Hey Steve....It's good to have a fellow LS guy nearby here in Southern Cal. There is some interesting reading on Boyd Cottington's web site about smog issues with new engines in older cars. In my mind, the rules are as clear as mud and may vary depending on who you get the day you go in. I believe you will need to have all the smog stuff that the engine had new vs what the car had new. You may get away with using the old evap system without the tank sensor. Like I said before, it depends on who you get on any given day and how they preceive the law. It's similar to when I bought a new KTM dirt bike a couple of years ago. I added all the equipment to make it street legal and went to the DMV where they sent me packing. I went to another one across town and got registered with a plate.
Let me know how it works out when you go in. It may save me a ton of work. I'm planning on making my own fuel tank using the LS1 Camaro fuel pump/sensor set up. My tank will be oversized and lowered into the old spare tire area. I'll be using C6 run flats from here on out. Let me know if you need help making a tank for your....I'll make 2......gp

 

hey glenn...
what size rim did you end up using?

 

Thanks!!!

 

Hey John,

The rims I have are 19 x 10 in the rear and 18 x 8.5 up front. They are "take offs" from a new Vette. It will be awhile before I can comment on the fit.....gp

 

here is my LSx conversion...

I used the CARB... instead of the wiring harness and fuel system...

I also kept my TH350 and have a 3000 non locking stall converter

ls6 heads... and comp cam 581/581 lift dual plan intake

 

Nice job....how long ago did you do the swap? I like the hood. It lets everyone know you may have "something going on" under there!.....gp

 

thanks, I did not do this job... I paid to have it done... which has plus and minus (not just talking about the cost)

the shop I used did a good job... but DID NOT finish the JOB the right way the first time... and left me electrical issues... so I am overall not satisfied with the over all job they did...

getting the motor in placing it right and the FAB work was great. BUT fit and finish sucked. I knew a few guys in the shop (the techs) and they said the owner slammed the job in the last few days to get PAID... pissed me off.

but over time and with the help of some friends I am getting there

 

I disagree, the aftermarket parts available for the LSX family of engines are much more plentiful, reliable and less expensive than LT1 parts. True, an LT1 bottom end is relatively inexpensive to build due to its congruence with on piece rear main seal SBC’s, but your cylinder head and intake choices are limited at best. The LT1 aftermarket ECU tuning software is much less advanced and choices are limited. LS1 software is constantly being improved and there is a million and one people using it already. LT1’s are slower out of the box and will cost you much more in the long run to build. I have personally owned 3 LT1 cars and 3 LS1 cars, and I will never go back to LT1. When I was an LT1 owner I envied LS1’s like the neighbor’s wife.

Take a look at the great deal you can get on a set of modified L92 heads and an LS7 intake with fuel rail, http://www.slponline.com/view_product.asp?P=12293. Not only is this set up availible at a bottom dollar price, it also happens to make power comparable to high dollar AFR set ups (see the latest issue of GM High Tech). These heads are simply modified GM units that flow numbers only dreamt about a few years ago. When LSX engines were first being modified the market was small and parts were expensive. Spending several thousand dollars for minimal gains was common place and tuning was next to impossible just a few years ago. The market has since grown to be much larger than the LT1 market ever was or wished it could be, resulting in an abundance of aftermarket parts and competition. The competition has bred cheaper parts that out perform any thing ever available for an LT1. Today you can build a 500 rear wheel horse power daily driver LS1 car that idles with only an ever so slight thump. LS1 technology is now at the point where Joe Smo and his junk yard LS1 with a stock bottom end and stock heads can put 420hp down to the ground with a cam and simple bolt-ons. While it might have been true 5 years ago that LSX engines were more expensive to build than LT1 engines, today they are considerably cheaper and more efficient.

However, if I was looking for an engine to put in my old pick up….yeah I might pick up an LT1, but not for my Corvette. LT1 motors have an inexpensive initial investment and make for great replacement engines. Recently I picked up an LT1 with wiring harness and no ECU with 79,000 miles on it for $750; what a deal! Now, to do a swap into a non-LT1 car I still would have needed an ECU, Trans, Driveshaft and trans crossmember, so don’t get too excited about the $750.00 price just yet. LT1’s are great, but you will always wish you had an LS1.

I am in the personal opinion that LS1 motors even with a higher initial cost are better in the long run. It’s not that LT1’s are bad, there are just better options out there these days for performance cars.

