Ok so I have traced all my wiring, confirmed spark and fuel, yet the motor turns over slow like its out of time. It doesnt start and doesnt fire like its trying to start even. I know the timing obviously isnt adjustable other than by the computer or a programmer. I just had the computer tuned so I cant imagine theres an issue there. So I am leaning towards jumped timing or something. I bought this motor used and the water pump shaft coming through the timing cover was sheared off at the cover. I was assured that it happened during disassembly of the water pump prior to removal. So I converted to an electric pump but now Im thinking maybe theres bigger issues. Has anyone had experience with a situation like this? What am I in for? Does this seem possible have I missed something simple? Sorry this is on a 1995 iron head LT1 5.7

 

I pulled the timing cover everything looks in order there. I went and got a new starter from a new store just to be sure it wasnt a bad starter again. I pulled 6 plugs and and turned the motor over to see if there was a difference. The starter seems like it needs shimmed I swear!! It turns over slightly easier but sounds like there is a slight grind in there. Im tired so I think I will try shimming it tomorrow after work and see where that gets me. Im assuming the timing is right based on not seeing chipped teeth on timing gears etc, chain is tight and seems undamaged, there arent signs it has jumped etc. If anyone has any thoughts I would really appreciate the help! I REALLY need this thing running!!

 

The distributor will only go on one way. That is why the camshaft is doweled, so it fits into the back of the distributor. You have two, maybe three options, after you have ruled out the starter and/or the battery. You can either replace the coil (cheap), the module (not so cheap), or the distributor (expensive). Unfortunately, there is no way to test the distributor. You will usually get some warning signs like sputtering, backfiring, and unresponsiveness. I went through this same thing only to have my car die on the road halfway to my destination. If you know the starter and battery are not your problem, you really need to look at replacing your opti, especially if you don't know how old it is.

 

Turned motor over tonight and made sure the timing marks on the gears lined up properly. All is well in the timing department the timing marks line right up. SO I guess Im gonna replace the OPTI and see what that does for me. Would a spun bearing act like this? Im REALLY afraid the issue is deeper but maybe Im just being paranoid.

 

I have now put everything back together. I put a new distributor on with new cap and rotor. I also put new 2ga ground and starter wires on the battery. ITS STILL DOING THE SAME THING! I started pulling the wiring harness and will be replacing it with a new uncut harness that I will be splicing power only where necessary to attempt starting the motor. I am also going to take my already new battery back to the store to be tested to be sure its charged and putting out the proper voltage. If this doesnt work I am only left to believe the bottom end has a spun bearing or something. If anyone can shed me some light on another area to look I would greatly appreciate it. I need this car running yesterday and have spent alot of money to get to this point so you can imagine how PI#%$@ Im getting about it not running at this point. As a last ditch thought, I want to mention that I dont have the balancer installed on the motor, nor is there a serpentine belt yet. I didnt have the MAF or other intake sensor connected. I however couldnt see this causing this issue. The car should still crank the same and atleast try to start. Right?

I was just rereading the posts from earlier and realized I havent replaced the IGN module yet. I wouldnt think it would cause this but I suppose its possible. Hell maybe pigs will learn to fly tomorrow and it will turn out that I have a bad battery or something stupid.

 

Where are your grounds connected? I am asking because the starter pulls so much voltage, the main ground has to be directly to the block. I made this mistake and as soon as I moved the ground, it cranked like a champ. Also, try turning the engine with a 1/2" ratchet and see how much resistance there is. Let me know.

 

The ground from the battery is connected to the head at the coil. I also have a strap going from the back of the block to the body. I also have a ground at the battery to the body. I will try turning the motor with a wrench tomorrow but I remember when I was prepping it to go into the car, I was changing the flywheel and had to stick a wrench in there to keep it from turning over so I could break the bolts loose.

 

You need to make sure the ground is directly on the block. I am using one of the A/C bolts as my ground. Also, try pulling the starter and use some jumper cables to kick the starter over. If it spins fast, you know the starter is good. If it spins slow, either the starter is bad or the batter is done. Have you had the battery load tested? If you have dropped some cells, you won't have enough juice to crank it over. I don't belive your module is bad, it would at least spin over if this was bad. I am not sure how all this started. Did you don anything different to cause this? I am only asking because out misadjusted valves will cause alot of problems.

