2009 Corvette ZR1 LS9 Engine Build

[markdi]

time lapse video

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/2...LS9_168134.htm

[dokblues]

Cool video! Thanks.

[NeedForSpeed]

Building an engine with impact wrenches? Seems strange. Breaking one down, Yes. Also, No torque wrench, Not even on the mains, rods, heads. Crazy!

[DENNYDOG]

Originally Posted by NeedForSpeed

Building an engine with impact wrenches? Seems strange. Breaking one down, Yes. Also, No torque wrench, Not even on the mains, rods, heads. Crazy!

They use special impact wrenches that only tighten to the specified torque. Very, very expensive impact wrenches.

[NeedForSpeed]

Originally Posted by DENNYDOG

They use special impact wrenches that only tighten to the specified torque. Very, very expensive impact wrenches.

Thanks, Goes against everything I've ever known, I read somewhere the Z06 and ZR1 engines where hand built ala Ferrari/Lambo. Guess not!

[Brian]

6 minutes to build that engine. Now I understand why GM engines fall apart, they gotta be taking shortcuts cuz everyone kones it takes 18 minutes to build one right .

[Fisherdude]

Originally Posted by NeedForSpeed

Thanks, Goes against everything I've ever known, I read somewhere the Z06 and ZR1 engines where hand built ala Ferrari/Lambo. Guess not!

That was hand built.

[grillebilly]

Originally Posted by Brian

6 minutes to build that engine. Now I understand why GM engines fall apart, they gotta be taking shortcuts cuz everyone kones it takes 18 minutes to build one right .

priceless

[hypertone]

Cool video. Killer engine. I'm surprised to see they still use pushrods. I figured all modern engines are overhead cam.

[whoaru99]

Originally Posted by NeedForSpeed

Building an engine with impact wrenches? Seems strange. Breaking one down, Yes. Also, No torque wrench, Not even on the mains, rods, heads. Crazy!

Originally Posted by DENNYDOG

They use special impact wrenches that only tighten to the specified torque. Very, very expensive impact wrenches.

Right. We use some of them at work on our assembly lines. They apply pretty accurate torque.

[Duffinator]

Cool video. Looks hand built to me.

While non-US workers may work for less they don't work as fast as we do.

[KR7600]

I am not sure about the ZR1 motor. But National Geographics Ultimate Factories showed a ZO6 engine being built by one technician at Chevy's engine performance factory over a period of four hours. The engine is then affixed with a plate with the technicians name. A ZR1 motor with twin superchargers is a more complicated motor, I do not see how anyone can build a ZR1 engine in a few minutes. They also showed the readout for the wrenches, the were accurate to .01 lbs.

[Carmine]

1) The single camera angle was boring

2) The video showed none of the rotating/reciprocal parts (i.e. Crank/Cam/Pistons)

3) Those are not "impact wrenches", but what we call electric nut-runners. Not only are they more accurate than any hand torque wrench, but they can (and likely are) connected to a central database that records each torque reading, ensures the proper sequence, and keeps the data for reference by serial number. This is the tool you are seeing used: http://www.gsetechmotive.com/

4) That video looked like a prototype-build, judging by the number of people in the work station. (Process Engineer and Assembler appear to be working back and forth.)

5) Monotonous, anonymous guitar music played for 6-minutes is painful to listen to.

[skippy_ps]

Just an observation but I thought it was a little odd that they left the intake ports uncovered while they were assembling the heads.

Murray

[Carmine]

Originally Posted by skippy_ps

Just an observation but I thought it was a little odd that they left the intake ports uncovered while they were assembling the heads.

Murray

I noticed that too, and they also should have used a fixture to install the cylinder head...

(Aluminum heads + Steel dowel pins + Human assembler = Potential nick in compression "fire ring".)

But I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and figure this might have been a prototype or tooling try-out. That did not appear to be an authorized GM video, and that's exactly why people can get canned for making that stuff public, because it does not represent an actual build condition.