Chevy High Performance – October 2019

40 CHEVY HIGH PERFORMANCE II OCTOBER 2019

08 | The parade of

disappointment continues.

If you see this, run—don’t

walk—away as fast as

you can. Of course, we’re

committed, but it was

at this point we began

to worry that at least a

couple of cylinder bores

will require sleeving.

Conventional wisdom

says you can bore an

LQ9 0.060-over (to 4.060

inches) and sometimes

more if you keep it

naturally aspirated, so

we’ll just have to see.

10 | When we pulled the drain plug from the oil pan there was a gallon of

water and practically zero lubricant. Still, the level of rust on the crankshaft and

connecting rods was surprising.

09 | One spark plug was galled in the cylinder head, and the hex for the
socket had broken free from the ceramic, allowing it to spin freely. While trying
to determine how to get it out, we discovered that the pad to the side of the
spark plug strap in the combustion chamber was completely burned away. For
comparison, you can see a “good” chamber to the left. We don’t know exactly
how that would have happened, but we do know the head is junk.

Say Hello to the En Fuego Six-Oh

06 | The knock sensors were seized in place, but a little white vinegar poured

into the holes where they thread through the valley cover into the block ate away

at the corrosion over a couple of days and allowed one of them to come out.

07 | One of the valley tray’s knock sensor ports
was so corroded it broke off at the base. The valley
was full of both rust and assorted crud.

05 | Once the transmission was removed, the teardown could begin in
earnest. First off were the coils and valve covers to reveal rocker arms and
valvesprings covered in rust. The water trapped inside this engine really did
severe damage. At minimum, the rocker arms would need to be sodablasted
and the trunnions rebuilt, which really isn’t worth the cost. Rusty valvesprings
are definitely a no-go and will have to be replaced.

for determining the health of your
own junkyard reclamation project.
Next, we’ll turn this lump of rust into
something useful and strap it on the
dyno to see just how much steam we
can make on the cheap.

The cool thing here is that GM’s

4.8-, 5.3-, and 6.0-liter engines are

so similar that practically everything

we’re covering here will work across

the board. So, while we definitely

wouldn’t recommend taking on a

reclamation project as bad as this one,

there are tons of LS-based engines in

the junkyard these days. Keep looking

and find a better option. Stick around

while we try to dig ourselves out of this

horsepower hole. CHP