yeah as far as the 383 i am hoping to get one and i have driven a 408 and is all i have to say you have to stand on the damn brakes or put it in neutral at a stop light it is f'in mean but the 383 will be a little more polite and put a turbo or SC properly tuned on there and you will have a maching with better gas mileage that would wipe up half the stuff on the road without even trying

 

Tough choices man.

I think what you should do is list your ultimate goals and your budget(damn money ) to help make a decision. If there is something you can do now(like add a stroker rotating) and it's within budget do it. Definately cheaper in the long run.

I believe there is an issue with some LS1 blocks with cylinders that weren't honed correctly from the factory. This caused out of round cylinders that cause knocking problems. If you decide to keep the aluminum block have the machine shop check it, think it was cylinder 7 specifically but, a search in the internal section would probably turn it up.

If you plan on staying N/A more cubes is ALWAYS better.

 

I just read about the cylinder roundness thing recently. Seems the cylinder can "oval" out when not using torque plates to hone/bore. The outer cylinders are most prone ( like the #7 ) and the aluminum LS1/6 blocks are even more sensitive.
The article checked roundness when honing out a block. Looked great when the torque plates were in place but ovaled when they were removed. They also used a GM warranty motor that was swapped for very high oil usage. Cylinder round was checked on the bare block and was perfect?!? Put the torque plates on and it ovaled by .002".
Moral, have the block line honed using torque plates, bolts, and even gasket thickness matched to your final build. This will mean reusable bolts and gaskets ( not the stock ones as we all know ).
BTW, the article was either the latest Chevy Hiper or Hot Rod issue. I'll figure it out and edit the post later.

 

Any info would be great!

When we assembled the engine, we just ran over the cyliners w/ a bead hone...there was no machine work done. Guess I just went too low budget.

 

My goal really was to have one of the faster N/A trucks out there...the money that I might be using for a new shortblock was earmarked for AFR's and some LT's.

I would really like to get into the mid-low 12s on the motor, but still have room for a 100-150 shot if I decided to go that route. I was thinking that 400-450hp would get me close to that goal. Streetability isn't a HUGE factor as this isn't my daily driver--but I still wanna be able to drive it around town on weekends and drive it to car shows w/o having any trouble.

I dunno...the more I think about it, the more I just wanna put the 4.8 in w/ a 212/218 setup like I had, and bag and bodydrop the truck. This go-fast stuff is starting to get frustrating and expensive. Something like this:

 

Sorry it took so long....
February 2005 Chevy Hi Performance, Performance Q&A section, page 94, "Plate Games". Good description of the reason for torque plates, especially on the aluminum blocks.
I think the bead hone is OK as does not really remove any material except varnish buildup and cuts a very small cross hatch to get the new rings to seat better. Best bet is to use some 3.905 pistons/rings and let a machine shop bore hone it with the torque plates installed and some reusable bolts ( like ARP ).

 

Thanks for the info...I'll go pick that issue up tonight!

 

I hear you on the endless headaches and expense. IMO though, I think the money would be better spent on more cubes. The horror stories Ive heard and seen about various heads just scares the crap out of me. Maybe its just because you dont hear too much about the good heads, just the really bad ones. Instead of making a rash decision, maybe you should just wait a bit. You have another driver right?
Whats the deal with the tranny in the classifieds?
Have you already made up your mind?

 

I haven't made up my mind 100% yet, but I think that a built 65-e would be better for what I wanna do anyway. I doubt it'll sell anyway, just thought I'd throw it out there. I'm just really confused right now..maybe I shouldn't have posted it. Who knows.

I might be putting the cart before the horse here, but I looked at the pan that I drained the oil into again last night and there is a LOT of metal in it. I mean, a lot. I'm still lookin' around at rotating assemblies, but the best deal still seems to be the forged 408 from HPE.

 

Just throwing out ideas here, but you could park it for a bit. Sell the 4.8 and have the 5.7 looked over and see if you could sell the block. That 408 would be sick! Im going with a 4L65 as well. Depending on your habits it should do well I would think, plus youd have less drivetrain loss . I would say screw the heads, keep your eyes open for some used long tubes and a wet kit. That thing would scream!