LS1 Machine Shop

[rleng1]

Any one know of a good machine shop in the Spring, TX (north Houston) area that can work on heads.
Thanks

[Casey_SS]

Give Dave Neary a call or PM. He did a lot of asking around about Houston machine shops for his motor and can at least give you the names of the commonly recommended ones.

[BryanL]

Randy keep in touch with me about the LS stuff. I wanted to talk to you about this before you take things somewhere so keep me in the loop. You have some great options in Houston that specialize in LS engines and have good reputations.
My first recommendation would be:
http://latemodelengines.com/
second
http://www.hkracingengines.com/index.php

[BryanL]

Also-here is a website with great writeups on how to take off the intake, heads, etc.

http://ls1howto.com/

[Rob Liebbe]

Randy,

A friend just had some LS head work - porting - done at a shop on 2978/Hufsmith Kohrville south of 2920. It is on the west side of the road. I'll try to dig up the contact number.

[BryanL]

I would still do a leakdown to see where the problem is. Then drain the oil and have an analysis done. I would hate to pull the heads and get it going only to find out the bearings are gone. This will be the opportunity to get the oil temp gauge going, too.

[rleng1]

Excellent stuff. I have the how-to and have already been in contact with LME. They seem pretty good, and we dyno'ed there earlier this year. The leak down test would tell me where the problem (water) is?

[BryanL]

You may find water when you are pulling out the plugs. Same goes for having water in the bottom of the oil pan. Leakdown would tell you which cylinder has the issue-if its leaking then you will hear the air in the exhuast if its a valve. If its the head I think you will hear it in the cooling system or making bubbles. It's extra time to do it but then you have a baseline for your motor's health and will identify where the problem is. Maybe you only have to pull one head?

If you can replace the k-member this won't be that bad. The how-to is excellent to have if you have a laptop/phone while out in the garage.

Tough to find a place better on the LS than LME. Though I thought you did your dyno at LMR-(Late Model Racecraft)-they use LME for their engine stuff.

[Rob Liebbe]

http://www.510raceengineering.com/

[mitchntx]

Excellent stuff. I have the how-to and have already been in contact with LME. They seem pretty good, and we dyno'ed there earlier this year. The leak down test would tell me where the problem (water) is?

My experience with performance oriented shops is they can't comprehend NOT building power.
Be careful here Randy ... you may be suprised when it comes dyno time.

You might look into head gaskets that are thicker than stock to reduce compression.

Less compression means less power and less restriction which means better throttle response and fewer PCM related compensation issues.

Also, less compression would equate to less vulnerability to pinging when the hot Texas sun is beating down.