We've all been guilty of it at one time or another. You know, defending the powerplant of our unruly street machine by righteously declaring it has more than enough grunt to get the job done. Unfortunately for most gearheads, what was good at one point in time will eventually have to make way for further improvements. In this case, the only cure to satiate the thunderous urge for raw power is more power.
With that in mind, we've recently become enamored with the 6.0L Gen III block that powers several of The General's full-size trucks. As a matter of fact, these engines are a mirror image of the LS2, only in a cast-iron version, and seem to be finding their way into various first-gen muscle, including many late-model fourth-gen Camaros.
Now when it comes to acquiring a 6.0L Gen III block, there are several options. For starters, SLP offers everything from a rotating assembly to a complete short-block, or should you want to build it from scratch, you can scour the papers, hit up various salvage yards, or make it easier on yourself by ordering it directly from GM Performance Parts. One important thing to note is that if you're starting from scratch, be aware that you're purchasing a bare block and will require several additional components, including all the sensors, oil plugs, front timing cover, valley pan, oil pump, and pick-up. While this could cause potential concern for locating the parts in a timely manner, we found Turn Key Engine Supply in Oceanside, California, to be a valuable resource and were able to get the extraneous parts in our hands as early as the following day! Honestly, these guys were absolutely amazing, and depending on your needs, they offer every component as an individual item or as a complete package deal. Just give them a call and let them know what you need.
Keep in mind there are many different ways to produce the combination we have here-and while a complete short-block would have been easy enough to do, we wanted a challenge, and more importantly to show just how easy it can be to piece one together. With the help of Dennis Lyttle of Coast High Performance, who assembled our mill, we've put together one potent package with nothing more than off-the-shelf components and something that you can easily replicate. Follow along and see how it was constructed, the amount of power it made, and check out just how ill a 402ci Gen III can be!