I'm seriously considering doing an LT1 swap into one of my cars, and was wondering if you could provide any links to good basic engine information on the web. I'm doing my research now and trying to learn the engine.

Quoted:
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Any 283-350 Chevy small block V-8 will work, but the LT-1 is arguably the best motor for this application. These Chevy V-8 engines generally produce 250 horsepower and above, with streetable performance levels approaching 500 horsepower. The advantage of choosing the V-8 over the V-6 is a smoother running engine with less vibration and greater power. To further the advantages, the LT-1's out of a Camaro or Firebird actually have a compact enough fuel injection system and serpentine belt assembly that they fit under the stock hood without the use of a hood scoop.
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At this early stage, I'm specifically trying to find pictures or a good description of the actual differences in the FI/serpentine accessories that make me consider the LT1 only. I'm also looking into costs, for a couple different levels of performance, from a basic stock-power-level engine to an aggressive streetable motor. If you could provide a basic list for each price level, that'd be great for me to follow up and research. Last I'm looking into durability - I'd like to be able to rev, and the car will be seeing a lot of DEs and road courses, so durability over many track weekends will be a big factor for me. Any advice you can provide on a wise sequential approach is greatly appreciated, or just give me any web links you have and I'll read.

I am in AZ - can you recommend local shops that have LT1 expertise?

As for why I'm considering the engine swap? I'm swapping into a Porsche 944 Turbo. The stock engine makes nearly 300whp if chipped, any more and costs go way up, like 2k at least for 350whp or so. Want 400hp? Give up any torque until 4k RPM and pay 5k to start. It's a slug waiting for turbo spool below 3k RPM. A barebones rebuild costs nearly 2k on that engine. I want the increased power, increased torque, lower costs, and greater reliability of the Chevy small block. Especially with the car being built for DEs and road racing, I would like to keep long-term maintenance costs down.

I'm not totally new to the Chevy V8s, family has a 2000 Vette, some of you may have spotted me over at CorvetteForum, but this engine is totally new to me.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sam

 

general info....... more to follow.....

http://www.f-body.org/tech/4th_gen.htm

 

If I had a clean sheet of paper, and wanted to do a V8, the LT1 wouldn't be it. A standard SBC has a huge selection of heads and intake manifolds, and isn't opti-dependent like the LT1. Granted, you can convert, but why bother. Get yourself a Motown block and bang out 420+ cid right off the bat. I'd also do a standalone engine management such as FAST or Motec. I'm not ragging on the LT1, hell I own one, but if I had a chance to do any SBC, the LT1 wouldn't be it.

 

It depends on your goals what you do. A traditional SBC like mentioend above is a smart choice and you have way more options with it. However, if you are planing on leaving the engine stock and this is a daily driver car for example the LT-1 will get you much better mileage than an SBC built up to the same power levels.

 

If your after the basic's of the LT1 engine difference , Here is a link


LT1 Info

 

The engine will almost certainly be running standalone, likely Haltech, also looking at many others. Optispark doesn't worry me as I'll be getting rid of it IF I go LT1 - any choice will be fuel injected and individual coil. I will not be batch firing plugs, nor batch firing injectors, it will all be sequential individual.

My goals (in order of priority):

Durability - I need to get a lot of track hours out of it before it needs rebuild/freshening OR rebuilds need to be cheap ($500 or less).

Related, Reliability - needs to get me there and back and do its 2 lapping days without a hiccup.

Track car (and by track I mean road race), so it needs to rev - occasional 7k rpm at least, higher would be even more fun.

Cost: Naturally the lower the better, but I'm not averse to shopping the top of the line for everything IF I see value in it.

At least 400whp/400wtq, more would be more fun.

Josh, opinions like yours are why I post instead of just searching and searching on the net - my outsider point of view saw the recommendation for LT1 and that's all I considered. Can you elaborate on the functional differences and cost differences I'd see sticking to a normal SBC? "Way more options" sounds absolutely great to me, what are they?

Basically, this is asking for each of your recommendations for what you would build were you given a blank slate (a car needing a wild SBC).

I really appreciate it.
Sam

 

Do you realize what is involved in running completly sans opti?

7krpm is getting up there for a SBC that sees alot of track duty. Are you open to a solid roller?

For those power levels you are going to need at a minimum a healthy heads and cam setup with either a 383 or 396. This is no longer getting inexpensive.

I think that you need to explore the search function of this particular forum, as it has more info than you could imagine. To attain your power goals, start talking to the people proven to make it. Phil @ Advanced Induction, Lloyd Elliot, Bret Bauer etc. Your goals are achievable, but when you start to add things like the aftermarket computer system and a solid rotating assembly that will take consistant 7krpms quality machine work etc, you are not looking at a $4k or even $5k project.

 

I saw partial Opti-delete systems like the LTCC while researching, and that'd be a bare minimum for what I'd do. Seems from my reading it needs no more than any other car, needs a crank trigger and a cam trigger - none of that is intimidating to me to fabricate. Coming from this nightmare Porsche called an engine to an engine 10 years newer (at least), everything seems like a cakewalk.

7k rpm is an occasional goal, not a daily shift point - it's there as insurance more than anything, so I can get optimistic with a downshift and not do much more than bend pushrods. 6250 is a realistic track redline goal. Solid roller is not impossible, the shimming adjustments are easy enough on SBCs, but hydraulic would be preferred.

Heads/cam I assumed I'd have to do, my little LS1 background has shown me there are huge gains there - looking at Lloyd Elliot, it seems I can get a killer set of heads and cam/valvetrain for 2k or so. I don't have stuff like power brakes or vacuum to worry about. Big displacement I'd actually like - big bore, small stroke, give up some torque and let it wind up.

My preliminary budget is 4k or so for the engine. That can and likely will change as I learn more. Management is totally separate, whether 1300 for Haltech or 2500 for Accell, it's a separate budget.

Thank you
Sam

 

4K won't get you a very serious motor. You can easily spend that much on just the shortblock.

You could start with a late 80s/early 90s 350 block (one piece main/roller setup). A forged Eagle/SRP rotating assembly is ~$1800 or so. Get a set of AFR heads (195 cc will do fine on a street oriented motor) for ~$1200 ($500 less than LT1 versions...). Then pop in a hydraulic roller cam, and throw on a TPIS miniram to keep plenty of hood clearance. That's an easy way to make 450 horsepower without breaking the bank.