College budget LT1 engine rebuilt

[eleve2003]

Hey im new to this.. im a college student at UCR... my car die like two weeks ago and now its in a shop in san bernandino.. i thiink that the timing chain broke but since my car has 152,XXX miles on it and had been giving me some trooble.. im rebuilding the engine... i dont come from a rich fam... i work to pay my rent and all my expenses... i have some money to rebuilt the engine and want to do some upgrades... what would u guys recommend... im thinking of the lt4 cam kit and lt4 chain since i want to add a lil of nos in the future.. ( like after grad. cant affort another engine so soon),,, ahh and want some upgrades that are worth the $$$ .. the engine rebuilt its 1800 with 4 yr or 75,000 miles... so thats good.. ill need those miles since its my daily driver... please reply... i want the best package for my car... im not expecting 400HP right now its pretty much stock... so any suggestions its greatly appreciated... thank u guys.. :)

[5.0THIS]

If you do a cam, ported heads will always help.... In order for even the cam to do you alot of good, you'll need to have the basic bolt ons, such as cold air intake, headers, and full exhaust. You'll also need PCM dyno tuning with the cam as well.

[eleve2003]

Yeah i wanted to do some head work ... the guy told me he would port and polish the heads for 275 dollars.. which i think its really good... but then i made some research and saw that the stock flow of the heads its pretty good... so their may not be a need to port the heads... adn i might do that later once im a grad... if i decide to do the hot cams kit... would i have to dyno tune... or would a a hypertehc programing do? i would love to have headers on but they will have to hold for at least another three months.. i wanted to have a solid base for when the other bolt-ons came in...

[eleve2003]

Forgot to mention that i do have a exaust system... i have three in tubing from the Y to the flowmaster ... also the mechanic told me that the cats had been gutted as dor emission i dont worry since where i live you only have to smog ur car once every time u sell the car.. and mine its a keeper.. any ideas?? i have about 1000 to drop besides the rebuild... so i want the best base for the build up... remmember.. i dont want need 400Hp and its my daily driver... thank you...

[5.0THIS]

First off, the stock heads dont flow all that well. So yes, there is a need to do that. Secondly, yes you need to tune the car. Hypertech is junk, dont ever buy one. And putting in a cam with stock manifolds and y-pipe is a waste of time. The stock manifolds and y pipe are the most restrictive parts of the factory exhaust setup, and flowmaster is perhaps the worst flowing catback out of all the aftermarket catbacks[.

[eleve2003]

i said that since i read in another thread that,, they flow pretty good... and that a decent por should run like 700 o so dollars... and that if i do the port they migh ruin them.. in case i wanted to send them to another guy to make further work... man.. its seem like ur tellimg me that even the smallest thing i do its wrong... the flowmaster system was already install when i got the car... as well as the cats gutted out.. i would had never though of that.. i know that flowmaster suck since they have those baffels.. but its definitely it sounds mean...... OK so i guess ur telling me that i should definite port them.. and add the cams... and tune it... would this set up.. be ok with out the headers for like three months or so..? and would i run OK if it dont tune it right away or is it a must with the lt4 cam ki... i like it since it has he RR and springs included.. for like 500... what would you recommend me to do with those 1000 dollars... [port it and buy basic bolt ons...? and then pay again to add the cam kit? and tune it?? if u were me wha would u do???

[LS1ROC]

You know if you cant have afford a shit load now.....then atleast build the bottom end for strength on this rebuild .........then later you may not have to jerk the engine to do the upgrades. You will end up with a damn good engine with a built up bottom end.

[5.0THIS]

You could run it with ported heads and a cam without headers or tuning, it just wont run worth a shit, and wont make nearly the power that it's capable of. To put it in perspective.. I have bolt ons, not even all of them, and I make 309rwhp, stock rockers and throttle body, and through a cat. With a hotcam kit and no tuning or headers you likely wouldnt make as much power as me, maybe even with ported heads as well. Those stock manifolds will kill the flow of your better heads and cam. I guess for now, dont port the heads and just put a hotcam kit in it, and save for some basic tuning.. even mail-order tuning from someone like PCMforless would be better than nothing.And then next thing would be headers

[eleve2003]

hey thax i think im going to do some of the basic bolt ons.. am adding CAI from SLP.. the elbow from trick flow.. the tb.. 52... dont think i need 58.. and the hot cams... ill see if i do the port after reading that they migh damage the heads on another thread im now thinking about it.... im going to do the headers and tuning in two or three months...i think this would be a good set up..

BTW.. what would be the worst thing that the port might do to the heads/ engine in a worst case scenario?? overheading?? or no benefit at all? they say they can do it.. but.. i dont know.. i rather pay the extra.. in the future.. and not have to pay for another set of heads..,

As for the bottom end... ill add the forged pistons.. which i think are stock set-up... dont really see a need for forged rods and crank since im not going for 500Hp .. 350 would be my Goal to hit NA.. 450 with nos.. but that be later..