 

I bought this engine from someone else.. he said it was rebuilt and driven for approximately 7-8 months. He then pulled it from the Caprice it was in and intended to stuff it in a truck. Anyways long story short he got lost in the wiring and I bought the motor. I havent heard it run but he SWEARS it does. Its now in my 88 camaro where I am attempting to rewire everything and get it to run.

 

Hmm. In my opinion the slow starting wouldnt be due to faulty wiring. I think it's your ground wire. As long as your battery is up to snuff and the started isn't dead, you should be fine. Make sure your cables aren't corroded either. Like I said, put your groung directly to the block and your ground straps from the body to the frame, body to the engine, and engine to the frame.

 

I have been busy at work and havnet made it to the garage. I just got home tonight so Im trying to eat and head there post haste. I appreciate the great support this site has! I will give all your advice a try and update tonight afterwards.

 

I followed advice from here ad tried a few things on the motor with depressing results. I moved the ground to the block directly and cleaned the contact area prior to installation. I also Installed the battery from my diesel that I know is good and has 1000 cranking amps. Although there was slight improvement it wasnt enough to make a difference. I then tried to turn the motor by hand with a prybar from the flywheel. It is very stiff. All the possible reasons for this I can think of mean rebuilding this thing. Can anyone please help!!! I dont even have the motor bolted to the transmission yet. Its not dragging on the starter, Im not even running the fuel pump or power to the coil etc. so its not flooding either. All I can think of is spun bearing or rusted cylinders (though there was spark plugs in 7 cylinders when I bought it), broken ring maybe, all just bad stuff. IM SO FU*&%#!!

 

pull the spark plugs and see if the enine turns over will little resistance. By doing this, you are removing the compression and it should turn over with little problem. Also, with the plugs out, put a couple of tablespoons of oil in the cylinders. This will lube them and may break free any corrosion issues. If it is still hard to turn, then you are most likely looking at a teardown. I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear but you may have been screwed on this one.

 

Have you ever heard this engine run? As a last ditch effort before pulling it apart, try adjusting the valves. if these are screwed, you can definatley have problems.

 

since adams at work ill attempt to help you with this lol, When ge went and got the engine i believe you pulled the engine out of the caprice but never heard it run, i might be wrong on this but i know he's never heard it run.

 

any status?

 

So we pulled the motor apart today and figured out what the issue was. Upon removing the intake and heads we found there was a giant mouse nest inside the intake, heads, and a couple cylinders. It doesnt look like it caused catastrophic damage or anything but I am concerned about the rings but I guess a simple compression test will answer that. It looks like the injectors will need replaced as a result and of course the motor tore down enough to clean all the debris out. I already had another block here and tore apart so I sent it out to be cleaned and the pistons checked and fluxed. I was going to bore it .30 for a set of pistons I had laying around that were still in a box. As it turns out they wont work because they have too much skirt. So it will remain a stock bore.......for now......anybody got a aftermarket cam they wanna sell for a 1995 -1997 lt1?

 

well that sucks. I think you will still be impressed with just a fresh engine. You can get some good deals on new bearings, gaskets, and rings. Do a quick hone job in the garage and you will have a pretty new engine. I have a cc306 camshaft I pulled out of my car that I'd sell but you will have to have the heads reworked for bigger springs. If I were you, I would put it back together and enjoy it for a while. Don't get into the "while I'm here" attitude becuase that will bankrupt you. Keep it simple and do some add-ons down the road. You will already be spending several hundred bucks for everything to put it back together and another couple hundred for new injectors.

 

I am looking forward to starting with a fresh motor for sure. I really wanted something closer to 400 ponies but I guess all things will come in due time. The other motor I had was bone stock and unmolested with 125k on the clock. So the crank is fine as well as the pistons. Im gonna put it back together stock and do any free mods I can on the way. I really wanna port the heads and intake but I am scared to try it. Maybe since the motor will be fresh I will assemble it with the thought of adding a supercharger later on to get me to the 400+ HP/TQ range. Would I need to lower the compression ratio from the stock ratio for adding a supercharger with enough boost to get me to 4-450HP?

