Reliability... (both lightly modded/heavily modded)
 

One of the reasons I'm switching from a turbocharged import to a Z28 is because of reliability. I'll have similar power, but with a lot less complexity, and fewer components which can go "bad" with regular day to day driving.

Is a Z28 really the right car? My plans are to buy a high mileage 95-97, obd2. Drive it for maybe 8-10,000 miles (probably a lot fewer) for my commutes to school, then rebuild it with low compression pistons, nicer cam, guess a few other basic items.. for $3,500.

Will a properly rebuilt LT1 last me, with all the basic maintenance performed regularly? (I'll change all the fluids as soon as I've got it in my driveway)

What usually goes wrong with these cars, what can I look forward to hassling with on a higher mileage (100k range) obd2 LT1?

What happens once you get into forced induction? Will the car spend more time in the shop than on the road? If I boost more conservatively, will it be more reliable? What should I tell the shop to do/not to do, in general, when they perform the rebuild, considering the fact that reliability is a major issue?

It's also my understanding that properly cared for T56's will last 300,000 miles... Fair assumption?

:bow: Thanks in advance! :bow:

:blah:

Hey whats up bro,

I live In San Jose CA, right next to you I beleive.
Anyways, what car were you driving before, a domestic sports car like the z28 will produce much more power than an import. You would have to spend alot on an import to even get it close to stock performance of a z28. Glad you are choosing the LT1. But most likely it will have some issues becuase you will be bugying it used and its hard to find an lt1 with little miles on it. But if you are planning on modding the car like all of us on this board do, then mileage should not be a concern at all.

Do what I am doing, I am building a lt1 with forged internals (summit rebuild forge kit with forged pistions rods and ****) When you have forged internals, you can spray nitrous and have a supercharger with no fear. This WILL last like you want it too becuase the internals are much more rugged then the import cars.

The thing that usually goes wrong with these cars is the distributer AKA opticrap, make sure you replace it if you are going to rebuild, it will save you alot of time and money.

Yes, I believe any fbody is the right car. I couldnt picture my life without a GM sports car, I dont even think I would enjoy or match with any other car. Corvettes, Trans AM's and Camaros are the best cars I feel.

Take care of your Lt1 and it will last you longer then you expect!

Have fun bro!

SJ is about 45 mins away... Have any shops you like/can reccommend personally? The one in my area looks great but... it's always good to get prices from a few spots..

My eclipse is ready for a little over 20psi.. 350hp if I had the money to get it on a wideband dyno.. lol. Cost arm and a leg to get parts for the rebuild. I must've spent $300 on gaskets alone... I see full gasket sets for lt1's for like half that... crazy.

I'll have to see what the shop is including in the $3,500... they only mentioned hotter cam and low compression pistons as I have aspirations to run forced induction...

Is this lt1 rebuild kit only in the paper catalog? I can't find it online

I'm assuming they'd replace them... is there some improved optispark I can get?

Yes I can reccomend an AWESOME shop for you, he is actually a personal freind that has just opened up a new shop in San Jose (Downtown off of Highway 280). He chrages 60 bucks an hour for anything. O, and please dont go with any of the packages that anyone is offering, they are complete rip offs and I doubt they will change the optispark.

There are better optisparks out there, one is the dynaspark, they last a very very long time but also cost more.

Check out www.summitracing.com that was the catalog i was reffering to.... They have forged rebuild kit that include everything you would want for 530$. LT1 parts and performance enhancement areSO cheap and SO effetive that it will make you very happy that you left your import.

With the right knowledge you can rebuild your whole engine using forged internals, get ported heads and an agressive cam, and replace all the major components for around 1000$. Please dont get ripped off.

Talk to me on AIM if you would like, my screen name is PimPPharO

O ya, heads and cam will make your import eclipse look like a childs toy. Literally

Nice. Find out what it'd cost for me! (parts, labor separately I guess) Added you to bl, not online I guess? What's the shop called?