Im happy with what this LT1 does , better said did :( to brand New G35's.. RX 8 and i like how its still keeps up and ahead of hook-up WRX's from the roll.. this car is fun and sometimes scary to see what it does... as for the stangs.. thos 5.0 cant hang.. even a 92 cobra has been spank by this.. stock camaro.. :) but it will come alive..

Tomorow ill see my baby in pieces.. and see that will be my budget for upgrades.. might need some extra parts just to get it running guys know how it is... thank you all for the help.. btw.. do u guys know any good tunning shop near riverside?? and what would be the price i should expect for a dyno tune???

[5.0THIS]

Save your money on the throttle body and trick flow elbow. It will be MUCH better spent somewhere else. Save it for headers and tuning... trust me... A well tuned stock LT1 with bolt ons (including headers/exhaust) and a LT4 Hotcam kit will put between 320-340rwhp on average to the ground, depending on A4 or M6... Either way that is over 350hp at the flywheel.

[eleve2003]

hey ok.. thanx for your suggestion... ill do the tuning.. for sure.. dont think im not.. the exhaust too.. i have my eyes on some jet hot.. already.. they look nice.. they will also clean out the engine bay.. but even then... do u guys know if shorties are on any good.. and or.. if they are any headers that will keep all emission attachments.. and still give pretty good performance when compare to long tube... i wouldnt want to get pull over and check my hood... and have to take them out beacuse a cop just wanted to get me... i would want to give them reason for a ticket.. :debil: :)

BTW i have an A4 rebuilt like a year ago.. :)

[5.0THIS]

I have AS&Ms. They will perform just as well as longtubes, and have all emission fittings.

[eleve2003]

hey.. u know i never heard of those headers... but now that i did a search i read some good things about them... where could i get them??? i would like to see how they are...

[5.0THIS]

Not sure what retailers sell them. They arent cheap but they are nice.

[Zboner]

Question???

there is a 96 LT1 camaro that has a hugh cam and has a compression of like 13.1 at the shop thats doing my car, how can you up your compression? sorry to steel the thread but just wanted to know

[5.0THIS]

domed pistons

[Zboner]

does it make that big a difference?? cause it was loud as hell man

[eleve2003]

Umm so where can i at least look at them.. or how did u got them?? i seen some threats... talking about them.. but dont really know how they are... i know that in three months.. ill be able to do the headers.. and tuning.. so it as long as they are not 900 its good..

[5.0THIS]

well, I typed AS&M into google and it gave me their site.... http://www.azspeed-marine.com/ they list the headers at 750$.. most long tubes are cheaper but not emissions legal. If you can find a set used (which is how I got mine) then get them. Otherwise get some long tubes I guess.

[eleve2003]

Thanx man... u the boom really help me alot.. ill look them up on ebay... since yeah they are up there.. but its a good deal since they are coated... do u know if they have any clearance problems..?? well at least now ill have an idea... but hey would u recommend shorties...or not really?? how about the mids..???

[5.0THIS]

Well, regardless of what it says on AS&Ms site... the AS&Ms have always been considered midlength headers. Shorties will get you good power gains, but certainly not as good as a 1 3/4 midlength or longtube design. My headers have no clearance issues so far as the chassis or ground clearance is concerned. Plug access is about the same as any other mid or long tube.

[eleve2003]

ohhh ok... hey i see that they run at about the same price... mids... and long... also... i have been looking at the pacesetters... long tube... they have all attachments... would u recommend them??? since i have seen that people rather have long tube than mids.. or short headers.. what do u say 5.0this??

[5.0THIS]

A guy dynoed AS&Ms versus Hooker longtubes, and on a supercahrged engine at that. The long tubes didnt show any gains over the AS&Ms until something like 650-700rwhp. Long tube owners want to believe that no mid length header can compete with their precious long tubes, but it just isnt so. That being said, either will do the job for you... get whatever is cheapest and easiest to find. Long tubes will have more ground clearance issues though...

[eleve2003]

Got U... :notworthy :)

[eleve2003]

Shit...i just got my car back from the mechanic and what comes up right after they close...??? SES .. i head that the muffler is rubbing into the chassis.. would this make the knock sensor go crazy... i mean the car fells ok.. i havent really floored it... i want to brake into it easy.. im keeping it under 65 miles.. at the freeway.. what do u guys think...?? this car is going back to the shop tommorow... but still just i case they dont want to fix the muffler rubbing into the frame i could tell them that that is causing the knock sensor to go crazy... thanx... for all

[5.0THIS]

Probably not the muffler, but perhaps the y pipe or cat, or headers themselves. The SES light could be a ton of different things, they'll have to pull codes to check.

[eleve2003]

yeah.. i took it to them today... they should get back to me in an hour or two.... btw... what is the normal operating temp for a rebuilt engine opened to .30 cauz i think this is alil too hot.. but i dont know.. its like at 220-230 its this ok??

