Hey guys, I've been out of the scene for a while. (like, years) My 93' T/A has been sitting in the driveway for about 2 years. Before I left for the military, I had it looked at because it was "running rough". I was told it had issues with detonation and knock. Well, I didn't have the money to fix it until I joined the military. I just got back from a deployment and have $10,000 to play with.

Problem is, I've been out of the scene for so long, all of the planned upgrades I wanted to do are no longer available. For instance, Eagle used to make a 4340 forged steel rotating assembly for the 93-97 Camaro/Firebird, not anymore. Griffin used to make a custom made Camaro/Firebird Aluminum radiator, not anymore. And don't even get me started on cams and exhaust systems.

Basically, with this $10,000 I have, I want a fully rebuilt engine, new heads, new cam, new headers, catback exhaust system, and a strong emphasis on cooling. I 'm also keeping in mind with these types of upgrades, I'm gonna need to upgrade the ignition and certain aspects of the fuel system.

I have read quite a few threads here in the forum but to be honest, since I've been out of the loop for so long, I have no idea where to begin as far as best exhaust system, cam, I can't even FIND a rotating assembly for the LT1 anymore.

So, my question is, if you had $10,000 and needed a new engine, (top and bottom end) , exhaust system, and cooling mods, what type of setup would you run? I know you get asked this question alot, but again I haven't been in the loop for YEARS. I almost lost this car to the bank twice and its been broke for a long period of time, too. I have a sentimental value with this car and want to get it running again.

 

I try to stay away from packages. you can buy things separately for the same price but get better parts. I bought a lunati sledgehammer crank, lunati pro mod rods, and pistons are still up in the air but ask your builder his opinions. as for the top end ive had good success with Ai but alot of people are having good experiences with LE and Port Pros. Talk with them and buy from who you like. I would think Kooks LTs would be very hard to beat, I know i love mine. also make sure you build the rear or at least have plans when the 10bolt grenades

 

Oh, I suppose it would help to mention my performance goals:
First of all, I want it to remain a streetable daily driver.
Target HP range (for now): 350-425 RWHP

Additional parts that will detract from $10,000: 4 tires (don't know what type I'm getting yet), battery, Intake Elbow (the one on there is torn), engine stuff (hot tank, 2 or 4 bolt main, freeze plugs, index, balanced, etc. etc.)


I want the engine to be a 355 with a forged bottom end. Eventually, I would like to achieve 550 RWHP (or more) through a Turbo based system and use this car at the track or a weekend cruiser. Basically, I want to go all out on the engine while its out, leaving plenty of room for future upgrades with no concerns of blowing the engine down the road.

FlamingChicken: You mentioned beefing up the rear end. At what point is too much HP for the stock 10 bolt rear?

 

Welcome back and thanks!!!

$10,000 will certainly get you what you are looking for and you will probably have some left over (at least for a little while). You are going to get alot of opinions here as to what is "best", but all the information will be good, it will be up to you to ultimately decide on the various choices though.

Any "one piece rear main" rotating assembly will work in an LT-1 motor and you can safely stroke the motor to 383ci of even 396ci. There are also some great complete engine packages available as well. As long as you are considering going the engine replacement route, you may also want to weigh the options of nitrous or forced induction as there are some very reliable "kits" available for the LT-1's that add some incredible H.P.

Lloyd Elloitt has a fantastic reputation for making some serious power by porting your stock heads and Trickflow and AFR have some great aftermarket heads as well. There are lots of "off the shelf" cams to choose from, depending on the motor choice as well as some reasonably priced custom ground cams.

JetHot and Hooker make some well designed long tube style headers as well as Kooks (theirs are stainless steel). I believe Griffin makes a "replacement" radiator for 4th-gen F-bodies, if not, someone will chime in with a name.

Use the "search" feature here and you will find answers to most all your specific questions. Decide what you ultimately want to achieve performance wise with your car and plan your build around a budget (although you will most definately exceed that budget). Good luck! Hope this helps a little and will at least get you started thinking.

