PRI 2014: Dart To Offer LS Next Block With Cleveland Bearings

In response to dramatically increasing horsepower levels, Dart is taking its LS Next block to the second level.

Called the LS Next², it will feature 1/2-inch main studs and Cleveland-sized main bearings to support stronger crankshafts.

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“It’s strength to the next power,” says Dart president Richard Maskin, noting that LS engines are quickly approaching 3,000-horsepower levels with advancements in turbocharging and supercharger technology.

The improvements will be available in all three versions of the LS Next² block: cast aluminum, cast iron and billet.

Key to the upgraded block is adapting 2.75-inch main bearings from the Ford Cleveland block, which also featured a center thrust bearing. Stock LS crankshaft mains measure 2.559-inch. The Cleveland bearings are also wider than LS bearings, which negated the possibility of simply swapping in a LS crank ground to 2.75-inch.

By machining the LS Next² block to accept the .960-inch wide Ford mains, crankshaft suppliers can offer a suitable LS crank with Cleveland-sized mains. Since there are already plenty of performance Cleveland bearings on the market, completing the bottom end is a cinch.

Others have tried to drill blocks to accept 1/2-inch main studs.–Richard Maskin, Dart Machinery

The crank shown in these photos was actually an experimental piece developed a few years ago by Bryant Racing that was built with 2.75-inch mains but not with the Cleveland-sized width. It was a special order for a client who also asked for an extra long snout, probably to accommodate a supercharger drive. Two cranks were made, a prototype and the final version that was delivered to the client. Problem, however, is that no company had main bearings for those dimensions and there were no LS blocks available with 2.75-inch mains — so no one’s sure what happened to the crank. The prototype crank was machined to allow Dart to develop the LS Next² block, and now both will be sent to Bryant to finalize crankshaft design to take advantage of all the block’s features.

“We can can also build a block to support a crank with a big-block snout,” says Maskin.

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Dart’s LS Next² block is cast with enough material that machining the main saddles to support the extra width of the Cleveland bearings was no problem. That extra metal also gave Dart the option of increasing the stud diameter from 7/16- to 1/2-inch.

“Others have tried to drill blocks to accept 1/2-inch main studs, but that really weakens the material around the mains,” says Maskin.

The LS Next² blocks will have all the same features as the original, including a Gen-1-style pan rail, stepped main oil galley, extra cylinder barrel length, six head bolts per cylinder and LSX-style lifter bosses. Options include a raised camshaft location.