Building a Loaded 5.3L LS

(Pat)>> This LS is loaded with aftermarket parts and held together with high quality ARP fasteners. Best of all you can enter to win it. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Mike)>> Do you ever wonder what happens to the engines we build that don't find their way into a project vehicle here at the Powernation shops?

(Pat)>> Sometimes they hang around for quite a while before they get repurposed or we'll tear them apart for showing more tech, and here are a few examples of ones that are just waiting to get called back into action.

(Mike)>> Now this is a 598 cubic inch big block Ford that was put together with the legendary engine builder Jon Kaase. So you know it made big power. How about north of 1,100! Remember this, 512 cubic inches of Mopar madness. It made over 650 horsepower on 93 octane pump gas.

(Pat)>> And for even more displacement 632 cubic inches of big block Chevy that made over 1,000 horsepower naturally aspirated.

(Mike)>> These engines require specific maintenance rituals that are way more in depth than a mildly built street engine. They require specialty tools, an extensive mechanical knowledge, and when the parts in these engines decide to go southbound, which they will, deep pockets are a must.

(Pat)>> With that being said if you had a chance to win an engine that required very little maintenance, made great power, and can be installed or swapped into just about any car, truck, boat, van, or whatever else you could dream up would you be interested? I think you would.

(Mike)>> I think they would too. Here's an engine we put together a while back that showed you how easy it is to make great power for the street with minimal effort. It's a 325 cubic inch 5.3 liter LS truck engine that has proved itself over and over as one of the best small blocks ever to hit the streets. It had a fresh short block and was topped off with go fast parts from several main players in the automotive aftermarket.

(Pat)>> The engine was clamped to the dyno and topped off with a single plane carbureted manifold and one of our dyno specific carburetors. The pulls were flawless and the results made us happy. Here they are. [ engine revving ]

(Mike)>> It looks a little different now that's it's all torn apart but that's a great thing for all of you guys watching. We teamed up with Automotive Racing Products, better known as ARP, to change the looks of this engine and upgrade several parts so one of you can put it in your hot rod or daily driver.

(Pat)>> When we plan something like this we encourage input from both parties. ARP wants the engine to look a specific way and you are going to see the results as it gets put together. First the block will be murdered out with some semi-gloss black. [ Music ]

(Mike)>> All of our covers and our oil pan are at Mister Speedcoatings getting some awesome wrinkle black powder coating applied. Now we obviously have to keep moving forward. So the cam is going in next. This is Trick Flow's Track Max hydraulic roller for LS engines. It will present a great idle with awesome mid-range and top end power. Its r-p-m range is 2,500 to 6,300 r-p-m. Duration at 50 thousandths is 220 on the intake and 224 on the exhaust. Lift at the valve with a stock rocker arm ratio is 575 thousandths on both the intake and exhaust lobes. Lobe separation angle is 112 degrees. A three bolt cam gear is required. The cam plate is next. A little tip or better yet a word of advice is to use Permatex orange thread locker on the fasteners retaining it. This thread locker has a nice break away like blue thread locker but a much stronger prevail, which means it will not back out of the threads as easily. [ Music ] Next up is a billet timing set that wears the Summit Racing branding. It's a high quality single row setup that has advance and retard degree markings so you can dial the cam in.

(Pat)>> Already placed in the trays are Trick Flow lifters. They have a 842 thousandths diameter. The trays have two jobs. One is to keep the lifter wheel in line with the cam lobe. The other is to retain the lifter when the rocker arms and push rods are removed so the heads do not have to come off during a cam swap. [ Music ]

(Mike)>> This oil pump has been ported and the relief springs shimmed 78 thousandths. When installing always use one and a half thousandths shims to properly center the pump's gear on the crank sprocket. [ Music ] Alright windage tray. The factory windage tray can go on followed by the oil pump pickup. Always use a new O-ring when reassembling. ARP stainless nuts will secure it all down. [ Music ] The final fastener is a six millimeter used to hold the pickup to the pump. [ Music ]

(Pat)>> Up next we upgrade the top end and do some time in the cell block.

