I have been trying to do research and decide which is the best route to go for my 88 Iroc-Z. LQ9 or LS1 want the power, dependability and gas mileage. but i came across an 01 ls1 and wondering if I should jump on it or not. Help me out. He wants $1500. I dont want to jump on this if i can save money, but I also dont want to miss out on a good deal if it is. Thanks for any input you have for me...
Selling a 2001 LS1 motor 45k miles!!!
Texas speed 228r cam
853 heads hand ported and milled .030
Comp moly pushrods
CTSV lifters
Comp .600 springs
Ported oil pump
Arp head studs
Arp rod bolts

 

That price isnt too bad.Id offer a lil less but if it is a proper running motor with that low mileage and has supporting mods that you might have doe in the future.take it and run.
the deciding factor for me would be based on how complete the motor is.Is it coming with full accessories harness and ecu and trans?And what oil pan is on it..hopefully fbody to save you the hassle later.

 

Im pretty positive the motor comes the way the picture shows from intake to the pan, so no harness, ecu, or tranny. His add also said "Good motor in great condition, removed only to install larger motor". I talked to the guy and he says its pulled from his 2001 trans am. the pic is of the motor sitting on his nova just for mock up. If i remember right he told me it dynod around 360 to the wheels with it bolted to a th-350.

 

Thats on the high side for a used ls1 motor without the harness and ecu.Ls1s can be had pretty cheap.The mods listed can be done with better heads cheaper and make more power.Id ask a lil more about the motor build specs.Do you know if the bottom end was rebuilt or if the heads cam etc were just swapped out.The block might have 45k,but the rest is newer.was the car daily driven or spent most of its life seeing track time untill it was pulled out.

I got my ls1 with 90k on it complete with harness and ecu for $700 a year ago from a 2000 camaro that was daily driven.Its in need of bottom end tlc but runs good.Bought my 228r cam for under $300. 243 heads can be had for $400.Lifters are cheap using other gm lifters..pick your choice.Arp bolts are peanuts aswell.Get an ls6 oil pump and timing chain.This can get you closer to the 400rwhp mark depending on the trans you go with.

Imo its a deal..but not a super great buy it now deal to me.If this is all you can find for now locally.Grab it...hang onto it for awhile but keep looking for something more complete with ecu and harness unless you plan on buying everything new.Keep you eyes open to lq series aswell,they are cheaper but require swapping to fbody parts to swap in our cars.Just as good as ls motors but in iron,produce slightly more torque being a 6.0l

Question...what are your goals for the car?Street/strip..full race...stock ls swap,or nasty street only?

 

Good question. Im not loaded with money so trying to be realistic right now. I had a performance shop quote me about 6 grand to do an lq9 swap, 400rwhp that includes the motor, this being my original plan till i had a few people with bad remarks about them. This will be a daily driven car. I want to make roughly 400-450 to the wheels, to keep up with all the street cars now. So mainly a street car with the occasional strip or even an scca course visit. I figured doing the ls swap with t-56 trans. would be the better route than just stroking my motor becuase i want the dependabilty and better mpg. Any Input/advice is welcome.

 

Your in the same boat as me.I want a nice street car that can still hang with most guys around without boosting my motor.ls1 with some mods will get you close.lq4/9 will do the job and more.I dont see the major issue to sway you from going lq9,each design has its flaws so dont let that turn you away from going lq series,the advantages out weigh the cons.Only real con about them is the added weight,the fact that you still need to swap to fbody pan and accessories and the intake,aside from that..they are more reliable and better on fuel compared to the ls1 and will put out more torque and power given the same mod for mod.

Anyways.Im doing 228r cam,stock 243 heads,still using stock manifolds,maybe and ls6 intake and 90mm throttle body.Thats all i got planned.ontop of whats in my sig..400rwhp will be very close.Spending under 2k aswell.But Im also going to do very small upgrades as stated before,lifters,pushrods,oil pump,forged rotating assembly,blue printing,injectors and then tune.This bumps up my totall to about 5-6k depending on how good of parts i choose.

trust me though even with the stock ls1 and t56 combo..the car will be quick and does a damn fine job keeping up with other heavier cars making 400rwhp.i can legit take down new mustangs up untill the middle of 3rd gear if they have traction control off.After 3rd its game over and they start to pull away.Its like watching a built tpi car run a stock ls1..great out of the hole..but top end sucks and the ls1 flies past and doesnt look back.Im only on stock 3.23 gear so it can be better but Im happy already.I just miss having a nasty sounding cammed rattling car lol with grunt that wakes the neighbors.

If you plan on tracking the car and spinning at high rpms for a good amount of time..be careful.this is where ls1's show their weakness in the topend oiling system and motors blowing.ive heard of too many guys running circuit and the stock ls1 not liking long period of high rev..lack of oil uptop..building heat and then boom.Problems were fixed with redesigns in the ls6 from what I understand..hence why ls1 oil pumps are replace with ls6 pumps as a standard now.

Also..dont get to crazy trying to chase down dyno numbers.many are building ls motors to make great peak hp but get beaten by ls cars running from 360-380rwhp and 400tq because of the more efficient power band.dyno is a tuning tool only in my eyes.being a dyno queen doesnt make you fast.generally most budget ls builds easily make 400rwhp and run low 12s to high 11s.You wont be disappointed.jump into the lq4/9 and you got a low 11s high 10s if you can transfer all that power down making around 430+rwhp and good tire.

Options are out there..and deals are too but those deals come...and GO! keep eyes open and be ready to buy.in the meantime..keep researching what you exactly want..and whats the best way for you to get there within your budget.T56 trans will eat that budget alive.I paid $1600 for a stock t56.not including clutch.ls7 clutch kit was 500.lol realistically i could have bought almost 3 ls1's just for my trans and clutch setup plus shipping.

 

oh and if you ever have doubts about if its all worth it or to stay with the old school sbc.watch youtube videos of all the happy 3rdgeners who switched over.the reliablity,mpg,and performance out shines tpi anyday.Plus no one expects its an ls1 under the hood.

 

Wow really apprectiate all of the advice. Sounds like what your doing is right where I would like to be. Seems like I need to do more searching and see if there are any better deals in the area. I enjoy the hell out of my car and love the third gen looks (hence this is my fourth one), and dont wanna be suckered into just getting a fourth gen but tired of not being able to keep up with them. So hopefully in the near future I will be rollin around with a good Ls setup under the hood. Again thanks for all the helpful info.

 

Id be wary of a shop that will find an engine, soup it up and swap it for $6k. Lots of people have a hard time doing a mild swap themselves on that budget, let alone the $100/hr rate stacked on top