Unfortunately I have lost compression in the #1 cylinder. I believe I have located a suitable replacement one state away and plan to pick it up next weekend. The replacement is a bone stock LS1 out of another Corvette. Should be plug and play. Whilst I have it out on a stand I figure it will never be easier to work on. I will definitely do a water pump, swap for an LS2 timing set and definitely do a harmonic balancer.

I am toying with swapping for 243 heads and also thinking about doing cam, springs, lifters and trunion upgrade since the head swap will require pulling most of that stuff anyway. Is it worth the hassle or should I just leave well enough alone with the 241s?



Is there anything else I should consider while I am in there? Cost is a consideration but I have a little money to play with. I mostly just cruise with an occasional track day. I am also up for any suggestions for the cam.

 

Cam it 100%. If the engine is out of the car and on a stand, it will never be easier to do and it will COMPLETELY change the way your car drives.

Call a few of the cam manufacturers - Texas Speed, Brian Tooley Racing, Cam Motion, etc. and talk to them. They are all happy to spend ~20-30 minutes on the phone discussing your car, driving habits, and plans. Get a cam custom ground or suggested by some of the experienced manufacturer's rather than Joe Blow who will just tell you, "HAHA BIG CAM GO CHOP CHOP CHOP."

 

I'd change the oil pressure sending unit, balancer and leave the rest alone.

 

I plan to do the relocation kit on the sending unit. I already added a remote bleeder for the clutch.

 

I will do some calling. Thank you for the list of providers.

A while back I remember a kit you could buy to rebuild your seats. It included everything. New foam new covers etc... I can’t seem to find that anywhere now... Any idea who sells that?

 

And if you have the engine on a stand, you can do a cam swap with basic tools. It really, truly, is not difficult.

I know the seat foam can be bought from a few different vendors - Eckler's, Ridies, and Mid America all come to mind. New leather skins are available from Ridies as well.

If you re-foam the seats, don't forget to add (or have the upholstery shop add) a thick pad of jute fiber between the wire frame and the foam. This will prolong their life and stop the wire mesh from cutting the seat foam.

 

I would change the rear main seal. Very expensive to change after engine is installed.

 

Indeed...........

 

I don't get it? You lost #1 cylinder in your present engine.
You buy a used engine and change everything but the cylinders?
What makes you think ,you won't lose #1 again.
You could of saved money and either looked around for a deal on
a crate engine( they are out there). Or just rebuilt what you have.
Anyway , check those cylinders.
Good luck

 

A complete top end rebuild, including a cam, heads, intake,.etc will be the best money you ever spent on your car from a perspective of "fun". While the motor is out do all the maintenance items mentioned above also. It would also be a great time to bolt on a remote clutch bleeder as well if your car is a manual. Good luck and have fun picking out the specs of your build!

 

Standard or sport seats?

 

We have seat covers and seat foams for both sports and standard seats.

 

Good call. Cheap and easy while its out and easily reached.

 

I have been warned that the sleeves are so thin that it may not be repairable. I am also thinking the bottom end is not typically problematic on these. I just got lucky. The main reason is the replacement is a fairly low mileage, my build will be pretty mild, and it raises price significantly to do the bottom. Honestly I would love to, but don’t want to put this on a credit card and I have about a 5K cap on what I can spend at the moment. I am spending about 2K on the new engine, about $300 for the 243 heads plus about another 3 to have them checked and prepped and reassembled for install, plus a gasket and seals set for a couple hundred, harmonic balancer is another $400 or so, a clutch set will be close to a grand, cam kit around $1000 all in, you get the idea. I would just wait and save a little longer but I daily drive this car and count on it for transportation. Honestly I may just drop the new engine in as is only swapping the heads and let it go at that. When things pick up for me in a year or so hopefully, a great crate motor or full on rebuild will be much easier to come by. I am just not willing to go into debt to do this. Doing a bottom end build will be a minimum of $3000 from everywhere I have seen...

All that being said, I am very open minded here. If someone has a viable option for me coming in at around $5K I would be grateful for the information...

 

Thanks, I agree. I did a remote bleeder on the clutch when I did the last clutch and rear end swap. I have a 4.10 zip racing rear end and a dual plate clutch in there already.

 

Sport seats.

 

Awesome!! I will call Monday.
Thank you for responding.

 

If you’re opening the front cover a timing chain and a chain dampener (at least) are recommended.

I wish I added the dampener last time around.

 

Headers also

 

I personally think the Texas Speed 228R is the best cam for the LS1. Add in the 243 heads and a LS6 intake manifold and you have a great set up that will have you a little over 400 to the tire and with a set of 4:10 gears you should be rollin pretty quick in my opinion.