(Mike)>> Here I come!

(Pat)>> Have you ever heard the term a spark plug is hot or cold? Here's more in today's tech tip.

(Tim)>> Hot or cold spark plugs refer to how fast or slow heat transfers from the plug to the combustion chamber. A cold plug has a short insulator length that rapidly transfers heat. Hot plugs have a longer insulator nose. So heat is transferred at a slower pace. This keeps the spark plug temperature high so it can self-clean carbon deposits and prevent fowling. A cold spark plug is necessary for engines with modifications that increase cylinder pressure and temperature, which increase the risk of detonation and knock. These include high compression ratios, advanced ignition timing, lean air/fuel ratios, supercharging, nitrous, and using methanol. Hot spark plugs are recommended for low r-p-m applications and rich air/fuel mixtures that can allow carbon deposits to build up on the tip.

(Mike)>> Since this is an ARP sweepstakes engine is has to show off what ARP iT famous for, their fasteners. Now that's why we went with a black wrinkle coat on the powder coat job. Now this was all done at our favorite powder coaters Mister Speedcoatings, and they can lay this stuff down like nobody else we've seen. James has been powder coating for decades and he's a perfectionist. So it shows in everything he does. Now they can handle everything from chassis, to production work, and even smaller things like our covers. With a new gasket in place the front cover is being installed. The fasteners have a torque rating and for proper gasket crush it's important to follow.

(Pat)>> What I love about ARP is that they have a fastener for virtually any part of your vehicle. From the engine to the driveline, and speaking of engines their accessory fastener kits are available for a bunch of different applications, and you can get them either in a six or 12 point head with a black oxide or stainless finish. Plus you can get the bolts in individual packs from the valve cover and valley cover, water pump, coil, oil pan, and everything in between. Plus that even extends to the driveline side with bolts for your engine mounts, for you flywheel, or even fastening the engine to the transmission.

(Mike)>> Another new gasket is laid down to seal the oil pan to the block, and the pan is cinched down. [ drill humming ] [ Music ]

(Mike)>> Clean mating surfaces are a must when assembling an engine. Don't just think it's good enough. The head gaskets have a 51 thousandths compressed thickness and the awesome performing Trick Flow Gen-X 205 heads are reuniting with the bock. New from ARP are polished stainless head bolts. Whether you are building a hot rod or just like the bling ARP stepped up and gave you another option on the best line of fasteners. [ torque wrench clicking ]

(Mike)>> The valley plate is the stock piece. These ARP fasteners are available in either the accessory kit or by themselves. Check out the Summit Racing website for options. We're making some big changes on the top of this engine in the induction department. We're basically going from this carbureted aluminum single plane manifold to this MSD Atomic Air Force one. Now this thing is packed full of features like a 103 millimeter throttle bore so it'll accept large throttle bodies for maximum air flow. It's also polymer, so it's lightweight and it resists heat. It's a two piece design, which provides access to the runner for porting. The bell mouth runner design maximizes air flow and minimizes shrouding while optimizing the available plenum volume. Some assembly and drilling is required, like installing the map sensor. This manifold has a couple of locations. So you get to choose where you want to put it. Once the hole is drilled install the map sensor and secure it with the supplied fastener. It's that simple. It is very important to follow the step by step directions when assembling this manifold. The torqueing procedure is straight forward but critical for the manifold to seal properly. [ Music ] Finally we can button the valvetrain with the Trick Flow push rods and a set of Harlan Sharp aluminum roller rockers. [ Music ]

(Pat)>> Up next, leave your laptop at home. The Terminator-X has everything you need to get your engine running great.

