Hi, I know I got some info. in my opening post, but I really need to know more on how to install the LT-1, (I haven't got it yet but have found several affordable ones), you might say I'm hell bent to do it, so please, no remarks about how much simpler it would be to install an L-98 instead of an LT-1. So, if it is possible, please tell me everything I'll need to know, from the hardest to the simplest fact that I'll have to do. I know that is kind of blunt and beggars can't be choosy, but I've tried everywhere else and recieved minimal info., so you're quite possibly my last resort, and I need help with this. So PLEASE?

 

What are you installing it into?

 

according to his profile he owns an 84

 

Your profile says you have an 84 and I assume your younger.Please take some advice,I own a 92 with a LT1 and I love it but, It is damn expensive to modify.A good set of high flow heads for a LT1 cost about $1700, new roller cam $250+,opti-spark $200?+,water pump well over $100.If my car didn't have a LT1, I would build a good old school 350 or 383.Edlebrock makes kits that produce 400+ HP out of 350's all day long.World Products makes heads that are capable of supporting 550+ hp for a small block chevy and they cost less than $900 complete.They won't fit the LT1 :cry

 

uh, don't you already have a L98 in there? (edited... ok now i know he doesn't! L83??) i don't know much aboout the 84's (obviously) but aren't they L98's with a crapfire on top?? can't you just get rid of the crapfire? is it that simple? i know there are other people around here who have modded their 84's. like yosambo and some other guys, maybe they'll pitch in and comment here.

the L98 would be a MUCH more affordable and easier option. then take the money you saved by not doing the LT1 motor and mod the L98 and the rest of the car. you will have a much better car with a modded L98 than with a stock LT1 for probably around the same $$.

this is not why i chimed in on this message, but matter of fact i am selling CHEAP an LT1 intake, TB, fuel rail, injectors, and sensors, that will would be a great swap for your crapfire (i think). check out C4 parts for sale if interested.
:D :D


[Modified by SonnyinVA, 1:19 PM 4/23/2003]

 

BTW, you wanna get rid of your motor cuz it misses at idle? WOW!!!
I think you should seriously consider the easiest cheapest mods possible (that will give you the best results). you are young and you ARE going to have other things that you will want to spend money on. modding an LT1 adds up QUICK!!! you don't even want to know hom much money i have tied up just in MODS on my car.... you can probably look at my sig and tell it is ALOT!! and i have a lot left to do!! i could have bought a whole 'nother car with that dough. or a boat, or a motorcycle, or ....
my point is, don't break the bank to mod your car, i'm an old married guy so it's not such a big deal for me to be car-broke... LOL i'm not trying to go out and party on the weekends. and i only have one woman that wants me to spend money on her.
anyway, just my opinion. WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!!

 

I would purchase a crate motor, Gen1 SBC, or have one built, then add an aftermarket EFI system like F.A.S.T.
http://www.rancefi.com has intake manifolds and whole EFI setups, just remember there is limited space below the C4 hood, I believe around 9"

Holly stealth ram comes as a complete intake/EFI system. (modified plenums are available from forum members)

If you go this route you will be way ahead in terms of performance and tunability then any stock C4 engine

 

jeez, raistlin, crate motors and EFI systems???
gotta remember this kid is 15 and probably doesn't have that kind of $$$ to throw around. (correct me if i'm wrong lil dude)
just trying to look out for you.

not trying to flame but we should all consider that when we make suggestions to him?
let's not get his dreams bigger than his wallet!! think back to when you guys were 15...
i say you get rid of the crossfire, do some minor bolt on's and you will be happy to have a car that could run 13's and handles like a race car for very little $$.
lots more than just about every other 15 year old could say!!
and maybe you'll have some money left over to take a hot mullet-loving chick to the drive in!! :cheers: :cheers:

 

A cam, carb and intake would go a long way with an L-83 car. plus you can do it all for under a grand. If I had a choice I'd go with a traditional smallblock LT-1 stuff is expensive.

 

You would have to install the LT1 computer and harness, other than the challenges involved with that not so simple task there is nothing to it. Not sure what kind of transmission you plan on running either, but that would be another area of challenges.

 

I don't know how much $$ he's dealing with, but it looks like used LT1 engines on ebay go for $1500 without wireing harness or ecu.

The Holley system is $2300

The FAST sytem is $1400 + $200 (sensors) + $220 (ford injectors) + $255 (intake manifold)

Yes, more expensive now, but I think it would wash out if you consider future mods. Gen1 mods are cheaper, plus you can go larger (454ci) and the ECM system will grow with and compliment the changes you make.

I guess a good question is, Why do you want to swap out engines? Did you put a rod through the block?

 

Also have you bought that book I recommended? It's a must read before you even start this project.

 

Quote: you might say I'm hell bent to do it, so please, no remarks about how much simpler it would be to install an L-98 instead of an LT-1.

We are only speaking from expirience. Many of the people here on the forum have built engines their whole lives. If they suggest something, it's not directed negatively on you, it's just that, they have been there and done that. They know what will be easier, cheaper, and what works with what. It's nice to be ambitiuos but, we are letting you lnow now, it's going to be expensive.

