I spent yesterday swapping the stock L29 out for the 502. Zero complications.

The 502 specs are:
- GM Gen-VI 502 crate shortblock Part #12568782
- Lunati 54868 Cam, 234/244 and .575/.575" 114º
- Crower Stainless Roller Rockers
- Port-Matched L29 intake Manifold
- 62# Siemens injectors

The day the crate arrived, 6-18-2012:




Some shots of the bottom end:






Oil Pump and Windage Tray:


Rod:


Piston:


L29 Timing Cover, polished:




GM ZZ502 cam vs Lunati 54868 cam:


Valvetrain, opted to run OEM lifters and the softer springs:


Longblock:


Saturday July 21, 2012 during the swap:


Dyno Chart for this engine naturally-aspirated:


Warm start video and a little rev. (5W-30 non-synthetic in the pan for break-in)
http://bertok.us/pics/502/WarmStart.mp4 (3.5MB)

Walkaround vid with engine bay and exhaust:
http://bertok.us/pics/502/WalkAround.mp4 (5.1MB)



Last edited by James B. on Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:21 am; edited 1 time in total

Nice looking. So where is the L29 going? Might be interesting in that orange thing.

Hey jim,
The L29 will be left 100% OEM on the stand and be reinstalled for a week ever 2 years to pass smog. Also, since it's dimensionally identical, I will be using it to mock-up and fabricate the supercharger kit that will take the lame 480ish HP to 1000. I've already got a polished 3.3L Whipple and air-to-water intercooler for this task....

Man, that's gotta suck but at least you have a way around the problem of smog testing. That's one nice thing about Oklahoma, no smogging. And 1000HP? Nice!

me likey, you should bring it out here to the salt flats and see what she can do...

Really nice James. What I wouldn't give for a lame 480 hp.

Very nice James.

peace
Hog

What is nice is the 550 ftlbs of torque. Looks very good. So far no smog testing here either. Are those the same heads you had on te 540?

James B. wrote:

Hey jim,
The L29 will be left 100% OEM on the stand and be reinstalled for a week ever 2 years to pass smog. Also, since it's dimensionally identical, I will be using it to mock-up and fabricate the supercharger kit that will take the lame 480ish HP to 1000. I've already got a polished 3.3L Whipple and air-to-water intercooler for this task....

Why wont you pass smog with that engine? Dont they just do an OBD2 connect to test? lot of work to do every year for smog. Will the 540 ever be salvaged?

There was nothing left of the 540. It even bent 7 of 8 intake valves - they're all new now. (Same Brodix Race-Rite CNC Ovals the Tahoe's 454 and the Suburban's 540 once had.)
The Bowtie block is cracked on both sides and a mess inside.
The Lunati 4340 4.5" crank is severly mangled.
The Lunati 54868 cam was bent and gnarled up. (Bought another copy for the 502.)
Every piston took damage.
The oil pump drive shaft was sheared.
The oil pump itself was locked.
Two rods were torn apart, the rest were all destroyed as well.
It sheared the cam bolts and stretched the chain.
In summary, the only things salvaged from the head gaskets down were the various NPT plugs, the knock sensors, the reluctor ring, and the timing cover.

I still have (and will retain) CA-OBDII catalytic converters on it.
Rear O2 Sensors functional.
EGR deleted.
A.I.R. deleted.
PCV deleted but may reinstate after fabricating a catch-can.

It's not just an OBD-II plug-in and scan, the test is largely an intense visual scrutiny too, smog testers are not idiots. Except for the fact that is probably only get about 6-7mpg now, it's not spewing out pollutants. It smells pretty clean once the cats are warmed up, honestly.
Makes no difference - I can swap the entire engine and reflash the PCM myself in one day. Two days labor every 2 years is acceptable.

Built in upgrade time every two years!!!!

You have electric fans on that?
What is your trick for getting the PS pump off so fast?

TJ

I've never removed a power steering pump for a motor swap! Unbolt the bracket, remove the stud since there isn't room to pull the bracket off the stud anyway, and bungee cord the entire bracket into the corner with power-steering pump attached. I just use a piece of cardboard to prevent damage to the radiator core.

Same sort of trick the the A/C compressor, unbolt it and roll it over to the passenger side.

And now I've found a way to never have to remove the hood again! Unbolt the hood springs and hyper-extend the hood. I tied it off to the roof rack - worked great.

I've also gotten into the habit of jacking the transmission up until it contacts the tunnel, the block can be dropped in right between the bell and motor mounts. Works every time and saves effort.

No electric fans on this one. I'm going to do everything I can to keep the clutch fan, I just don't see electrics as having any real chance of keeping this thing cool.

James B. wrote:

I've never removed a power steering pump for a motor swap! Unbolt the bracket, remove the stud since there isn't room to pull the bracket off the stud anyway, and bungee cord the entire bracket into the corner with power-steering pump attached. I just use a piece of cardboard to prevent damage to the radiator core.

Cool, I used a thin plywood. I wouldn't trust myself with cardboard.

James B. wrote:

And now I've found a way to never have to remove the hood again! Unbolt the hood springs and hyper-extend the hood. I tied it off to the roof rack - worked great.

Cool, I've unbolted the front bracket bolts and loosened the rear ones but your hood seams to reach further back than mine.

James B. wrote:

I've also gotten into the habit of jacking the transmission up until it contacts the tunnel, the block can be dropped in right between the bell and motor mounts. Works every time and saves effort.

I tried that but the bell keeps interfering with the ring gear. So now, I unbolt the cross member, support the front of the transmission with a bar between the frame rails and slide back the transmission about 1"


Still waiting for the booklet:

How to swap a BBC into the GMT400 for maximum performance
by James B.

I want to be your neighbor...1-2 days to swap engine no big deal lol....
What intake is that?

Small blocks are alot easier lol no need to lift the hood more than it does on its own. Engine swap in a day?... piece of cake

Very Nice James, Should be a very respectable runner, cant wait to see the FI version

Boosted-Z71

James B. wrote:

I've never removed a power steering pump for a motor swap! Unbolt the bracket, remove the stud since there isn't room to pull the bracket off the stud anyway, and bungee cord the entire bracket into the corner with power-steering pump attached. I just use a piece of cardboard to prevent damage to the radiator core.

Same sort of trick the the A/C compressor, unbolt it and roll it over to the passenger side.

And now I've found a way to never have to remove the hood again! Unbolt the hood springs and hyper-extend the hood. I tied it off to the roof rack - worked great.

I've also gotten into the habit of jacking the transmission up until it contacts the tunnel, the block can be dropped in right between the bell and motor mounts. Works every time and saves effort.

No electric fans on this one. I'm going to do everything I can to keep the clutch fan, I just don't see electrics as having any real chance of keeping this thing cool.

What temp Thermostat are you running? The hypertech 160 deg works a whole hello of a lot Better than 180/190deg hot
Box does. the Electric fans actually work better at idle(for me) than the clutch fan did. And if you stagger them one coming on
At 180 then the other at 190 it Always stays cool. But you have enough
Power not to worry really

Just beautiful!

Sounds like the old engine went to war and lost...wtf happened to it?

The 540 broke a rod bolt and then all hell broke loose. Was rolling down the highway at 2200 RPM just cruising when that happened. From tapping, to knocking, to BOOM literally within 3 seconds. The magnitude and impact sound and jolt of the destruction was impressive.

It's got a 180-degree thermostat in it. I'm a little concerned about running it too cool, being that t has forged pistons and siamesed bores. 180 is as low as I'll go. Stock 195 might actually be better for this...