 

Heres an example of how nice ls motors are,ive had trouble getting my autometer tach to read right after the swap,i tried flipping the dipswitchs on the back from 4 cyl 6 cyl to 8 cyl and nothing,never reads right.So saturday morning i got EFILIVE from my brother for doing work to one of his other cars cause he upgraded to v2 so i load it in change the tach output to 4 from a value of 6 reflash the pcm and bingo tach reads perfect.Took it for a ride bounced it off the rev limiter a few times at 6200.Yesterday i went in and changed that to 6400,thats how nice and easy these ls motors are to program and make changes.Dont have to send your chip back just plug it in drive around and datalog on your laptop and then make any changes you need.Also aftermarket ls parts can be had for cheap used, now 1/3 of what they cost new.

 

I agree that the LS1 is by far the better engine but the original poster wants "a mild street car with good gas milage"

Complete "take out" LT1 can be found for less than $2000 and that often includes the trans and computer, fuel injection and so on...a compareable LS1 is about $4000 (that's an estimate based on the market here in Orlando, I had an offer for a complete LS1/6spd combo not too long ago)

One ignition coil is $50 (MSD $80) and you need 8... cyl heads are around $2200 and up.... Cam and coil springs are about $600 ... that's why I'm thinking the LS1 parts are a little expensive....

If you only want to upgrade the old carburated engine with a FI engine the LT1 is a good choice...

I agree, you'll still want the LS1.... when you have an LS1 you want an LS6 and so on....

 

My LS6 heads were $1,000 and my cam with springs were about $450 from Lingenfelter. Ever priced the crappy optispark distributor thing for the LT1?? $50 for a coil you'll probably never have to replace again isn't so bad.....

Back to your statement about wanting LS1, then LS6....what do you think is going to happen to the poor saps dropping LT1's in now when in a couple years everyone else is walking away from them with LSx's?

 

I have an LS1 sitting in my frame, and Ls6 that I'll be swapping in soon but I already want an LS7...mybad79 is right on the money.

 

And once the LS9 comes out, you'll want that too.

 

I don't know about you guys, but the LS swap is still new around here. The only cars I've seen with them are C2 and 57 Chevys that were installed with full high dollar S & P stuff. Most probably installed by a custom shop like Boyds. The LS stuff is still pretty new in the swap world, but man would I love a LS7 with maggie on it. Talk about to much power for the street.

Pat, I need to raise my pesty rev limiter too. Matt hooked me up with a LS1 tuner guy and I forgot to have him move mine to 6500.

 

I agree an LS1 can be expensive to purchase. As for coils.... they rarely go bad and when they do you can upgrade to heavy duty factory take off truck coils cheaply. As for heads, they are becoming dirt cheap; take a look at the link I provided above. You even get the LS7 intake and complete fuel rail with injectors for $2,295! http://www.slponline.com/view_product.asp?P=12293 http://www.slponline.com/view_product.asp?P=12293 Cams are really no more expensive than swapping to a roller set up in an SBC. I owned LT1 cars in the past because the part were cheap and I could make power without draining my wallet; I switched when that was no longer true.

Correct the original poster did want a mild street car with good mileage and either engine would be a good choice. I am just Pro-LS1.

 

C2's, 57's and high dollar stuff was first, but ohhhh how times have changed. People are dropping LS1's intp everything from RX7's and 240 SX's to their ski boats. There are multiple aftermarket kits availible for almost any application to drop an LS1 into your _______(fill in the blank rear wheel drive car).

A good friend of mine has an old RX7 with an LS6 putting 500HP down at the wheels.... and the car is only a little over 2000lb.

2 years ago I bought an 95 BMW 318 to swap an LS1 into, but sold it to purhcase a Z28. These swaps are common place, just take a look at the conversion section on the LS1TECH message board.

 

P.S
I keep a SBC in my vette for nostalgic reasons, but don't worry I have LS1's in other cars

 

Buddy is being modest....this is the home of the LS trailblazers....Jeff, Buddy, totop73, patsls1 did it first. My apoliogies if I left someone out. All C3 LS guys who had to figure it out without all that cool aftermarket stuff you can get now. Thanks for all the help guys....take a bow.....gp

 

Ha, I didn't realize Budman78 had an LS car. I guess I got a little excited talking about LS1s and my mind went crazy.... Sorry Budman

 

I'm not disagreeing with anyone here... as you say, if folks who swapped to an LT1 now swap again to LS1 that makes the LT1 even cheaper.... prices for LS1 engines coming down makes LT1 engines which are less desireable cheaper....

SuprJames, you got a sweet deal on those LS6 heads.

Hopefully you're right and I never need new coils....

I have been pricing some upgrades on my LS1: cam, lifters, pushrods, springs and retainers.... incl oil pump, timing chain set and gaskets and head bolts I was at almost $1500

Then I decided that a stock LS1 isn't that bad....