 

Thanks a bunch guys for the warm welcome! just by throwing some names out there you've opened up my search options quite a bit. I'll begin searching by those specific names.

Firechicken: Whats a ballpark figure on those Lunati Pro Mod rods, Sledgehammer crank? I went to the holley website, it doesn't have prices available.

Boosted: I don't want to build a 383, I remember when I was on my P's and Q's, some of the members were telling me that a 383 done right will run in upwards of $12,000 to $20,000 (including all of the mods necessary to accomodate a 383, tuning, injectors, 12-bolt rear, etc.)

I definitely want to go forced induction someday and I realize that how I build this engine NOW will definitely affect me when that time comes. I've got orders to Germany for May of next year and want to have this baby running right before then, as to avoid costly or impossible repairs when I ship it over.

 

There is very little cost difference when purchasing a rotating assembly between the factory 3.48" stroke crank and a larger size to build a 383 or 396. The real cost difference is in the quality in the rotating assembly. Good quality forged American made parts will obviously cost you more initally, but if you want a motor that will withstand whatever you can throw at it, then that is the way to go.

If you are planning on a forced induction system, you will want to build the motor with specs that meet the requirements of boost. ie. blower/turbo specific pistons with a relatively low compression ratio (much lower that what is in your current motor), head and main beaing studs, 4-bolt main caps etc. Unfortunately, if you don't have the forced induction system to put on the car right away, you probably won't be happy with the performance of the car running just on the motor.

Something to consider...build a strong running stroker motor such as a 383 and incorporate some nitrous parts into the motor and then later, when you are ready to add a little more power, purchase a good quality nitrous kit.

You will find that the cost of the motor itself is sometimes just "the tip of the iceberg". As with anything, when you start to add power, you'll quickly find out what the next weakest link in the chain is. Obviously you have a lot of choices, but don't rule any of them out without researching them first.

 

There is no such thing as an "LT1 rotating assembly", you will come up short if that's what you are looking for. If you call it a rotating assembly for a 1-piece rear seal SBC, there are a vast number of choices. I wouldn't put that ChiCom Eagle stuff in my car, but if that's what you want you can sure get it.

Glad you made it through your deployment!

Rich

 

Why not build for FI now? My reasoning for just doing it now is the optimum build for Forced induction is not what you want for a High Performance NA engine are not the same. You're going to want a low compression build up for FI where as in a NA build you want a tight quench high compression build up.
With 8-9K and prudent purchasing and doing most of the work yourself shopping you may be in the ball park.

With the influx of Chinese parts the difference in price between a 355 build and 383 has become chump change.

I stuck with 355 because I wanted a high revving engine.

Good luck

 

Those who argue against "packages" have not looked into the Callies Compstar lineup. Offshore forgings machined by Callies HERE with Mahle forged pistons complete with rings, bearing and all completely balanced. Retail is I believe about $2100 but compare that to $1800 for a much lesser quality Eagle kit that will need rebalaninging at additional cost even if they claim to have balanced it and it is a nobrainer.

Advanced Induction is a retailer and does great LT1 head and cam work, Ellwein Engines is a retailer too have and will continue to buy from both of them.

 

Much higher quality with the Compstar/Mahle package than with Eagle, good call!

Rich

 

From what I have been reading lately I would build a Scat motor long before an Eagle motor, been hearing about some recurring problems.

I really believe that if you do a thorough analysis a Compstar package barely cost anything more than the POS Eagle forged kit.

 

Just thought I'd mention -

"Intake Elbow (the one on there is torn), "

equals:

"it was "running rough". I was told it had issues with detonation and knock"

If you just want to get it running well again, start here. The engine is getting air the computer cant see. Or is this different with speed density ('93)?

 

LSJuan, my friend, you won't be sorry. Bang for buck.

*flame suit on*

 

Trans AM 22502,

I have a build sheet from my machine shop for mine which should give you a ROUGH estimate as to what kind of prices you are looking at for machine work.
Doesn't include the purchase of pistons and crank since I'd had those two componets before the engine was built.
If interested, PM me w/ an e-mail addy and I can send it to you.

 

No flame suit needed, because no one is listening.