(Pat)>> We are dangerously close to getting our 5.3 on the dyno with the new fuel injection system but one thing people tend to overlook is the quality of the valve cover. It's really tempting to put a thin sheet metal one on because it's lightweight and they're very racy looking, but when you're really thrashing on the engine they tend to crack and leak. So if you want one to last under a lot of abuse I recommend going with a thick cast aluminum one. We have these ones from Holley and they come in a bunch of different finishes but we had ours powder coated black. [ Music ] The name says it all except for the size. This throttle body is 102 millimeter. Complementing the manifold are MSD fuel rails. Since the manifold will accept factory fuel rails these are an extra option. The injectors are Accel high impedience with a 46 pound per hour rating. The kit comes with fittings and lines for the crossover as well. [ Music ] A Summit Racing balancer is going back on. Never pound these on with a hammer. Use an installer to avoid any damage to the thrust bearing.

(Mike)>> Here I come.

(Pat)>> When an engine is rolled into the dyno room there is still work to be done. Our Superflow dyno cart makes it so simple to position the engine where it needs to be. Once the input shaft is aligned with the drive plate coupler a few latches are locked and we are secure. Circulating the water through the cooling system is a Maziere electric water pump. In all the years we have been using these pumps we have not seen a failure. [ Music ] A set of one and seven-eighths mid length headers will dump the exhaust gases into our dyno's exhaust pipe.

(Mike)>> LS engines are a dime a dozen, especially when they're being removed from salvaged vehicles. You can also get the harness and the e-c-m if you choose to do so but here's the deal. The factory harness is big and bulky, and being in the vehicle it's been in the elements for years. Now it could have seen hot and cold weather, rain, and even salt if you live in an area where it snows. So why deal with the hassle of possibly having cut wires or pins removed from connectors? This could add a lot of trouble shooting and time you don't want to spend on wiring. To avoid those problems and have full control over your engine Holley has a new system out called the Terminator-X. It's available for all types of LS engines whether you're running a 24 or 58 tooth reluctor wheel. Now this system has Holley's popular fuel learning strategies, high impedance injector drivers, a built in map sensor, and four programmable inputs and outputs. Something else to know for you guys that run a power adder that makes boost. It has a built in boost controller, and we're not gonna leave you nitrous guys out. It has a built in nitrous controller that will handle either a wet or dry progressive or non-progressive nitrous system. [ Music ] E-3 spark plugs are everywhere you look, from grassroots tracks to the wild and rowdy performers at the NHRA events. The plug utilizes a patented edge to edge electrode design that delivers maximum performance. The open ground electrode design allows the flame kernel to reach the area above the piston quicker, which will get the combustion started faster. Keeping with the theme of the engine a set of black MSD wires will supply voltage to the previously installed E-3 plugs. The Holley e-f-i harness is made extremely well. Here's a look at how good it tucks and stays in line with the components making for a great looking installation.

(Pat)>> Auto enthusiasts are about as diverse as the cars they drive. From domestic to imported, daily driver to weekend warrior and everything in between, one thing they all have in common is they all need a serious tire to get the most out of their vehicle's performance capabilities. The Continental Extreme Contact Sport is an ultra-high performance tire that comes in 71 different sizes to cover virtually anything you have. They have sport plus technology in their design giving maximum control and precise steering on both dry and wet roads. So no matter what conditions you're doing your spirited driving in Extreme Contact Sports' give you the enhanced traction and that little bit of extra confidence to push your limits. To find a set for you vehicle visit Continental tire dot com. Up next whoever wins this engine we hope they have as much fun with it as we have.

(Pat)>> That is clean, clean, clean!

(Pat)>> Are you ready? Terminator-X for the start here.

(Mike)>> I see l-e-d lights, we're good!

(Pat)>> Okay running. Let's get a little heat in her here.

(Mike)>> 160 degrees is target temp for self-learn.

(Pat)>> A lot of mistakes people make is they'll try to run these things hard without letting the table populate, and then they run kinda weird, and then they're on the phone trying to see what's going on and they didn't get it up to operating temp. These things are so simple. What I like about this one no laptop. It has a little hand held. You set a couple of parameters and a target air/fuel ratio, a target wide open throttle, O-2 reading.