 

Intake wont' gain you much. 450 crank HP is possible with cam only and bolt-ons. Some Solid roller cam guys are putting 380rwhp down. Granted, those are HUGE cams, and they are spinning to the moon. A more realistic number is about 320 to 350rwhp for a LT4 Hot-cam, or if you use the vernerable CC306 cam, around 350 to 370rwhp.

For the price of a good set of springs, and having the heads checked and decked if nessesary, it may be easier to go with a budget stock head such as Lloyd Elliots stage 1 budget head. Its about $800, and will easily put you near 380rwhp with a mild cam.

 

Oh and thanks for the offer on the cam but new valve springs arent in the budget. Also forgot to mention, the stock engine, rods, pistons, and block are being cleaned and fluxed at a motor shop I have used since I was 14 working on a old 84 VW diesel RABBIT.

 

Awesome!! I love this site!! Having all these people that think differently than I do to bounce ideas off of and learn from is awesome and super helpul! $800 is WAY cheaper than a supercharger and everything needed to add it. Now, who wants to come help me convince the wife to let me spend another 1k or so on top of the rebuild Im already doing to get those heads and a cam?

 

Just to give you a comparison, I am using the Lloyd Elliot stage 2 head/cam package with a full 3" exhaust (no cats), stock bottom end motor, 36lb injectors, a maxed out tune, and a stout clutch and I am only putting out 367 RWHP. This equates to a little over 400 crank HP, and all on a naturally aspirated stock bottom LT1. You can keep the stock compression with a supercharger later down the road, you will have to keep the boost pretty low, around 4-5 psi to be safe. A good ported intake and heads with a stock cam will do wonders for the engine, and later you can add a little bigger can when the budget allows and the heads will be ready.

 

you could just do full bolt-ons and run bottom 13s easy. 12's with traction. You'd need them later anyways for a heads/cam upgrade. I recommend just getting it running for now, and doing bolt-ons later. You'll be plenty fast for a season, and it'll let you test the motor for its longevity. I've put almost 7,000 miles on my car in the last year. Its rock solid reliable, and ready to be modded now. Videos are in my sig, so's a link to the 13.593 time slip.

My best run so far in my car with a B-body LT1 swap was 13.593 @ 102.37mph. All i've got is a B-body LT1 swap (iron heads, and smaller cam than an F or Y body), and with bad air, and the PCM pulling 5* timing due to false knock it is STILL running those times. It should be low 13's easy with that fixed.

My engine came out of a Buick Roadmaster. A properly running F-body LT1 should be right around there without any mods. bolt-ons should net 12s. Cam, easy 12s. Cam/Heads, well that depends on $$$ but 11's wouldn't be out of the question with a stalled auto and traction.

Lloyd Elliot has a heads/cam package for about $1200 I think. Quote from his site below:
http://www.elliottsportworks.com/lt1.html

There are options for the LT1, just as for SBC. Depends on your wallet.

 

I have come to the same conclusion. I just wanted to have a idea of how I needed to build the block so I was best preparing for future mods. As a side note are the LS motors any more responsive to upgrades? If so then maybe I just need to save money for buying/swapping one of those instead of chasing a HP number on this motor I will maybe barely reach. This is my first attempt on a fuel injected motor and it has taught me alot. However my motor choice was made from the choices of what I had around. I really like the sound of converting one of the new Cadillac 6.2 motors from a CTS-V but I havent learned much about it yet. I do know its certified at 556 brake HP......

 

Its also big money. Though a Gen 3+ swap is a good investment.

• Higher flowing heads
• better intake
• Better PCM tuning options, HP Tuners is really easy (96+ LT1 f-bodies are OBD2 thus would use HPTuners)
• Stronger internals too.

 

Got the block back from the machine shop today. Cleaned with new freeze plugs, cam bearings, and cleaned pistons ready for paint and assembly. So I started painting already. Doing it in a chevy orange. Havent decided if I will paint the heads and intake yet or not.

 

Also, I would switch to the LTCC ignition setup. It's better than opti.

http://www.delteq.com/products.htm

You can pick up the 4 coils with two outputs each and the ignition module, from off a Northstar Caddy, for $50.00 or less at a junkyard, and you can get the "bare bones" LTCC kit from the above link. That will save you a few hundred bucks on the LTCC setup.

Then, you can take the rotor out of your opti because it will be obsolete forever, and you won't be running high voltage through your opti anymore, therefore, extending its life greatly.