What is a LT1 intake conversion worth in price with the fuel rail and water neck?

 

It all depends on how desperate one would be in trying to circumvent the full price of a Miniram for the purpose of bolting it on to an L98.

I would say $150 because that's how much I sold one on Ebay for.

 

i paid about $600 shipped for someone else's setup like 4 years ago..

 

so is it safe to say in the ball park of $ 450 the rails and water housing?

 

I paid about $80 for my LT1 intake with fuel rails, throttle body and everything still attached to it. I still have to do the mods to it so that it will bolt on to the L98.
I'm going to see how much I can do myself before going to a machine shop but I'm told a couple of hours is all it should take for them to do everything.

You can do the math, I don't know what a machine shop charges for labour in your area.

I bought the remote t-stat housing off ebay, don't remember how much it was $20, $30, $40? No idea.

I know I have spent a couple of hunded more in other little things.
Fuel lines, water lines, fittings, gaskets, AFRP, etc.

The job isn't as cheap as it sounds at first and that is with doing the work yourself.

 

About all you'll get done in a couple of hours is the distributor hole with spacer and bolt. It will take another couple of hours to epoxy the holes and sand smooth. Then another couple of hours to locate and drill the new holes. Then another couple of hours to drill and tap the water outlets. If you remove the entire EGR housing and make cover plates....factor in about three more hours.

 

Don't mean to hijack, but does anyone have a list that I could bring to a machine shop for all the mods that need to be done to convert the intake?

 

www.lt1intake.com

 

Go to the Q&A section I think.

KENS80V
Are those times if you do it yourself or would it take a pro that long at a machine shop?

 

I did a conversion 3 years ago, I had the four corners welded and milled for extra insurance so that it would not leak around the water ports, it took a few hours to do the conversion. I was just wondering what is the going price for a complete setup, becuase I have a SR and I was thinking about selling the LT1 intake.
Randy

 

KENS80V
Are those times if you do it yourself or would it take a pro that long at a machine shop?[/QUOTE]

If it was a machine shop that has done it before than they might be slightly faster. The machine shop will have to make up a jig, if they haven't done it before, for the distributor hole location. They will have to do some careful measuring for the new intake mounting bolt location as well. This all adds up.

If you do it yourself there are costs people never factor in. A 1/2 pipe tap and 23/32 drill bit, 1 3/8 hole saw for distributor hole ($50). To back cut the intake mounting holes on the correct angle cost me $75 alone to make up the tool needed.

 

I was going to do mine, and anticipated a full weekend's time to get it done. My plan was to use the adapter supplied by Redrose and use it as the template for the dist hole. I did not follow through because I go a smokin deal on a miniram, and it made sense for me to go that route.

 

Ahhhh, now I understand.
I'll give you $100 for it, you can even have my unmodified one for free.

 

If it was a machine shop that has done it before than they might be slightly faster. The machine shop will have to make up a jig, if they haven't done it before, for the distributor hole location. They will have to do some careful measuring for the new intake mounting bolt location as well. This all adds up.

If you do it yourself there are costs people never factor in. A 1/2 pipe tap and 23/32 drill bit, 1 3/8 hole saw for distributor hole ($50). To back cut the intake mounting holes on the correct angle cost me $75 alone to make up the tool needed.[/QUOTE]

Thanks KENS80V.
I love buying tools that I end up using once. I have a garage full of them.

Hey Pete, I have that same part from Redrose. Great looking piece.

 

Hey Pete, I have that same part from Redrose. Great looking piece.[/QUOTE]

A work of art. What we really need is someone to take on the task of converting them here on the forum. A machinest that has never done one will spend more time thinking about doing the job, than he will be machining it.
It sounds like it could be profitable for someone.

 

I drive an updated C3 to L98 and now LT1 induction with the L98 aluminum heads on a TPIS ZZ9 cammed factory roller engine rebuilt 4 bolt truck block..'89 vintage...

so I have done the switch in the last couple of months...

