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Melted Piston

6K views 44 replies 19 participants last post by  Snaker 
#1 ·
My SS is now in need of a new engine. A valve spring broke & a valve dropped. Shop just told me it melted a hole in the piston. Looking at crate motor options. More power, maybe forced induction. Shop is getting back to me soon with some options. I guess I’ll be building a hellcat killer.
 
#3 ·
Has anyone dropped in an LT4?
 
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#7 ·
Sorry about the break down. I think someone else asked about the LT4 swap and it was not going to work but anything can be done with enough $. If had to do it over again I'd gone all motor with cubic inches. I've seen a few LSX 454 motors done.
 
#8 ·
I’m still going to drive it to work half the time, I’m not sure if I want to go NA or forced induction
 
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#12 ·
NA, NA,NA.................... With right cam/lope, just plain awesome sound and out of the hole response. Plus a real head turner IMHO.
 
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#10 ·
Tony at Agile Automotive Performance in MD is researching some options for me. I should hear back from him soon. Then I’ll make a decision.
 
#11 ·
#16 · (Edited)
Going with a 525 HP LS3 block from Chevrolet Performance & Magnuson Heartbeat TVS2300 adding another 125+ HP. Should make me smile while being reliable.
 
#27 ·
DEPENDING ON THE BOOST, AND BUILD OF THE ENGINE, YOU WILL LIKELY SEE ALOT MORE THAN 125HP ON YOUR BLOWER.

I AM AT 639RWHP ON ONLY 7.2LBS OF BOOST. THE INTERCHILLER SYSTEM IN MY CAR IS HEAVILY UPGRADED AS WELL AND CAN PUT DOWN 35 DEGREE INTAKE TEMPS ON AN 85 DEGREE DAY. WE TESTED THE COOLING SYSTEM ON THE DYNO, AND WITHOUT IT ON, MADE 639, AND I DONT REMEMBER THE TORQUE. WITH THE SYSTEM ON AND RUNNING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, WE PUT DOWN 663, WITH NO CHANGE TO THE TUNE.

WE ALSO ADDED E85 TO APPROXIMATELY 60% AND DID A RUN, CONSIDERING I HAD ABOUT A QUARTER TANK OF GAS, THIS WAS EASY TO DO. THAT RUN WAS CRAZY, AND MANAGED TO PULL 723RWHP AND 744TQ. BUT DUE TO THE LACK OF E85 WHERE I LIVE, THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. I JUST WANTED TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE, JUST IN CASE I EVER NEEDED IT AT THE TRACK...
 
#19 ·
Due to supply chain issue, the engine won’t ship now until mid November. :(
 
#20 ·
LS3 is finally here! Install begins next week.
 
#24 ·
I’m curious, how many miles did you have before the failure? Also, were you pushing your car a lot, or was this just a random type of thing’ ? 🤷‍♂️
 
#26 ·
42k. Happened in 3rd gear on the way home from work just after pulling away from a red light. Not really pushing it hard at the time. I don‘t redline it in every gear all the time or anything Like that.
 
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#28 ·
The wife of the technician assigned to my build had a baby (earlier than expected) a few days ago so he is out on paternity leave for the next 2 weeks. I’m pleasantly surprised they even have paternity leave at all in this country. In fact, I think it needs to be longer. Since this is the best person for the job & it’s never a great idea to switch team leaders in the middle of a big project unless absolutely necessary, I’m perfectly fine waiting for him to return. What’s another fortnight when it’s been almost 10 months? I’ll keep you posted when I get more updates from the shop.
 
#29 ·
Oops
 
#31 ·
Work has resumed. Now I need to figure out what i should sell the old motor for. Any suggestions? About 50k mi on it, probably needs to go to a machine shop to be checked out.
 
#32 ·
Cost of shipping? Let me know if you need an address... :ROFLMAO:

Seriously though, it's hard to price without knowing what all is wrong inside aside from the valvetrain and piston. Being an unknown, I wouldn't expect too much as it's a gamble for a buyer. Might net you more money to have it partially disassembled and inspected for damage.
 
#33 · (Edited)
I wasn’t planning on shipping. Two of the techs at the shop expressed interest, I just wanted a ballpark idea of what it’s worth so I know what’s reasonable. If I throw out $5000 for the short block, tell me if I’m crazy or not.
 
#37 ·
that I will have to find out
 
#39 ·

 
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#40 ·
Update: last piece is a ZL-1 fuel pump that should be there today. Then I’ll be picking it up this week hopefully to start the roughly 1000 miles of break in before returning to the shop for the first oil change & final tune. The time is near. I can’t wait!
 
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