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How much money do you have to spend? That limits what happens. 450 is achievable but you might have to drop some serious coin. A $200 camshaft alone won't cut it.
$5k or less. Ill do the work myself. Im looking to get the most from what i already have and keep it reliable and fun.
I really don't want to re-work the block. Im a little skiddish about buying a used motor. Not thrilled about NO2. I don't want to burn anything up and I want the power at the pedal.
My diff guy thinks the D36 will handle 450hp.
I'll take all the input i can get. What's working for other LT-1 drivers? Sat for 8 years in my dads toy barn.
D36 should handle it on the street fine but its not a definite thing, the torque of the hookup at a launch is what will grenade it. So on street tires that will spin at launch, you will likely be fine for a long time, but if it hooks up tight once, the 36 will snap something.
Slicks will grenade it within about 10 passes most likely.
200 hp more for $5000? No nitrous and had to be reliable? Not sure if it can be done. You'd have to get used parts at fire sales and get someone to dyno tune it.
I love the color Poprocks. I went with a Lloyd Elliot 2 build, LT headers, injectors etc. 3000 stall converter. Don't forget transmission cooler.I also switched to a Dana 44
with 4.11. That will definitely put a smile on your face. Traction will be the main problem. I'm curently running 285 Nitto 555 and they fry. Looking at MT street slicks. I don't want to mess with suspension since I don't run it competitively.
^^ do the converter
port the intake, set of AFR heads, headers & tune
Should be in budget and will destroy your tires.
why AFR heads vs LE2 (Lloyd Elliot)?
Do you have to buy the valves/springs/etc with the AFRs?
LE2 pkg seems to be plug and play and you have person (Lloyd) to step you through other needs of your build....for $200 he'll port your intake as well
Go with Lloyd. His set ups are dyno proven, He is one of the original LT1 gurus and can put you together an awesome h/c combo. I had him port my AFRs and I picked up 40hp on them alone. Don't put too much faith on AFRs flow numbers. They flow their heads on a 4.060 bore( which is literally impossible on a LT1 block). The only reason to flow it on that bore would be to inflate the numbers considerably.
Ive flowed both a number of times and the AFRs come out on top every time, they are brand new wiht a lifetime warranty. Hard to beat
Their bench is very accurate, been there many times & know their former head designer well, they are legit.
By the time you get a set of LT1s to breathe the ports become way too big. LLoyds service is Ok for the guy on a budget but if you do "everything" youre going to spend over $1500 min may as get new stuff thats better
Have had to give bad news too many times to guys with those heads that wanted them ported..to be right it costs xxx...every single one of them said "gee I shoulda"....
Different strokes
By the time you get a set of LT1s to breathe the ports become way too big. LLoyds service is Ok for the guy on a budget but if you do "everything" youre going to spend over $1500 min may as get new stuff thats better
Have had to give bad news too many times to guys with those heads that wanted them ported..to be right it costs xxx...every single one of them said "gee I shoulda"....
Different strokes
JUST MY OPINION SO RELAX FOLKS. nOTHING to me sounds better, or is cooler, than a cammed up, rough ideled vette that simply says " I can do it buddy". just me , but I am from the 60s.
JUST MY OPINION SO RELAX FOLKS. nOTHING to me sounds better, or is cooler, than a cammed up, rough ideled vette that simply says " I can do it buddy". just me , but I am from the 60s.
I'm born in the late 60s but definitely not stuck or even wanting to be stuck in the period so maybe I'm not seeing it. Wouldn't a demonstration of speed be better than an advertisement of speed? Is it a 60s thing to be a paper tiger with a loud recorded roar?
I think the best advice was leave it alone but if you can’t then an LS swap seams like the obvious choice. Your LT1 is a great bit of technology from the time and it would be a shame to molest it. HP is easy with an LS3, LS6, or supercharged LSA. Anyway that my two bobs worth.
JUST MY OPINION SO RELAX FOLKS. nOTHING to me sounds better, or is cooler, than a cammed up, rough ideled vette that simply says " I can do it buddy". just me , but I am from the 60s.
I agree, it's just a visceral thing. Takes me back to when I was a kid. I hung around and helped a guy that raced sprint cars in PA in the 80's. I was working in his lower shop one day when I heard an engine fire up. Couldn't figure out why/how he fired up the race car. I was floored when I saw this beautiful c3 Vette chugging at idle. The sound..... I understand and am amazed by the new engines. My wife's crossover has more HP and torque than I'd get from my Vette. But, it's not always about the speed. It's the sound, smell and feeling.. Let's face it. If I wanted to go faster so much easier and probably cheaper to buy a c5 or 6
Ive flowed both a number of times and the AFRs come out on top every time, they are brand new wiht a lifetime warranty. Hard to beat
Their bench is very accurate, been there many times & know their former head designer well, they are legit.
By the time you get a set of LT1s to breathe the ports become way too big. LLoyds service is Ok for the guy on a budget but if you do "everything" youre going to spend over $1500 min may as get new stuff thats better
Have had to give bad news too many times to guys with those heads that wanted them ported..to be right it costs xxx...every single one of them said "gee I shoulda"....
