I had a few questions relating to a lt1 being carbed, currently i have it as fuel injection, is it possible to just get the intake and the carb and use my old harness and computer from the 83 (the car is an 83) and use the old style distributor rather than the optispark, would i have anything else to worry about ? all those darn sensors and what not. Anyone have anything on this i'd really appreciate it, trying to get this thing started and It'd be much easier if it did work this way, thanks

 

I believe someone sells a carbureted intake for an LT-1. Try a yahoo search and you'll find it. You can easily convert to a rear-mount distributor. Simply pull off the opti and seal the hole with a large poker chip. Then remove the oil pump drive from the lifter valley and drop in your new distributor after the intake's on. Get rid of your factory wiring and computer but make sure you save the wires for the gauges and distributor power. It shouldn't be too bad. Good Luck.

 

sweet, i have all of that, thank god i didnt get rid of it , thanks a ton off we go

 

I'm glad that helped! There may be other small things you'll have to convert over, but it shouldn't be too hard. Just make sure your distributor has a mechanical advance mechanism and a 4-pin module so you can completely eliminate the computer. That's what I did on my '85 Firebird and it worked great! I'm assuming the LT-1 has been in your car for a while and it's not a new installation, so all you need to do is convert over to a carburetor and rear-mount distributor. If so then it shouldn't be too bad. Let us know how it goes.

 

i talked with a few people about what i wanted to do, one of them said that i should look into it a bit more, because i might be losing some power swapping over, or maybe possibly endangering the motor because of eliminating certain sensors , for instance the knock sensor and stuff, id be using my old computer from 83 camaro and its harness instead of the ecu /harness from the 96. Would any problems arrise with the performance or safety of my motor ? i have a cc305 cam in there, will that be ok with a carb?

Thanks just really need to make sure this is going to work well without messing something up ;p, ive tried to look on yahoo but didnt find enough info that i needed..

thanks again,

dave

 

GM Performance parts sells the LT1 carb intake manifold and some other stuff to do this with. The Dealership has a GM pef. parts catalog and can order the parts you need too. Better if you find a GMPP catalog and order it yourself or look on ebay maybe. You can removed the cam gear drive cover when you take the old intake manifold off to drop in your top rear mount distributor. It will NOT mess the motor up to delete sensors but you will not be as informed about trouble codes is the down side to it. Give and Take- some sacrifices for a carb LT1.

 

well, i honestly dont know what to do, id like to get a few more opinions on this , i get some people telling me its the dumbest thing to do with the lt1, and that i will lose power, others say i could gain power with the right carb etc, as long as i wont lose power i would really like to stay simple with a carb :/

 

You would likely gain torque due to the dual plane intake but will lose a bit of HP up top again due to the intake. Frankly right now you could run 87 octane with the right programming, but after this swap and putting on FAR less accurate distributor and car you will need to run high octane. The LT1 is well above all the recommended guidelines for compression for a carbed street application and it is not just the reverse flow cooling that allows that it is also the presision engine management that comes with MPI. I know of one guy that put an carbed LT1 in a Fiero said he got 9mpg, the injection is part of what makes the LT1 great. In my opinion an LT1 without the injection is just a waste of swap time and and would have been better off staying Gen1.