L29 rebuild - give me ideas

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Philip Parker

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I have a 1999 CC K2500 with a 454. The truck has 325K on it and it seems that the engine finally gave up the ghost.

I have rebuilt a few engines and have done complete restorations on lots of oddball cars. I have never worked on an engine with so many rebuild options or avenues, and I would love some input.

It's got a corporate 14 and a 4L80E, zero rust and I love the color. I use it as a truck and I need something with lots of torque that wont get stressed out.

Do I buy a stock rebuild or is there a way to make this block better? I would love to rebuild a big block as it is probably the only one I'll ever do.

I have 20psi of compression on #1 and it sounds like a jackhammer hitting a piece of steel while running.
 

Frank Enstein

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Is stroking that motor an option?
Yes but an expensive one. I recommend doing a post mortem of the engine. If you don't see anything horrible inside take the block, crank, and rods to a machine shop you trust to get it checked. Don't go to the cheapest because doing it twice costs even more. If it needs a crank and the block is o.k. AND you have built several engines before Then do a stroker kit. If you got 300+k miles out of it and were happy with the performance rebuild it stock. Get a price for how you want it rebuilt and compare the price to a crate engine. Make sure to figure in your time in the price. Take whatever total you come up with and add one third to it. That is the REAL budget. If you tow lightly or not at all look into raising the compression a little. It will improve fuel economy. If you work it hard don't raise the compression! Give us some idea of what you want out of the engine that is different from stock and we can help further.
 

Carlaisle

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Going the stroker route would be a lot of fun but, as Enstein said, it gets expensive fast. There's no way to beat the crate engine for the money. Now, if you are willing/able to invest some dollars in it, you can have a lot of fun with that foundation even if you don't stroke it. A nicely tuned exhaust system on that engine is worth nearly a 25% boost in power just by itself.
 

lumpdog602

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Do what GM did. Stroke that ho. The cubes, a lil more compression, a lil more cam, and fresh/upgraded heads will have you pulling houseboats. Look at L29 thread above and look at 8.1 Vortec builds. That engine gave you 325K miles. She has earned every penny you spend on a refresh.
 

454cid

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Going the stroker route would be a lot of fun but, as Enstein said, it gets expensive fast. There's no way to beat the crate engine for the money. Now, if you are willing/able to invest some dollars in it, you can have a lot of fun with that foundation even if you don't stroke it. A nicely tuned exhaust system on that engine is worth nearly a 25% boost in power just by itself.

70hp from just exhaust? That sounds more than a bit optimistic, to me.
 

Postmech

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Don't run it anymore. lol It all boils down to money and time. IF you like to rebuild engines, go for it! A balanced rotating assembly is a good option for a stroker. Good machine shops are getting scarce so find one before beginning project. Make sure block is usable. If time is a factor, buy a crate engine. Plus, they come with a warranty. For towing without boost, more cubes is better every time. You can find many performance parts for a rat motor (big block chevy). Spend wisely.
 

Christian Steffen

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Strokers are awesome! At least i really like mine, that said things do get expensive quickly.

Really the rotating assemblies aren't awful, you can get pretty decent stuff for around 2K. But all the other stuff adds up (not that its the something that'll be avoided by not going stroker). If you need a new rotating assembly anyway then a stroker is pretty easy to justify.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sca-1-42450be/make/chevrolet

https://www.summitracing.com/search...valve-reliefs_flat-top-with-two-valve-reliefs
 
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