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Engine block weights

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Waterthunder

Waterthunder

Well-known member
I was weighing some parts out of curiosity because of some talk on the chat room Tuesday about V/6's. I have built a few 350HP and 400HP Vortec 4.3 V/6's and happen to be building one now. So here are some G.M. block and head weights. A stock .060 over 400 bare SBC block weighs 172.4lbs, a .030 over 4.3 Vortec V/6 block weighs 121.2 and a Truck LS1 block the heaviest of production aluminum LS blocks which is the block I prefer and use for all stroker LS1 motors weighs 114.6. I must admit I assumed the V/6 and LS1 blocks weighed the same but the LS1 block is a little lighter then a V/6 block. As for complete assemble heads a stock V/6 head weighed 34.8lbs and a LS1 head weighed 23.4 pounds. This also surprised me I weighed a bare O540 jug no valves, no springs, retainers or locks plus it was the light parallel valve O540 jug it weighed 17.2lbs. I bet an assembled O540 angle valve jug weighs close to 23 lbs and that’s what a complete LS1 head weighs and it’s for 4 cylinders.
 
I will post some pic's and weights of a 383 stroker LS1 with all accessories alternator, starter, carb, air cleaner, ignition box, oil and filter, water pump, belts, and a Stinger gearbox. Also this weekend my neighbor is finishing up a O540 and a 180 Lycoming I will take some pic's and weights of these also.
 
I weighed some more stuff this weekend. I was installing a 600HP 383 LS1 in a boat so I weighed it first. I should point out this motor has a 4340 forged crank that has a .250 more stroke then stock so this motor will weigh slightly more then a stock stroke LS1. O.K. here is what I weighed the entire motor with oil in it, waterpump, alternator, carberator, starter, belts, burp tank, oil filter. flywheel, and a 2.68 gearbox. Well it weighs less then a 520 continental I weighed last month or any large journal angle valve O540 I have weighed. This entire package weighed 471 Lbs the only thing not on this motor was the headers. I also weighed two complete jugs a parallel O540 jug which weighed 19.3 pounds and a angle valve O540 head weighed 23.2. A parallel jug weighs 4 pound less the an angle valve jug. So one cylinders head on a O540 weighs the same as 4 cylinders of a LS1 head. Or all the heads for a O540 weigh 139.2 pounds and all the LS1 heads weigh 46.8. I will post pic’s Monday of the scale and it’s read out!
 
Hey thunder that is amazing. Do you have the weight of complete iron sbc 400 with and without gear box? Any info would be great. Also you sould make a chart of all your collected data.
 
Thunder,


How about posting the different engine weights in (1) one post complete with all required attachments required to run.

The weight of a single head really doesn't mean a lot since you need (4) four, (6) six or (8) eight of them to run. :D

I'd like to see the complete weight with componants of the different AC & Auto engines.


CJ
 
Thunder,

You need to educate all those not so smart engineers that work for Lycoming and Continental and get them to switch to automotive engines for aircraft as opposed to aircraft engines. If power to weight ratio were the only criteria you may have an argument, but not sure if you have an argument there. Redundency and dependability comes to mind. An aircraft engine is pretty simple and will get you back even though messed up. You probably build a hell of an engine, but its more complicated. More systems and more parts mean more problems.

Ken
 
No commercial here I have just heard hundreds of people arguing over weights for more then a decade and I thought some of them would like to know some real weights. As for a 400SBC weight I have weighed two of them. One had a set of Brodix track one aluminum heads, aluminum water pump, lightweight starter, alternator, flywheel and aluminum valve covers. The entire motor without a gearbox and headers weighed 553Lbs. Pirate I’m sure an aircraft wouldn’t work well at all in a car so who cares.
 
THIS IS LIKE TRYING TO COMPARE

CHEVY'S AND FORDS

CONTINENTAL'S AND LYCOMINGS

DECKOVER HULL'S AND OPEN BOATS

LIVE BAIT AND ARTIFICIAL

YOU WILL NEVER GET EVERYONE TO AGREE

THERE WILL ALWAY'S BE TWO KINDS OF AIRBOATERS-AIRCRAFTBOATS AND CARMOTOR BOATS

THE ONLY WAY TO COMPARE THEM IS IN THE MARSHES AND WOODS, GET'EM OUT THERE AND RUN HARD ALL DAY OR NIGHT AND SEE WHO COMES BACK WITH THE MOST GAME ON THERE BOAT AND FROGS IN THERE SACK !!! WHAT ELSE MATTERS ?



THE TRUE TEST OF A AIRBOAT IS

ITS DEPENDABILTY TO GET YOU BACK TIME AND TIME AGAIN

STANDING UP TO HARD RUNNING CONDITIONS

HANDLING UNDER EVERY POSSIBLE CONDITION


THE COUNTRY IT CAN PENITRATE, ITS GOT TO BE BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE WEIGHT WHEN LOADED BUT STILL SMALL ENOUGH TO ACESS REMOTE AREA'S WITH TIGHT TRAILS


THE AMOUNT OF DRY GROUND IT CAN RUN


AND THE LENGTH OF TIME BETWEEN MAJOR OVER-HAUL'S TO THE MOTOR
 
D-BREWSTER they're called airboats 'cause they have props.

You run what you got, I'll run what I got, and we'll drink big beer and eat big meat at the end of the day. :)

olf
 
Thunder, PLEASE keep posting the weight of stuff. I find it very interesting to know what stuff weighs, and I don't have the scales or the time to weigh everything myself.

Keep up the good work.
 
Most the gearboxes average between 68lbs and 72lbs depending on if it.s soft drive or hard drive, horsepower rating also Rotator has a wide gear and a narrow gear. I weighed a high horsepower rated wide gear, soft drive 2.68 Rotator and it weighed 72.9. I also weighed a 2.68 standard Horsepower Stinger with a soft drive and it weighed 68.4lbs.
 
Aw Geez, you had to remind me of that right ?

I'm really taking a hard look at my belt drive right now while the boat is down. You may see the old man show up at a ride one day soon with a much lighter version of that CH3. Hey, if it pops, it pops.

The outer case of them really isn't that heavy (a lot less than it looks), but it's that upper bearing/pulley/prop flange assembly that weighs way more than it needs to. I was in a machine shop on Friday talking with a pretty sharp guy about what might be done to take some weight out of that sucker.
The obvious answer is titanium, but since I'm retired you've probably already figured out that ain't gonna happen.

Still, I'm not done yet. We'll see.

olf
 
Here's some photos Thunder posted in the galleries.
383c.i small block.


IMG_1066.JPG


IMG_1065.JPG


I think it's pretty darned impressive.
It seems like a boatload of power production at minimal weight.
Throw on some more pounds for radiator / coolant, and I think it still looks good.

I'd suspect with the boost in thrust levels, the mission weights for fuel would not increase much from where anyone is at now. Probably stay the same, but stay full longer.


Me?
I'll still be running A/C tomorrow, and the week after that, and the week after that.......

I wanna geardrive one of the Aircooled engines we have now.
But hey that's me!

Just an aircraft guy offering his 02.
 
Cowboy, I'd love to see the all up weight of an IO-360 posted. Other folks might like to see a 220 GPU and maybe even an O-540.

This kind of stuff makes for good long range planning.

Scotty
 
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