My 6L, cammed, manual WH2

[SirNemesis]

Progress!

0.0025" clearance on the mains and rods. Block zero-decked, all looking sweet

 

[Jesterarts]

I am so glad I no longer have a LS. So easy to spend so much and it never stops!

Looking awesome mate, any particular power goals with this build?

 

[SirNemesis]

I am so glad I no longer have a LS. So easy to spend so much and it never stops!

Looking awesome mate, any particular power goals with this build?

Not really. I don't know if the engine will even stay in the Statesman for long, but I will make use of it somewhere.

 

[SirNemesis]

Not much progress tonight. I installed the cam and the windage tray...

But then I noticed a few holes in this block. I've never worked with a brand new block before, so no doubt this is normal and I just need to get the bits.

Q&A time...

#1 What goes in here? Is this where the barbell restrictor goes? Does it just sit in there or do I need a cap to keep it in place? Can I reuse the one from my LS2 block? Are they the same? Should I buy a new one?

#2 Does something go in this hole? This is on the rear of the block (upside down in the photo) and is threaded.

#3 What about this hole? This is at the rear of the block (upside down again). I assume something goes in here? What is it? Is it just a plug? Does anyone know the part number(s) for these bits?

#4 What about this one? This is at the front of the block near the oil pump outlet (upside down block).

#5 And these? These are on the rear on the block outside the rear plate. This are in the coolant galleries and there's 1 on each side of the rear of the block. The front appears to have them as well, but the front ones are already plugged?

#6 What about the one on the right here? The left is the outlet of the oil pump, but I'm not sure what goes in the right hole (if anything). It kinda lines up with a flat part of the front cover, but I imagine something needs to be pressed in here first?

#7 This hole in the cam retainer plate (upside down photo) isn't round like the others. I've done some googling and it appears to be normal, but it means the tapered bolt doesn't sit flush with the plate like the others do. Should I cut the taper deeper and make it round? Doesn't seem to cause any problems, but I don't really understand why its odd.

The block didn't come with bolts for this plate so I'm using the one from my LS2/L76. The problem is the LS2/L76 only has 4 where the LSX has 6. I assume they are the right thing? If so, I'll buy some more tomorrow.

That's all I've got to show for now. Hopefully someone who's played with these blocks before can help with the questions

 

[SirNemesis]

Ok, progress for today...

I've ordered a barbell oil restrictor for the rear of the block and got some plugs coming which should suit the big holes on the rear of the block. I also managed to get 2 of 3 plugs from my old LS2 block, stripped the 3rd one attempting to remove it, so I'll order another one of those.

Picked up 6 new cam retaining bolts today from the bolt shop. GM wanted $9each for them which I couldn't justify. The off-market ones are allen head instead of torx, and about 2mm longer, but they don't bottom out in the block and torque up fine.

Got the timing chain on, the oil pump, pickup and sump.

Also put the lifters in, the head studs and put the head gaskets on. I still need to do some cleaning to the heads before I put them on so I'll do that tomorrow.

Still stuck on the plug that goes on the rear of the block, behind the rear plate next to the cam. Its the same thread as the other ones on the block, but the head of the plug doesn't fit in the hole on the block, which stops the rear plate seating properly. Not sure what to do about that yet...

 

[SirNemesis]

Pretty quiet in here... is anyone still following?

 

[MY38VX]

Hi sirnemesis

I have just read this from start to finish and I can't think of anything else to say but WOW this thing is a beast looking forward to seeing more updates

 

[YMY-70Y]

im still following..

like a creeper...in the back ground... smiling

 

[rizza90]

very nice love the look of these :clap:

 

[SirNemesis]

Cheers guys

OK, got some more minor progress to report. FINALLY found a source for the missing coolant gallery plugs, so now the engine is completely plugged and ready to go into the car. I'm going to mount the T-56 to it first and put it in together, so I'll install it once I purchase a GMM Ripshifter 'Race' for the box. If anyone has one for sale, I'm interested, otherwise I'll buy a new one next week.

If anyone else gets stuck finding these plugs, the US GM part number is GM#12561663, however GM in Australia have this part listed as obsolete with no replacement. I've found that GM#11609289 is the exact same plug, and GM Australia had 400+ of these in stock last week.

I've also made some more progress on purchasing an engine for my other project car, and it came in the shape of another Statesman. So... I'm wrecking a 2002 WHII International if anyone's interested. Let me know what parts you are keen on and make an offer. I've put some videos up on YouTube to show general condition of the car. https://www.youtube.com/user/sirnemesis0/videos?tag_id=&view=0&sort=dd