Been piecing together a forged 370 for a while now, and I'm finally getting down to the last few things. I'm going with ARP head studs but witch one hex or 12pt and why. Do you really think the ARP bottom end stud kit is necessary with the 6 bolt main the ls1 already has.

 

I have the 12pt set. I think the idea of the 12pt is to give more engagment on the socket for repeated use. I also bought the ARP main studs because the factory hardware is TTY and needed to be replaced anyway. The ARP stuff is re-usable in case you need to take anything apart down the road you won't be buying another set of factory hardware.

 

I recommend ARP head studs... 6 or 12 point... I don't think it makes any difference.

... if you go with a main stud kit I would have the mains line honed with the studs in place, IMO. If you want to get really sexy and make the stud kit count for something then also have the mains doweled. Otherwise... a GM main bolt kit will take just about anything you can throw at it.

Bill

 

Thanks for the replys. I will probally go with the main kit as well since my short block hardware is not in the best of shape and it will be a little more security.

 

this might be a newbish question, but should they be torqued down fully when this is done, or just wrench tight?