(Mike)>> You're in the money. In the money zone.

(Pat)>> I'm gonna make a pull from 3,500 to 5,500 just to see what she does here. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> Clean first pull.

(Mike)>> I saw some good numbers on the gauges. To 5,500, 419, 406 on torque. Nice clean graph too. It's not choppy. The system's doing what it should be doing.

(Pat)>> I kinda on purpose rolled into it hard to see if it'd cough, nothing.

(Mike)>> Air/fuels?

(Pat)>> It's a little on the fat side, which target air/fuel I think was at 12.5 and we got some 12.4's in here. I think we can definitely tune on that a little, but what I'm gonna do is the first thing I'm gonna do is.

(Mike)>> Pull it to 6,500!

(Pat)>> I'm gonna pull it higher yeah. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> That is clean, clean, clean! Look at that. 407 pound feet of torque, 443 horse. Now we need to pull a little bit of fuel out of this thing. It's a tad bit on the rich side. Dude that's nice.

(Mike)>> It's a beautiful little street engine.

(Pat)>> Excellent oil pressure. I'm kinda jealous of this one. This is a nice, clean install, nice engine. So in the notes we adjusted the air/fuel, 12.5 to 13.2. We got a clean 14.0 at idle.

(Mike)>> I mean loading, everything, just really good manners.

(Pat)>> Very nice! [ engine revving ]

(Mike)>> I saw a number.

(Pat)>> It's got nice oil pressure. Picked up a little bit of power, 410 for torque, 447 for power, and we're right there on air/fuel. We're at 13.0.

(Mike)>> It's doing exactly what it was commanded to do.

(Pat)>> And it doesn't do a whole lot crazily on power but look what it did to the average. That's what's gonna tell a story. Look how it's printing 440's.

(Mike)>> Held it for a long time.

(Pat)>> 444, 446, 447, 444, we can't turn it 7,000 and make more.

(Mike)>> There's no reason to. Make another hit on it.

(Pat)>> We'll try it again. This thing's still learning, populating its tables.

(Mike)>> What did you do on timing when you setup?

(Pat)>> 26 degrees.

(Mike)>> Okay, I'd leave it.

(Pat)>> This is a giveaway engine.

(Mike)>> It's a safe spot, fuels good, and with a bone stock bottom end 5.3 to make 447, 450 horsepower is pretty impressive for a small block. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> It's gonna print numbers is what it's gonna do. Yep same thing. It's within one on each one. Again we can mess with the timing and stuff but I don't think. That's the problem with this stuff right. When you have all this adjustability you'll literally be here all day tuning on it.

(Mike)>> For what 3 horse?

(Pat)>> For the marginal gain that you would do I'm really, really, really impressed with this because it stands to a lot about who makes this, and the parts that are there, how it's made where you can literally click all the connections in and this thing makes. I mean it starts up for one thing.

(Mike)>> And it takes away the fear of guys that haven't messed with e-f-i. You get a junk yard engine. You pull it out. You can run a stock manifold on this thing, put this system on it for $995 bucks, and this is what it does.

(Pat)>> Right and it has the adjustability. Maybe if you had to mess with cracking an e-c-u. There's nothing wrong with doing that right but for absolute simplification of getting an engine running this is damn near as easy...

(Mike)>> Made for the beginner tuner.

(Pat)>> ...as doing like a carburetor cause we've done that as well. And look what it's doing, boom, boom, boom, done. I like it.

(Mike)>> I like it too but we can't win it.

(Pat)>> Unfortunately we can't win it. I don't care what you put this in for a hot rod. If you put this in a 2,000 pound roadster, or you put this in a pickup truck it's gonna run fantastic.

(Mike)>> And it's held together with the best bolts in the industry.

(Pat)>> That is the whole thing. They do a great job and this goes to show, look at all the stuff they make. No matter the application they've got something for you, and if they don't they'll make something for you. Alright success! For more information on anything you've seen today visit Powernation TV dot com.