I have been hearing from almost every source that an LT1 swap is a very common engine swap for the third gen cars...I own a 91' RS with the LO3 TBI, and while the TBI itself is a good hearty reliable engine, its performance doesn't quite match up to a 4th gen stock camaro or something else and I may want to change that.

Basically I am floating around several things, I will either mod my TBI engine and my goal is to get it low 14s in the 1/4 mile, I dunno what it takes to get it that low but I want it that low...13s would be great but it could very well be far outta my range...

Now if I do an LT1 swap, I am gonna swap out my tranny and replace it with a T-56 manual stick shift, there was a guy selling an LT1 engine with an auto tranny for about 1800 total, the engine had around 50k miles on it, it was pulled out of a 95' Z28 which those had 285hp at the crank...Now if I do an LT1 swap what else would I have to replace other than my tranny, do I have to change out the entire rearend?


I would imagine an LT1 with a manual tranny would be a bit cheaper than the autos...but I'd have to do more work to my car considering its already an automatic....

And to those people who have done an LT1 swap on their cars, what did they run stock?

The more I think about it, the more I wanna do it, but again if I do this, my car will stay with me for life..I dunno if its cheaper to just buy an LT1/LS1 based car or just do this LT1 swap....how much total am I looking out the door with an LT1 swap....

If possible I'd modify the TBI to be a low 14s 1/4 mile car, but I just dont know exactly where to begin. ..


Thanks

 

It's all personal preference, whichever route you decide to take. TBI is a tad more restrictive than the other forms of air & fuel delivery... but, any system can propel you to a twelve second quarter mile time, if built properly.

My opinion, drive you're LO3 for now... and build yourself a 350. Build it right. It's all in the stroke, cam and heads. Dropping in an LT1 won't be the answer to all you're prayers, especially if you don't have another car to get around in (I know a guy who dropped in an LT1, then a day later... heard a knock. Worst part was, he had no other form of transportation). Trust me, build something from scratch. Build it right.

If you have you're heart set on an LT1 though, by all means then... go for it. But at least consider building you're own engine, and while you build, you'll have plenty of time to contemplate the right system for you're application. I believe RBob s working on something in reference to TBI, which, from what I'm reading, will correct all of the TBI flaws from the factory (tuning wise).

... it just might pay you huge dividends if you stay with what you already have (TBI).

 

this is a topic that has been asked its hard to pin down a amout they all very, like i will have over 4000 in mine when it is all said and done, but i didnt get a tranny with mine. i ran the 700 for a little bit and now i am looking for a t56. it is best to deside what you want before you buy a engine/trans. i was trying to save alittle ,and in the long run it will cast me more. but to awnser your question u should be able to do everything for around 3-4k. and it sounds like you found a good deal on your combo. i payed 1500 for just my engine and harness, well there were other things that were put in with the deal so i did get a good deal, its just i wish i would have gotten the combo instead. well thats my opinion hope this helps. sean

 

Thats another thing, I know the TBI has potential, its a strong reliable engine, and the only thing stopping me from doing this is the fact that the engine has given me no trouble at all...I was thinking of building a 383 stroker, I just wanna know if its hard to build my car to get to 270hp? I'd settle for anything over 250hp at the wheels of these cars and hopefully its possible...

I am not advanced enough to build m own engines although I have a few friends that might be able to help me out...

 

the lti is also a reliable engine, and takes mods well, u need to deside what you want to do and just run with it. but u do need to have another car so u arent in a hurry, no matter what you deside. good luck

 

the rear doesn't have to be swapped but it is done because it has disc brakes, and sometimes bigger gears. Downside is your original rims wont fit, they will stick 2 inches out.

I think the best thing is too find a donor car. You can sell the spare parts off on ebay or locally. Especially if you get a car with a black interior, those parts seem to sell. Thats if you get the donor car cheap.

 

I loved mine when the LT1 was running, the 6-speed and 3.42 gears would really get the car hauling and get good milage on top of that.


Low 14's can be done with a stock LT1 possibly, I think in a 4th gen they would run that, shave the 400 lbs less that a 3rd gen weighs and probably high 13's.

Nope, if you drive it sensible, the stock 10 bolt will last.

You will actually pay more for a setup with the 6-speed

Haven't run it yet

I have about 4 grand in mine, $2800 for the engine/tranny/radiator setup and the rest for little odds and ends such as T56 retro mount and such.

Dump the TBI if you want to get into low 14's if you decide to keep it