What would be my most economy friendly options?
Mine is a LO3 with 76k miles. 89 Camaro.

No less than 250 hp, everything on the car is stock.
Willing to swap.

Budget Approx. $1300-1600

Ideas?

 

Cheapest & easiest would be nitrous.

 

Hmmmm they start off with 170/175
So, i would say
Lt1 cam
New Lt4 valve springs,retainers and locks
1.6 rr
Headers,full exhaust
Weiand carb intake converted(many posts on this)
Underdrive pulleys
Custom chip TUNING IS EVERYTHING
This will get you close to your goal.

Nitrous system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OR
Purchase a 5.3L
Ls1 intake,rails and injectors
Zo6 cam
255 lph pump
Harness conversion
PCM tune (mail order)
guaranteed to be more than 250hp and great fuel economy

 

LT1 take-out... stock between 260-305hp, 330-350ft-lbs, depending on what it came out of. Tight package that fits well in a 3rdgen chassis, reuses existing SBC exhaust system and drops onto existing SBC mounts, good EFI system and gets pretty good gas mileage. Can be had relatively cheap too.

 

I like LT1, but the question is the wiring if you go with EFI. I am not going to do any of the work so labor is added to the costs.

How much is your estimation of a good LT1 plus cost of installation and all the parts needed? Do I need to change anything on the rear?

 

At $80 an hour, $1600 might as well be $100 - Even at $40 shadey-tree 'mechanic' rates, your still only looking at 40 hrs before you buy any parts! With that budget you'll have to do your own work, and even then that's not much of a budget.

I swapped to a 350 carb (no chip hassles since I can't program and no one does TBI programming very well anyway). I got a complete used motor carb to pan for $600 (great, right?). But the 350 quickly let me know my tranny needed rebuilt (I only paid $500 for a really good build, most spend $1200), I had to make provisions for TC lockup ($100), fuel pressure regulation ($100), new dist ($125), headers ($350), and on and on - the little things kill your wallet quick! Even without the tranny rebuild, I was way over $1600 wit the swap.

You need to double what you add up as a legit budget - the little things all add up to at least what the big things do.

 

L03 -> LT1=new fuel pump+new ECM+a lot of new wiring.

Certainly not a "quick swap" or easy in any way.

Don't forget.....You do a horsepower upgrade & you'll start finding any weak links, like your tranny (you have a 700R4 or T5?) & rear axle.

 

I agree. Lt1 is too much work.

What about going for one of those 350 engines that came stock on z28 Camaros after 87? I want to stay carburated, so maybe with some mods and better exhust I can get to 250hp?

 

Getting an LO3 to 250 HP at the crankshaft is possible, but unless you swap to 081 heads, takes way too much cam. Start with a rear gear swap. The easiest way is to pull the complete rear axle assembly from a '90-'92 V6/automatic F-car. That'll eat about $100 of your budget.
Second, do a 3" cat-back exhaust. That'll eat about $300.
Third, do headers with Y-pipe, and NOT Hedman shorties. Their collectors are too big, and their Y-pipe sucks. Best to do it once and do it right. Go for ceramic-coated Hooker or MAC Performance stainless. Figure $700 to do the job right.
Your budget is nearly gone, so do the L69 air cleaner, but remove that inner tower from it's throat.
That won't get you to your goal, but that lays the necessary foundation, and eats your entire budget.
Round 2 consists of Edelbrock's Performer TBI intake manifold, a pair of good used 081 heads, an LT1 cam, and a conversion-style locker. If it's an automatic, figure a 2000+ stall torque converter the same day as the cam.

 

You might want to check the budget 350 swap sticky in the TBI forum.

Still, to lay the foundation, the exhaust is a must. Plan on that regardless.