I purchased a 01 5.3 motor to use in a 67 camaro with a turbo. I'm about to get the engine back to my house and pull it apart to get it ready for boost. So far I have decided to add ARP rod bolts/main studs and head studs. It will have a billit wheel Comp 76mm turbo and hoping for 600rwhp with a good turbo cam and 93 oct thru a T56, Fab 9 rear and 29x18R20 Mickey Thompson steam rollers. So probably 720-730hp at the crank. My biggest question is the type of bolts the factory rods have. Is it the type that the bolt comes out completely or is it a nut and the stud stays in and has to be pressed out? Im wanting to see if I will be able to remove the stockers and install the ARP rod bolts by only removing the oil pan. Or if I would have to pull the heads, remove pistons/rods and have the studs pressed out and new studs pressed in or something. I'm praying its a bolt style that all comes out. But when I look at Jegs/summit it shows pics of both styles for the 5.3 LS Gen 3 motor. I know those pics arent always the exact part, sometimes just a generic pic. Can somebody please verify this for me? Also if we happen to have any experts among us does anyone know the ARP part numbers for the 12 point head studs, main studs and rod bolts? Do any of the sponsors here offer better pricing than Jegs or summit? I will also be looking for a high volume/high pressure oil pump, double roller timing set, hardened pushrods, LS7 lifters, rocker trunion upgrade kit, gasket set, springs (for custom cam when Pat-G sends me the spec sheet i've paid him to do). So hopefully a sponsor would be willing to work a package deal and maybe even a active duty military discount...

 

The reason i'm asking for the part numbers is because so many different ones pop up for it on jegs/summit. I dont want to risk ordering the wrong ones. Already gone over budget on this setup as insurance didnt give me near what my 68 camaro should have been worth. (House burned down November 3rd 2011 and camaro was in the garage, was finally finishing it after 7 years). I was just going to put the stock 5.3 in and turbo it. But for the sake of insurance of not having to tear back into it soon I wanted to put ARP bolts in rods/mains/heads. Same reason for the oil pump and valvetrain upgrades.

 

Save yourself a lot of time and worry by just not dealing with rod bolts. I've got them on my nitrous application, but IMO, there'd be no point on your ride. I'm not even sure they'd help. Your peak power numbers on PSI will most likely come in under 6200 rpm anyways. As for the others, I can probably get back to you with part numbers tomorrow. It's 3:46 a.m. where I'm at.

 

Honestly its going to depend on what type of rod bolts they are. If able to remove/install the bolts by only removing the oil pan I will definately do it. If it requires a complete tear down and pressing out/in then unless its a high possibility of failure I may not mess with em. I'm not the type to get to 600rwhp and then a month later say why not go for 7 or 800rwhp. I will be perfectly happy with 600rwhp as I want it to be fairly dependable for road trips to oklahoma and hopefully a power tour in the future.

 

Road trips to oklahoma? You dont say.... Ill be watching out for you on 1320vids... lol.

 

Yup, have family around Durant and Oklahoma City that I visit. Went to the drag strip just south of OKC last august. It hurt to not be able to find 93 oct fuel tho. Couldnt open my car up on 91.

 

Part # 134-6026 from ARP.

 

See what I mean, that part number shows to be a 2 piece design where the stud is pushed in from top of rod and uses a nut like studs.

 

I ended up going with Katech rod bolts. I changed them in the truck by dropping the pan. It was not a hard job at all. If I had to do it over again, I am not sure if I would even do it. The biggest pain was the originals come with ferrules that need to be removed. After doing this, I seriously wonder if it put stress on the cap and could have distorted them. I think they make a puller for them, and I would get one if I were to replace bolts again.

 

I think they mean that if you place an order you will get 2 bolts. At least where I checked that part # was only $15.