new factory pistons. Maybe, maybe not. First, I need a motor. Then we will tear it apart, dyno my current car, and go from there. The is not a situation where I just want a fast car, or i would go buy an Infinit M56. I have a love for the LS. I am never selling this car if i have to rebuild it ten times. I will get this project to work if it takes me ten years, and will spend ten grand if necessary. I will do this because I love cars, I love the LS, and because I want to. Same reason Quik put a SC on his and auto-crosses it. It is a horrible auto cross car, but he loves the LS.
Anyone with a garage and half an automotive brain could just put a LS1 in the thing and get that to work. Then it would not be an LS. I have read and printed hundreds of pages of discussions from this forum and others. I am not going into this lightly, .....
But as i said in the first post. ..... I need to start with a motor. This is a "find a motor" discussion, not "why build a motor". I will have my engine builders post on my behalf when the build begins. So........Anybody have a blown motor?
Here's the deal though. I have the right people, shop resources, and time to do this. I don't want a different engine. I want the best version possible of the 3.9 motor in there. Best parts, custom if nessecary, and the three guys working on this have been planning this since i Bought the car three years ago. I will be more than happy to post pictures and results once I start. I will post all the info, facts, design specs, and everything for you all to read and look at. I am by no means an expert. My brother, my cousin, and his friend, however, are. I am quite certain they know what they are doing. With there machine/engine shop at my disposal, most of this work is being done at cost of material, which is the only reason to even make this project worth it.
I realize a lot of guys have tried to do what they can with their engines with no success. I can understand the doubts. That isn't going to prevent me from doing this.
Maybe the pistons are fine and I will get new factory pistons. Maybe, maybe not. First, I need a motor. Then we will tear it apart, dyno my current car, and go from there. The is not a situation where I just want a fast car, or i would go buy an Infinit M56. I have a love for the LS. I am never selling this car if i have to rebuild it ten times. I will get this project to work if it takes me ten years, and will spend ten grand if necessary. I will do this because I love cars, I love the LS, and because I want to. Same reason Quik put a SC on his and auto-crosses it. It is a horrible auto cross car, but he loves the LS.
Anyone with a garage and half an automotive brain could just put a LS1 in the thing and get that to work. Then it would not be an LS. I have read and printed hundreds of pages of discussions from this forum and others. I am not going into this lightly, .....
But as i said in the first post. ..... I need to start with a motor. This is a "find a motor" discussion, not "why build a motor". I will have my engine builders post on my behalf when the build begins. So........Anybody have a blown motor?
FASTLLS
Dedicated LVC Member
By all means, don't let us deter you.. Btw, you can't get stock replacement pistons for the 3.9.. And in my mind, the Jaguar AJ would be the best 3.9 because the 3.9 is a de-bored 4.0.. If you could get things at the cost of materials, you could possibly get a running 'AJ stroker' for around 2-3k (if you could find a cheap block)..
cammerfe
Dedicated LVC Member
Availability and Costs
I paid $750.00 for the AJ27 engine on which I'm working. Factory pistons are castings and unsuitable for performance work. My new Ross billet forgings would cost about $1500.00 including the ceramic coatings. My GRP aluminum rods would cost about $1200.00. Factory rods are made using powdered-metal technology and are likewise not for HP use. Photos of both rod and piston are to be found in 'Land Speed LS' in the HP section. My crank came from Moldex. A Moldex billet crank is $2800.00
KS
I paid $750.00 for the AJ27 engine on which I'm working. Factory pistons are castings and unsuitable for performance work. My new Ross billet forgings would cost about $1500.00 including the ceramic coatings. My GRP aluminum rods would cost about $1200.00. Factory rods are made using powdered-metal technology and are likewise not for HP use. Photos of both rod and piston are to be found in 'Land Speed LS' in the HP section. My crank came from Moldex. A Moldex billet crank is $2800.00
KS
We arent trying to bring you down but ive been reading these forums for a while before i joined and everytime somebody tries to do a project like this it never happens.
Or they start it and they stop posting and we never hear from them again.
quik is the only one who has actually started something and completed it. Theres a couple turboed ls's but those guys dont post here.
Or they start it and they stop posting and we never hear from them again.
quik is the only one who has actually started something and completed it. Theres a couple turboed ls's but those guys dont post here.
lsdarkshadow
Dedicated LVC Member
Well, I can't answer for them. This will be my fourth project car. I will finish, and thanks to some good luck, I just found a motor.
Hopefully you'll be here long enough to see this to the end as I plan to.
Much Much More to come.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=68665