Different strokes
An aftermarket head ported would be the way to go. But to pay $1800-$2400 for the heads and then add $1200 for porting is out of a lot of folks budgets. Why port AFRs? Because their #s are misleading and don't reflect reality . Lloyd and AI flow their heads on a .030 over bore. There are quiet a few LT1s running 355s. So the justification of flowing heads on a .030 over is understandable. But .060 over? That is unheard of on a LT1. So why do it? To inflate the flow numbers. AFR said my 180cc heads flowed 268cfm on the intake. But on a .030 over(similar machine), it was 256cfm. That is more of a real world result. An LE2 would flow more and have the potential to make more power. And much cheaper at that. Lloyd ported my 180cc AFRs to 210cc, they now flow 300cfm intake and 220 exhaust iirc. That is on the stock valve sizes. A bigger intake valve would have given me 310. That number was achieved on a .030 over, not a .060 over. What is AFRs $2500 210cc LT4 comp heads show? Flowed on a bore that can't be replicated by any LT1 it's supposed to be on. I am still running a stock bottom end 350 and have had zero problems with loss of low end torque. Lloyd knows his ****.
An aftermarket head ported would be the way to go. But to pay $1800-$2400 for the heads and then add $1200 for porting is out of a lot of folks budgets. Why port AFRs? Because their #s are misleading and don't reflect reality . Lloyd and AI flow their heads on a .030 over bore. There are quiet a few LT1s running 355s. So the justification of flowing heads on a .030 over is understandable. But .060 over? That is unheard of on a LT1. So why do it? To inflate the flow numbers. AFR said my 180cc heads flowed 268cfm on the intake. But on a .030 over(similar machine), it was 256cfm. That is more of a real world result. An LE2 would flow more and have the potential to make more power. And much cheaper at that. Lloyd ported my 180cc AFRs to 210cc, they now flow 300cfm intake and 220 exhaust iirc. That is on the stock valve sizes. A bigger intake valve would have given me 310. That number was achieved on a .030 over, not a .060 over. What is AFRs $2500 210cc LT4 comp heads show? Flowed on a bore that can't be replicated by any LT1 it's supposed to be on. I am still running a stock bottom end 350 and have had zero problems with loss of low end torque. Lloyd knows his ****.
If AFR tells you that it is this number at 0.060, it is way more informative that an ad that tells you "My cam will net 20HP" without setting the conditions upon which it makes that 20HP. I guess what I am saying is that if they specify that it is 0.030 or 0.060 over, how is that dishonest?
okay 42k on my 93 300hp lt-1 A4 trans dana 36w/ 3:73 gears. Now I'm interested in getting 450hp to be able to keep up with today's Stingrays.
Any suggestions would be helpful. Stop light drags is my thing. I don't want to blow it up. It was my dads car and I'll NEVER sell it.
Turbo vs. Hot cam?
Thanks
modifying that beautiful car to beat the corvette snobs in the newer models is a worthwhile and noble goal.
There is a feel to the c4 that you just dont get with the newer cars.
Any fool can get a loan (doesnt have to be rich) to buy a fast new corvette.
Ive done afr comp 195 heads (flow as high as ls3 heads), added a procharger, cam, headers.
Its 540ish the rear wheels. The stock bottom end is fine and can take it with fuel and meth/water inj and/or e85 tunes.
An aftermarket head ported would be the way to go. But to pay $1800-$2400 for the heads and then add $1200 for porting is out of a lot of folks budgets. Why port AFRs? Because their #s are misleading and don't reflect reality . Lloyd and AI flow their heads on a .030 over bore. There are quiet a few LT1s running 355s. So the justification of flowing heads on a .030 over is understandable. But .060 over? That is unheard of on a LT1. So why do it? To inflate the flow numbers. AFR said my 180cc heads flowed 268cfm on the intake. But on a .030 over(similar machine), it was 256cfm. That is more of a real world result. An LE2 would flow more and have the potential to make more power. And much cheaper at that. Lloyd ported my 180cc AFRs to 210cc, they now flow 300cfm intake and 220 exhaust iirc. That is on the stock valve sizes. A bigger intake valve would have given me 310. That number was achieved on a .030 over, not a .060 over. What is AFRs $2500 210cc LT4 comp heads show? Flowed on a bore that can't be replicated by any LT1 it's supposed to be on. I am still running a stock bottom end 350 and have had zero problems with loss of low end torque. Lloyd knows his ****.
There was great heads shoot out on the ls1/lt1 tech site a few years back pitting ed’s best port jobs vr afr’s best. It was private guys backing it.
afr’s won it in flow / hp produced / faster et times.
lloyd’s stuff is great, but he can only go so far on stock castings.
also too, i was able to buy afr heads in a range of cc chamber sizes - bigger than stock.
so i could lower my CR (i lowered it to 9.7:1 static CR) for more boost without changing piston tops
Last edited by dizwiz24; May 25, 2019 at 06:05 PM.
I would go for the AFR heads. Port volume to port volume they will outflow the LE heads, and about everything else out there. The 195 comp port flows over 308cfm. And it takes just about everybody else a much bigger port volume to get that kind of cfm. And it's a new casting with a 3/4" thick deck. And they use 8mm valves which are lighter and improve airflow. A built a engine years ago with LE's stage 3 heads. He said port volume would be 220 cc's. They measured out at 243cc's. He was pretty misleading. And I had to send him the heads back twice because he hit water porting them. There was a pinhole he missed. I got to pull the heads off twice for free, and pay shipping. I was disappointed with the performance and the whole experience working with him. A stock ported head only gets you so far.
Budget
