Budget rebuild items?

Ordered some new parts from BTR: valve springs, valve seals, crank bolt, lifter trays. Basically enough to get over the $200 threshold for free shipping.

Also talked to the local machine shop about services & rates. He's going to take my block, heads, pistons, crankshaft, and clean them all in the hot wash tank. He'll service the heads and install the new seals and valvesprings, hone the cylinder bores and install new cam bearings, install new piston rings, and polish the crank bearing journals for me. His initial estimate is $600 assuming everything goes as planned.

Charlie207 said:

Ordered some new parts from BTR: valve springs, valve seals, crank bolt, lifter trays. Basically enough to get over the $200 threshold for free shipping.

Also talked to the local machine shop about services & rates. He's going to take my block, heads, pistons, crankshaft, and clean them all in the hot wash tank. He'll service the heads and install the new seals and valvesprings, hone the cylinder bores and install new cam bearings, install new piston rings, and polish the crank bearing journals for me. His initial estimate is $600 assuming everything goes as planned.

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That's a fair deal. Great to hear the progress!

Just got home from dropping off the cylinder heads w/new springs and seals, crank, and pistons at the machine shop to be cleaned and serviced.

The block was too heavy for me to carry on my own...need the neighbor's big muscles to help load it in the back of my car.

The machinist looked over the rod & main bears, and crank journals and said they looked to be in really good shape, and unless he spotted something egregious later on (he only looked at a couple) that he'd probably just clean them up and suggest I reuse them.

He did show me the wildest thing on a separate 6.0 LS iron block, how cylinder 2 had rusted through from the outside, and that I should tap on the block with a hammer to check mine. That's how miserable the road treatments are here.

And also how a iron LS block weighs more than an older big block that is physically larger. I picked up both off the ground to see for myself, and yeah that LS wants to stay on the ground if you let it.

an iron sbc is not much more than a aluminum ls.

they put a let of material in there somewhere. super strong block.. 4 head bolts per cyl. it's so gm lol.

Quick Google search yields the following weights of blocks (not aftermarket like Dart blocks, etc.)

SBC 190 lbs
BBC 270 lbs

LS aluminum 121 lbs
LS iron 224 lbs

Iron heads vs aluminum heads must be considered, as well as accessories/brackets for overall weights.