Not seeing any rebuild kits on Summit... Just their POS longblock for 6 g's!

Also noticed that they don't even have a tpi/lt1/ls1 section in the paper catalog like they used to... =-\

They still have it pgs 192-197 in the catalog, the rebuilt kits for the LT1 is on page 89.

If you are smart this is what to do:
Buy opstispark (ebay or jason cromer for 180$)
Buy a comp cam (240$)
Port and Polish your heads (at my other friends shop for 165$)
Buy Rebuild Kit Forged from summit (comes with most of the gaskets 530$)
Change All fluids (Oil, coolant, tranny, posi etc 80$)

If you want nitrous or supercharger:
Nitrous Sneeky pete nitrous system (230$)
Full NOS heavy dudty system (600-800$)
Supercharger (Vortech Supercharger 2500$)

Do all the work yourself (SAVE ALOT of money and learn alot in the process, I myself am learning alot and having alot of fun doing this to my car)

BUT, if you insist on labor, this will cost around 1500-2500$ not including the parts above.

hehe, my friend, i just finished doing a rebuild for a "high mileage" lt1...if u REALLY wanna know what's involved, let me know, because it'll cost much more than the $3500 you're thinkin...

there's a guy named stephen kim (great writer) and he said it best when he said that when you're building a motor, take the number you have in mind and multiply it by 3...which is where the REAL cost is.


if u wanna know more, pm me.

Ya I have been hearing alot of that nonsense lately, multiply it by three! LOL, I dont disagree with you, but bearing in mind that initial cost should be 1200$, I dont see how its possible to make THAT many errors trying to get this done. Well, its hasnt been like that for me, so I dont know.

If you're serious about going fast, and don't skimp on parts, you will exceed $3500 for a nice 355 by far. In the end you'll end up with $3k in heads/valvetrain parts alone ;). If the shortblock in your ride is in decent condition, topend/valvetrain can make over 400rwhp with a hydraulic roller you can drive daily. Little more difficult if you want to honestly pass emissions on the program you actually drive daily. Add full exhaust & you've eclipsed your $3500 mark. Then there's some boltons.. TB isnt necessary but will make another ~10rwhp on a 400rwhp ride, pro5.0 shifter.. another $180... clutch? $350-1000+ depending on what you run... different rear gear ratio?

That is the route I would take, because I hate having things torn apart forever waiting on time/$ to finish them. Mainly though, b/c you can use pretty much all of that with your new shortblock when you decide to go with forced induction. Hell, you'll spend $3500 quickly on power adders if you go that route :D

$$$... the only people telling you how cheap this stuff is, are the guys who just dont know better :D

Good luck :)

-Phil

Ok, well see how my rebuild and heads/cam go, and if it exceeds 1200$ ill let you know. Im pretty sure Ill get it done at that much if not lower. You only pay alot of money if YOU are NOT doing the labor yourself, that is what happens and that why people are coming up with these BS prices. Youll save alot doing it yoursef.

Theres no way in hell it would cost 3500 to rebuild the engine. It is possible to be that high if you let someone else do it for labor hourly charges, but it is not possible to get that high if the parts are going to cost 530$ to rebuild it. Theres just no way

I'm talking about doing everything yourself when it comes to installs ;).

You can get things done for nothing sure.. but what will you end up with? Nothing ;). If youre lucky that is, because if you're unlucky, mediocre parts can trash it all :D


EDIT: If you spend $530 on pistons, rings, bearings, rods, gaskets, etc. then you might as well have left it alone in the first place.

Agreed, Look at it this way, you buy the cheap part for say 5 dollars. And when it breaks you go out and buy the good one for 10, so wouldnt it have been cheaper to wait, and save up and buy the good one the first time. Another famous quote, you get what you pay for. Prorac1

You guys think that the summit rebuild kit forged is trash???:confused: :eek: