Hey fellas,
I sold my Mystic '95 Z28 on this board a couple of years ago (hey Mike) and now I'm back with a question... I need a motor in my 1970 Corvette coupe and was thinking of doing an LS1. There's a few guys who have done it, so it should be pretty straight forward. I'm looking for LS1/T56 packages on eBay and they're going for around $3k.

My questions is: What year is the "gotta have" motor? When did they change the intake, the cam, or anything else? Anyone have a motor and tranny for sale in Michigan?

Thanks alot.
-Matt
1970 Corvette - "The Black Beast"
www.kmmotorsports.com

 

Why not go with an LS6/T56 combo? I wouldn't think that it would be that much more expensive. If you are planning doing a cam swap and head work, then go with an LS1 and use that as a base.

The
'01 & 02' engines came with the LS6 intake manifold while the 98-00 LS1's came with the regular LS1 manifold. Not sure of the cam specs on the earlier LS1's but they were a little higher than the later LS1's. I would go with an '01 and up LS1 if it is possible of you....or just an LS6 if that is feasable.

 

Hey Matt! DAMN I miss that car. I'm loving the SS and all its LS1 goodness though. As far as the good years for the LS1, if you're looking for one out of a wrecked car to just drop in and "plug and play" I would say 99 for several reasons. 97-98's have oil pump problems, and if you use the 97-98 style ECM, take a look at all the places you can't get it programmed. Plus the fuel system on 97-98's are different (which may be a slight advantage, they were the only years to use a return line, but you can always use an early fuel rail on a later car and avoid having to do too much plumbing on your vette.) 99's, while they don't have an LS6 intake (which literally bolts in place, and since its a 2 part manifold you wont touh a drop of oil because theres a valley cover), they were the last year of the good cam, the first year of the good oil pumps, and is one of the less problematic years as fas as piston slap and oil consumption goes. 00's, while not bad, were the first year with the smaller truck cam. If you're doing a cam swap, who cares, but other than that and slightly larger stock fuel injectors, its the same as a 99. While 01 and 02 came with the LS6 manifolds, they came with the smaller cams from the factory (which is why 99's with the LS6 manifold make more power than an otherwise factory 01-02) and 01 especially was a bad year for oil burners. My friend Dave had an 01 that would use almost 2 quarts between changes. So I say grab a 99, slap on an LS6 intake, grab some larger injectors, get a TH400 and the conversion kit, go spray the **** out of it and have fun

 

Mike,
Thanks for the info. Looks like '99 is the one to find. I have a guy in Ft Worth who's calling around to see what he can find for me.

TH400?!?!?! I'm a roadracer, man. I like to shift it myself and turn both left and right.... none of this "floor it for 12 seconds, then hit the brakes" stuff.

Sounds like you're up on your LS1 stuff these days. If I need any help, I'll know who to call.

Later.
-Matt

 

We have a conversion forum on my site and there are two guys who have swapped LS1 drivetrains into C2's.

 

Thanks. Do you have a link?
-Matt

 

www.ls1tech.com scroll down to the conversion/hybrid forum.

 

There was a guy here in DFW who put a 00 LS1/T56 to a 74 Vette. I thnk he also has a couple of turbos waiting to be installed.

Not sure of the state of the car right now, because he moved back to Finland and is finishing up the car over there and getting parts etc. is a bit more difficult...

Keep us posted how your project comes along!

TS

 

Thanks alot. That's an awesome site for info. Great.... yet another forum that I have to read every day.

 

Just figured I'd do an update:

I bought a 2000 LS1 & T56 from someone on this board for $1600 without accessories, computer, or wiring harness. When it showed up, I started making a list of stuff that it needed: Computer, harness, coil packs, water pump, alternator, starter, TB, MAF, master and slave cylinders.... I think I have just about everything now with the exception of the PCM and harness.

The motor will be home from AP-Engineering this week. It went up there for a complete teardown, new rings, bearings, ported LS6 oil pump, Comp Cams adjustable timing set, and a TR224-112 cam. I have the heads ready to disassemble on my workbench, just as soon as I get the Comp 918 springs from Chris. Then they'll get bolted on.

The engine bay is cleaned up and some of it is getting some fresh paint. I have to make adapter plates to mount the standard small block motor mounts to, so that's tomorrow's job.

I have to order some things from Dal like a clutch, LS6 valley pan, valve seals, and a fuel filter. I'm still looking around for an LS6 intake under $300. With all of these people switching to the FAST, there's bound to be a few floating around eventually.

Well, that's my update for today. The project is well under way. Thanks for the help that you guys have given me so far.

-Matt