 

Alright guys I see your points, and my post was kinda vague on some parts. Well, I was planning to hopefully spend no more than $2000 to get the engine in and make it run. I think I can do it for that price if my luck holds out, I've found a complete LT-1 with ECM and wiring harness included for $996 including shipping. Sonny, I'm glad someone is looking out for me, yeah my pockets aren't that deap, (I make $7 an hour as a janitor), I thought about just changing to TPI, but what about the sensors that are on L-98's and not on L-83's? I also thought about just building an engine like you're talking about, but what about emissons? I want an LT-1 because my grandad had a '93 camaro and that thing would rock, and nothing hardly ever crapped up on it. No I haven't got that book yet, but I'm looking for it and hope to get it soon. Well, who knows if I don't have enough money left over, maybe my old man will loan me the dough to take some mullet loving chick to the drive in. Anyway, if I need a few extra dollars to finish the engine, I'm sure my dad or grandad will help me out a little (remember just a little), because they want this thing as bad as I do. Anyway, talk to you later, and thanks.

 

I'll assume this is an F body LT1 on the good side, or the worse side would be the Caprice/Roadmaster LT1 for that amount of money. What is the engine out of?
If a vette engine, then you will have to decide if you are going speed density (92-93) or MAF (94-96) but understand that the 96 is OBDII and sort of unique in that regard. The '95 is OBDI with an OBDII ALDL connector. You will need all that stuff and then some. I'm not certain of the issues you face in trying to hook a non-ABS, non-ASR car to a(n) ECM/PCM'd car that wont have this stuff in it. The '94+ requires the 4L60E tranny unless you have a real custom chip in mind. The PCM controls the TC lockup function and possibly some other functions, but I'm not sure. Others have done the TH400 install, so it is possible.
I don't know if the exhaust will be an issue or not...it will be if the manifolds aren't included since you need them for the EGR operations. Then you'll need a stock one or custom one done if you need to be emissions compliant. The steering column or rack system might be an issue as well with placement and how things are routed between your year and the intended year of LT1. Your radiator is different as well if I remember right. Isn't the 84 straight up and down? the LT1's lay at that odd angle. Not sure if that will be an issue.
The air pump on an LT1 is electric. Not much of an issue as it is unpluggable if not liked, so you probably won't have to sweat this item.
The '95 has the better Opti system and is cheaper to replace when the time comes (and it will). You could just buy a '95 timing cover, newer Opti unit and the harness to plumb it with separately.
You will have to upgrade the fuel pump as well. The LT1 is designed with much higher pressures than the TBI that you have now. Your car has what 9-14psi in it? Whereas the LT1 is 30-50psi.

Just some stuff to consider. I hope you have done lots of research, have much access to this info and people with this info as well. Not an easy tasking. If it was just a matter of hooking up a fuel line, throttle cable and such then no biggie. But things are a little different now.


[Modified by Goody, 7:27 PM 4/23/2003]

 

Chris, Welcome to the forum.

 

That's a good point to find out exactly where this engine came from. It it's out of a Caprice, it has iron heads (260hp), and it might be the baby LT1 (4.3 liter L99 200hp). I think you can tell where the engine came from from it's casting marks, but I don't know anything about that.

 

BLOCKS
350 - There are two blocks, one with two-bolt mains and one with four-bolt mains. They both have the same 10125327 casting number, so there’s no sure way to know which one you have until you get the pan off. However, if it came out of a Corvette, it should be a four-bolt block, and if it came out of anything else, it was supposed to be a two-bolt. GM used the two-bolt block for everything but the Corvette because it had plenty of strength and it weighed a little bit less.

265 - There was only one block used for the 265 cid version of the LT1. It’s a 10168588 casting that had the numbers "4.3" cast on the side, too. It’s real easy to spot if the heads are off because of the small 3.74" bore.

 

HEADS
There were two heads used on the 350, one aluminum and one cast iron, along with one cast iron head for the 265. GM claimed that the original LT1 aluminum head had a 15% increase in airflow as a result of revised port angles and higher port ceilings when compared to the 1991 L98 head. That was impressive in 1992, but the iron LT1 head that came out in 1994 was even better. It flowed 20% more on the intake side and made more horsepower on the dyno.

All LT1 heads used small combustion chambers to get the higher compression ratios with flat top pistons; the 350s had a 10.5 to 1ratio and the 265s had a 9.8 to 1 ratio.

350 IRON HEADS - All of the full-size cars came with iron heads. They were 10125320 or 12554290 castings.

265 IRON HEADS - The 265 had its own unique cast iron head with a 10208890 casting number. The chambers are smaller, so these heads cannot be interchanged with any of the 350 LT1 heads.

 

I'm still vague aren't I, the engine is out of a wrecked '93 corvette, and it has 48,000 miles, (great deal if I do say so myself), the lady I talked to was as helpful as possible, but she was an arab and I couldn't understand everything she said, but, if I understood correctly, they will send the engine with everything you need to make it run except the alternator, and the A/C compressor. The opti spark (distributor right?) is suppose to come as well. What about the radiator thing, aren't LT-1's reverse flow of my '84? And another question, I don't remember the other guys name who posted earlier here, but he said something about the L-83 was the same as the L-98 with a cross fire on top? Is it? If so, then I might just get a TPI unit and slam on top, along with some bigger heads, a beefy cam ( could you recomend one that doesn't lope at all but will provide a good increase in power), heck might even replace valves, as well as adding a high flowing exhaust system. IF, you can answer my first question, (is the L-83 the same as an L-98 with cross fire on top?) Well just let me know, (and I didn't say I was going with the L-98 conversion, I just said I might.) talk to you later.