LS-1 Motor block casting process??

Does anybody know the process by which an LS-1 motor is made.(die cast, investment molded, ect...) Thanks.

Block material?

I have some pics of the block at home, as soon as I get there I'll post them up along with my opinions on how it's made. BTW, they are very good looking blocks.

"The LS1 block is made of 319 aluminum heat-treated to the T5 standard by the Montupet Corporation of Ontario, Canada. It is cast using the semi-permanent mold technique which Juriga described as "....a cross between die-casting and sand-casting." The case weighs 107 lb. Compared to the Gen II's 160 lb. block, that’s a significant weight savings."

This qoute was taken directly from an excellent online article you can find here (http://www.idavette.net/hib/ls1c.html).


This makes sense after viewing the LS1's water jackets, which are very open but still a closed deck design. If it were truly die cast the deck would have to be open. I can't currently upload pics to the board, so you'll have to find your own pictures online of the block sans heads. Hope this helps, peace.

An aluminium block can't be die cast (without pressure).

Originally posted by SaabJohan
An aluminium block can't be die cast (without pressure).

Man you are argumentative. Translation of above for Pikachoo....

Yes you can die cast aluminum, but it must be put into the die pressurized to prevent porosity and homegeny problems (which are not concerns using iron). Aluminum contains hydrogen and will naturally form air pockets if not left under pressure, in addition it is almost always some alloy of which some metal constituents are heavier than others. If you were to just pore it in their and let it settle out via it's own weight, some parts of the mixture would settle out and the alloy would not be consistent throughout the block. Either problem will net you a useless hunk of aluminum from an engine builder's perspective.

Originally posted by texan
Yes you can die cast aluminum, but it must be put into the die pressurized to prevent porosity and homegeny problems (which are not concerns using iron). Aluminum contains hydrogen and will naturally form air pockets if not left under pressure, in addition it is almost always some alloy of which some metal constituents are heavier than others. If you were to just pore it in their and let it settle out via it's own weight, some parts of the mixture would settle out and the alloy would not be consistent throughout the block. Either problem will net you a useless hunk of aluminum from an engine builder's perspective.

That's what I meant! I wrote (without pressure).
Otherwise oil can leak right through the block... and that's no good.