I got the intake and rails off ebay, maybe from the above poster, for 150 bux delivered...

the ability to drill and tap that intake is a machine shop operation, I can assure you it's rather difficult for a home jockey to tap aluminum, hard enough to contoll into other metals, but aluminum, especially CAST ALUMINUM is a bitch to machine, tricky to weld unless a MIG is used.....and without a good friend who is a pro welder it would NOT have been done....

the tbody I had was L98 modded to 52mm...so it did not have any crescent shaped cable guides....

I drilled the holes for about 3/4 inch diameter on a drill press, for the front water outlets...the rears drilled for 3/8 id...1/2 OD aluminum tubing...ala L98 return to the water pump inlet...

the front outlets were bought from Summitt along with the remote tstat housing by OFFY....total about 100 bux....

so now I had aluminum weld bungs needing TIG welded in place up front, I rounded off some BRASS 3/4 inch 90* els so they seemed a match up, but to clear the tbody levers on the driver's side...

I also cut the hell out of the EGR bosses to clear the original TPI L98 dizzy, said it could not be done... I did it....filling the voids with plaster of paris .. it was allowed to harden rather well over the weeks....

the mounting holes were drilled wit aid of the gaskets, and so that was easy, really, at 90* to the gasket surface to agree with my heads....

but the harder part was to face off the surfaces for the bolt heads...
going to Harbor Freight I found a set of Forstner Bits....for 5 bux...thank you China....

I cut the shank of the 7/8 size, took a dremel grinder to the backside of it, and ground it out to make a REVERSE TAPER to the cutter...cutting from the backside....
IF you see this project you see what I needed...to PULL the cutter through from the GASKET side of the flange to face off the bolt surface...really NOT all that hard, just need the tool to DO IT....and of course a reversible drill taking a 3/8 shank on the bit...

so when the intake was all drilled with hole saw for the dizzy, and other stuff, I tore the engine down, and set it in place with new gaskets...

but not so fast...as I knew well in advance...the issue was to make a dizzy mounting pad on that thin aluminum....having an old scrap ate up aluminum intake handy....I cut hell out of it to rescue the dizzy mount...
then to line it up under the dizzy body on the engine itself...would have been really NICE to have one on the stand...but that was 6 months earlier....
so to line it up really carefully so get it tack welded in one postion so as to allow for prying up and under the dizzy while in position...
the mani was held in position by the mounting bolts in a loose fashion...
just to center it up...

so when that was all aligned, I took it over to be welded by my friend....

the amount of welding and fabricating is astounding, but DOO ABLE...you need a GOOD welder on aluminum and know WTF you are doing, or someone who does/gives a damn....

as its' running the last month or so, I have to say it's a HUGE improvement over any L98 induction....I had a large runner intake runners/mani and modden plenum/tbody.....

I had to fab up a cable bracket and the usual details over plumbing...nothing a hose and clamp could not cure....

OH, the L98 fuel regualtor was used as the tigged up LT1 reg was eliminated...anothe return line fabbed up when putting the reg in the back failed in operational charactoristics I dont understand, but so be it....

so to do this project is a winter's worth of thought, concepting, WORK, welding, and so forth....

my TOTAL COST IN BUX WAS........



300 bux....grand total with everything....

sold my old induction setup for something that made up for some of it...


sorry no pix NOW, as many other things going on, but in a month or so I will pix and post links....



this is the best verbal description I can give, if you need further information see the LT1 conversion site above linked....and PM or Email me for further comments....

 

A work of art. What we really need is someone to take on the task of converting them here on the forum. A machinest that has never done one will spend more time thinking about doing the job, than he will be machining it.
It sounds like it could be profitable for someone.[/QUOTE]


Sorry man, NO it's NOT profitable....takes much too much time welding, fabbing measuring....even on a production basis, I fail to see the time every paying off, wich may explain the lack of response from the guy on the LT1 site last fall/winter....

 

Here is my almost finished LT1 conversion with integrated nitrous.

 

This one I call a "smooth top" where the ribs, fuel crossover pipe and MAP sensor are hidden by a billet top plate. It will either be chrome plated or the whole top custom painted. The street rod guys prefer this simplified look.

 

Both look amazing. down right sexy.
Mine won't look anything like either of them.