[Zboner]

thats pretty dayum hott if you ask me. thats shut off time

[eleve2003]

i did imagine.. but isnt normal operating temp set at 210 or so...?? i just want to check this and how would i be able to keep it down... running at 65 miles... the temp stays at 180 or 210 but as soon is on traffic it jumps to to 220-230... any ideas??? i have a new water pump... and new hoses.. the radiator was clean... and it has anti-freeze... so i dont know what else to do... remmember that it just got rebuilt ... probably dont even have like 50 miles on the engine...

[5.0THIS]

As long as your cooling fans are working and you dont get near the red zone you're ok. LT1s run fairly warm from the factory. 220 is ok, it wont damage the engine, but you are losing power at that temperature. If you want the car to run cooler, a 160 thermostat and a manual control switch for the fans will help alot. Also, it could be running a bit too warm if the cooling system wasnt properly bled, and has air bubbles in it.

[onelife]

Don't get AS&M, too expense for a college budget.

Here is a small list

Pacesetter coated long tubes $400
Texas Speed True Dual Exhaust $400
PCM4LESS tuning $200 or so bucks
Any intake elbow $70
New Version LT1 Comp Cam ( do not get the hot cam, the new comp cam versions offer more LS1 profile lifts and duration instead of something a carburator 350 would run, I believe they have something like 218/218 with .551" lift and 114LSA or something similar)$250
Eagle rods,ARP main and head studs, and Wiseco pistons with 11:1 comp and .020" over $1,100
Port Pros Stage ONE heads (which basically well rounds a complete rebuilt package with new Stainless steel valves, port job,, and ready to assembly on engine heads) $1,100

Well your little over $3,600 so far which really covers 90% of your build and I know what your thinking, that is f*&king expensive. Trust me this is cheap, in the performance world you have to pay to play with the big boys.
And this sucks for a college student.

Rebuilt the engine correct or buy a $2,000 peice of shit to get you around while the beloved F-Body lifelessly remains parked and collects dust and birdshit instead of wins at the track.

I would say f&%k it, rebuild the damn LT1 but I'm 60 hours away from graduating, I don't know where your at. More than likely probrably further along than me but I cannot let a good F-Body just parked, they were made to drive.

[eleve2003]

Dont worry man.. i wont let my car sit around... i already rebuilt the engine... actually had to take it back to get some code check.... but yeah i woudnt let my car sit and collect dust... for the two weeks that the car was sitting in the garage i was :( i could go pick up my gf.. take her out.. got to fontana speedway to kick it with my org. brothers.. or anything like that.. i was stuck in my apt and had to ask for rides even to the store.. seriously its suck not to have a car... i wanted to go upgrades while the engine was out of the car to save on labor.. but my starter was dead... my motor mounts were history.. i needed another water pump... hoses... belts.. and shit i didnt count on the firt time.. so everytihng came up to 2740.. which game only a lil money to spare into the " performance zone" i ended up only having the heads ported.. to allow for more flow...in about 2 months.. ill add the CAI and the elbow since i really need another one ( its riped) and for looks ... and headers.. everything else its stock . also im thinking of adding the manual switch to keep the temp down.. SLP to make it easier on the installation.. ohh and the dyno tune... im thinking of maybe going to san diego.. i want the dyno tune so that they can give me the sheet and know for reals what my car is doing.. the next big thing that im probably going to address its the differential.. how much would that run for?? how much should i expect to pay install???

[onelife]

Labor on installing gears should run $200 on an experiance mechanic. If you go into the diff you should have a good Limited Slip installed at the same time, I believe SLP has the Auburn units on sale but I'm not sure.
When choosing a great installer for gears I have found that the best installers are the 4X4 truck guys that go mudding and rock crawling, thats all they do is change gear ratios have the time so the local guys around here can do it with their eyes close and usually on the first shim and dial in. Which can get frustrating when they aren't set right because they will whine and eventually break under racing use.
3.73s with an auto and 4.10s with a manual if your running stock displacement but I'm sure you already new this.

[eleve2003]

yeap... ill do 3.73 then is not that bad ill also add in new axels ill want to have the best 10 bolts as possible.. cauz the 12 bolts is just too much for my application in my opinion.. but htankz that will let me know what should be my budget.. :)

[5.0THIS]

Dont bother putting aftermarket axles in your ten bolt, it would be a complete waste of money. When the 10 bolt lets go, it likely wont be the axles. The ring gear and pinion are what lets go, and there is no way to make those any stronger... the inherent problem is that they're too small. A TA girdle will help.. just do that if you're staying with the 10 bolt.

[JeffInDFW]

Have the shop use the head gasket from the 96 Impalla SS, and it will raise your compression ratio to 11.0-1 (a half point higher). This is because the Impalla LT1 has different iron heads. It is an easy way to get higher compression. Your 96 with the OBDII will be more of a hassle than a 94-95 model, but there are work arounds to get the tuning to work. I had the LT4 Hot cam in my 95 with a stock computer, and turned 332RWHP thru stock manifolds/stock heads. Later changed both of those.

[eleve2003]

Thanx again... i didnt know that what broke on a diff was the ring and pinion... now i know... :)// hey the code that the mechanic told me was the p300 or p 3000 dont really remmember ,,, any clue to what that code does???