Glad i did a Stage 1 Search

[t-typinator]

I'm going to look at a car today that is supposed to have a stage 1 motor in it,(but the owners not sure ,thats how he bought it) so i did a search to learn as much about the stage 1's as possible + came across this thread,(very informative)+ might have just saved me alot of headaches + money.
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/stage-ii-tech/225435-stage-i-cracking-where.html also found some other threads with similar info.
Thats why i love this site, tons of great information.

Seeing all those cracked blocks just sent a shiver up my spine.

I'm still going to go look at it,to see exactly what it has,+ go from there,but now armed with a whole bunch of different block casting #'s + good info.
who knows maybe it will be a 4.1 stage 2 motor.:wink:

 

[forcefed3.8's]

The stage 1's and stage 2's have the same numbers casted on the side. The only way to tell the difference is by either pulling the pan and seeing 4 bolt mains, or pulling the intake to see lifter oiling. I wouldn't be too scared of a Stage 1. They are the same casting as a S2, just finish machined differently. The 3.8's are the ones most likely to crack, but there are 4.1's that have cracked too. I had a 3.8 S1 that had been used, with no sign of cracking. I talked to Red Armstrong about the cracking issue (his car has a 3.8 S2 in it, and Janes car had a 3.8 S1 in it), and he never had any problems with them, and never heard of the problem.

See if the guy has build specs, sonic test results, if really a S1 if it had billet caps installed. The S1's are said to not have thin cylinders from core shift, but I have heard about S2's having thin walls too, .050" in spots.

 

[t-typinator]

The stage 1's and stage 2's have the same numbers casted on the side. The only way to tell the difference is by either pulling the pan and seeing 4 bolt mains, or pulling the intake to see lifter oiling. I wouldn't be too scared of a Stage 1. They are the same casting as a S2, just finish machined differently. The 3.8's are the ones most likely to crack, but there are 4.1's that have cracked too. I had a 3.8 S1 that had been used, with no sign of cracking. I talked to Red Armstrong about the cracking issue (his car has a 3.8 S2 in it, and Janes car had a 3.8 S1 in it), and he never had any problems with them, and never heard of the problem.

See if the guy has build specs, sonic test results, if really a S1 if it had billet caps installed. The S1's are said to not have thin cylinders from core shift, but I have heard about S2's having thin walls too, .050" in spots.

Thanks for the info,i'm going to see exactly what is there,i'm kind of hoping it is just a 109 now,but i know the stage motors are worth alot more + he is asking alot for the car.
He says he doesn't know anything about what is there + this is how he bought it.
It's a running driving car so i can't open it up to see whats inside.
One question i would have is are those stage 1 motors all cracking just from extreme racing stresses or do they crack with just normal street use also.
I know some hav't cracked on people but it seems like alot have,+ just don't want the headaches if they can be avoided by not going with a stage motor + maybe just making a little less power,it is really just going to be a street car for me, tho i do want a 10 second power level street car,it just won't be getting the stresses that a race motor would be getting.

I'm going to take some pics + get whatever info i can + i will, let you know what i find out, later today, + if i bought it or not,but i will probably have some questions here later before i actually buy it,unless its something i feel i need to snag on the spot.