What Did My VK56 Cost to Build?

So I guess I am going to start a blog. I don’t exactly know why, but I'm told it helps the business, and I know it helps me dump ideas. Whats my first topic, you ask?! Drum-roll please……..

What did it cost us to build our 2219whp vk56 long block?!

You would have thought this would be an easy topic to figure out and discuss, but what car guy wants to think about all the money hes spent? Surely not me! Side effect when I began this, I had TWO Dart block, Frankenstein heads to sell to fund it. Fact of it is, I sold my brand new F series Frank heads for enough to almost build the short block LOL…

My current short block looks like this:

-CP MSA spec pistons with .250 HD pins 9.5:1

-R&R aluminum rods

-King bearings

-IDS ARP main studs

-stock crank, stock block

I had to notch it for the aluminum rods, pretty thoroughly. Its a pain in the butt, it took me in the area of 4-5 hours to do, this wasn't fun. I am told that you must clearance these blocks even for the steel rods such as Carrillo, Manley, and BC, but obviously in a lesser amount.

Moving to the cylinder heads, the current head package looks like this:

-Kelford t3 camshafts

-GS 125lbs spring kit

-Supertech Black nitrite intake valves & Supertech inconel exhaust valves (std size)

-GSC bronze guides

-NO porting

I ran the engine totally dry at first, it made it 3 passes before the valve job was GONE so bad I could fit a 004 feeler between the guide and the seat LOL. I proceeded to weld the head deck and run water through the heads and have made 22 passes since then and 7 dyno pulls without any issues.

On top of all of this, I've got the following

-oem Nissan VD drivers chains on both sides

-oem Nissan tensioners

-oem Nissan guides

-boundary lower timing gears

-IDS single tooth timing adapter

-IDS assorted billet block-off plates

-MSA ARP 625+ head stud kit

-MMGF Fire ring gasket

-DLC coated buckets

I think that basically covers whats in mine. Now, what would that cost to replicate? I set up an invoice for a customer with the exact same thing I have, down to the $400 core I paid for the engine at a junk yard. Another drum-roll please…….. $18,719.68

This was with DLC coated buckets, labor for lash, machine work, assembly etc. Not bad right for a 2219whp engine right? I had 30k in a similar power lsx powerplant! Now I don’t know how long its going to last, no one does, but we can speculate! The GTR guys have stock v6 blocks live at 2500whp, but whats that mean for me with 2 more holes? Math says I can make 3,333whp and it be the same as their 2500…. Who knows if that's true. What is 2500 is the “reliable” stopping point for this 18k long block?! What will break first?! How far am I willing to push it? Those are future BLOGS for sure. But not today, today you get this junk and you're going to like it.

Yall have a great day, thanks for reading!