PIECE BY PIECE: Redline Performance helped put together our upgraded LS2 engine at its shop in Anaheim, California.
Greetings and salutations dear Dirt Sports reader from the humble garage shop that has been ground zero to our Project Plug 'n' Play Alumi Craft since it got home from
being power-coated and prepared for final assembly. As we write this, we are under four weeks away from leaving for our pre-running
trip of the 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.
FORGED BEAUTY: At the heart of our updated engine was K1 Technologies' beautiful new 4-inch stroker crank. Made from forged
billet 4340 steel, these high-quality units feature material properties that are closely monitored with size tolerances held
to ± .0001". The K1 Technologies billet "H beam" connecting rods are also made of 4340 steel and are shot peened for improved
component life. They are finished off with bronze wrist pin bushings and ARP 2000 bolt fasteners for added strength.
With off-road veteran Paul Perrizo leading the assembly proceedings on the plumbing, suspension and other drivetrain-related
issues, we can now turn our attention to the final major piece of the component puzzle – the engine. Like much of this project
has revealed, while we may be satisfied with having something like a stock GM Performance LS2 sitting on the shelf ready to
go, the fact is that even with a limited amount of time on hand we felt – like Homer Simpson going to his favorite donut shop
– that more is better. More is always more. While the engine in question was the lightly massaged LS2 that was the focal point
of our cleverly entitled "Project Plug 'n' Play" engine build of a few years ago, it just didn't seem right to just bolt in
a perfectly good Chevrolet crate motor that already had a camshaft and injector upgrade, did it? Never mind that this perfectly
good engine pulled 495 horsepower on the dyno.
Nope. Like our buddy Homer, we needed more pink frosting with sprinkles because, to put it in Mr. Simpson's words, "It's the
American way."
HONED SURFACES: While our LS engine only had dyno time, Redline Performance still had the block honed for a better surface
for the new piston rings, and also the friction coating applied to our JE pistons by Embee added just enough thickness to
require this extra step.
RAW PISTONS: JE's SRP Professional pistons, Pro Seal rings and lightweight wrist pins were developed over a solid year with
3D computer modeling and billet prototypes. They are comprised of advanced forged side relief (FSR) forgings of high-silicon
4032 alloy that the manufacturer claims is 20 percent lighter than the traditional piston equivalent.
Despite the time crunch, the decision to add just a little more to our LS2 recipe was made easier by the fact that most of
the upgrades we wanted to add not only provided more power, but they also improved torque and reliability. As we stated all
along, the idea for our project was to show our readers how to assemble a world class pre-runner like our Alumi Craft (and
the buddies you sucker or coerce into helping you) with off-the-shelf parts. Now follow along with the bouncing ball. Here is our rationale: The engine isn't really being worked on with our technically
inexperienced hands, as GM Performance specialist Redline Performance will be doing the work. Once the engine is built, he
will have it on his shelf. And, all of the parts did actually once sit on a shelf, didn't they? Voila! Instant justification.
STROKER ACE
DRESSED PISTONS: For added reliability, Embee Performance suggested treating our JE pistons with its latest coatings, applying
its dry film lubricant (the black surface) to the piston skirt to reduce friction and keep engine temperatures down, and added
its thermal barrier coating (gold) to the top of the piston to reflect heat into the combustion chamber and improve engine
operation, which is known as thermal barrier coating.
Our engine saga was kick-started at a recent CORR race with a friendly conversation with Redline Performance owner and engine
guru Mike Porter. Porter's company had been establishing a growing presence in the off-road market (see sidebar), thanks in
large measure to Redline's prowess with the Chevrolet LS series of engines. Always interested in exploring the latest thinking
in powerplants, the conversation eventually turned to the status of our Plug 'n' Play car and engine.
ADDING TENSION: Katech Inc. has been involved with the factory Corvette C5-R race program since 1997. We noticed there seemed
to be a bad spot in the rpm range where the serpentine accessory belt would jump off of the pulley. This is the origin of
this solid adjustable belt tensioner. After installing this tensioner on the race engine, the belt problem disappeared.
We explained our situation, and while Porter agreed that the camshaft and fuel delivery upgrades were good, he felt that adding
a forged set of pistons would add reliability to the package – especially considering the engine was set to run on pump gas.
It wasn't long thereafter that Tom Molner, President of K1 Technologies, expressed interest in our humble engine project as
well; specifically as a showcase for his new line of forged LS-series crankshafts and connecting rods.
After a flurry of e-mails, the group consensus was to take this idea one step further and marry a K1 stroker crank and rods
with a newly released set of J&E "SRP" forged pistons. The resulting combination would not only provide slightly more power,
and now the stock GM performance crate motor would be bumped to an even healthier 402 cubic inches, but that important torque
should also be increased significantly, making the Alumi Craft more drivable and, according to some, less strenuous on the
car's drivetrain.
FINISHING TOUCH: Although we are still assembling the bottom end, we couldn't help but show you these ultra high-quality Katech
aluminum valve covers. While we chose the black finish, the company can powercoat or color match them in any color imaginable.
A beautiful way to finish off any LS series engine.
In terms of the internal parts, one additional suggestion that the good Mr. Porter made was to revisit our friends at Embee
Peformance products (the guys that had done such a great job powercoating our chassis, suspension and body parts) to add yet
another level of reliability by adding their latest coating to the pistons themselves. Sounded good so far.
A lifelong enthusiast of off-road motorsports, Marty Fiolka raced his first SCORE Baja 1000 in 1992. A graduate of the California University at Long Beach, he formed the Rennsport Marketing Group in 1995 and executed public relations programs for Nissan, Infiniti, Exxon, Mitsubishi, and SCORE International. Now an eight-time Baja 1000 competitor and desert racing veteran, Fiolka is the associate producer of Dana Brown's Baja documentary, Dust to Glory, the author of the recently released coffee-table Baja 1000 history book 1000 Miles to Glory.
Articles by Marty Fiolka
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