iv been eye balling lt1 and ls1 engine swaps since my buddy swapped in an lt1 out of a 94 camaro into his 88 camaro. well that same buddy and i started talking today and before he put his lt1 in he bought what was suppose to be a 383 out of a caprice. well after taking it apart he came to the conclusion that it was a 2 bolt main 350 lt1. well before we took it apart we were having a problem turning it over and it was turning over REALLY slow so he tried it by hand using a pipe wrench and ruined the cam. well we pulled it again and popped the intake and there was a mice nest inside the intake. well while we were talking today i asked him what he wanted for the spare block for my car. hes wanting $150 for a stripped down block, the intake, iron heads, oil pan, if he can find the crank and moter side of the mounts ill get those aswell. now i dont get the lifters, injectors, harness, anything really just what i listed. its a stripped down block. for $200 ill ge tthe computer with the previous list. is this a good deal or should i pass on the block?

 

for $200-300 you can get a complete from intake to pan with wiring harness and computer LT from the junk yard. id say with what you have listed there $75 max. youre gonna have to spend some good money getting the parts that are missing since its most of the major parts.

 

well the reason its not bothering me being apart and not all there right now is that its going to be a good 2-3 years before this engines going to even go in. my dad doesnt want me or will help me build a v8 untill he thinks im ready for one. and most of the bigger parts above i really plan on replacing. like the lifters and push rods, the cam, i want to bore the block out so it helps that its already apart to do that and have the block cleaned. and i just found all my internals for $50. stock z28 lt1 cam, roller lifters, push rods,valve springs,and both timing gears for that price. so ill be almost 20 before this engine gets put in.

 

150.00 is a bit high these days, see if he will take less for sure! Lt1 price tags are dropping just like the fox5.0 stuff.... you can get a fully dressed running Lt1 for 500.00-850.00 good luck with your project and do plenty research

 

Stick with the V6 for now.

Even a Lt1 swap will cost money. Looking back if I went bare bones swap I would have still spent near 2500 to get it together.

Also word of advice, if you are going through the trouble and desire of a engine swap, do it right the first time. Go LSx. This is coming from the guy who did a LT1 swap. Yet I started this when I had a budget.

 

Is $300 good for an lt1 long block with headers and a y pipe? Think it comes with the computer and harness aswell not sure. But is that a good price?

 

if youre dead set on swapping an engine in 2-3 years, dont worry about buying parts now. save up money and when the time comes start buying. by then youll probably be able to spend the coin on an lsx swap instead.

 

It's not just my decision it's my dad, he said when he decides I'm ready he will help me build it and put It in. I found a member on here selling a longblock for $150. It comes with all the internals, flex plate, stock manifolds and y pipe, balancer, optispark. Only thing wrong with the engine is the #5 cylinder had coolent in it and started to flake the piston and it won't rotate fully because of that cylinder and he thinks the thrust bearing is bad. Any idea?

 

if it wont free spin then its a rebuild. youll spend probably $500 at the machine shop plus the cost of new pistons to get that $150 short block usable.

 

As cheap as good running engines are, I wouldnt buy a core or one missing alot of bits

If you know full well you're doing a top to bottom build, then buying a block is a good idea to a point. $150 is way too high and all the extra crap you dont need is wasted

FWIW, I have a complete LT1/T56 dropout FS with a custom harness for $2000. You need a fuel and exhaust system to complete the swap

 

Well I called my states biggest pick a part and got prices. I can't get the complete lt1, harness, computer, and transmission for $422.06

 

im guessing you ment to say you CAN get it for $422? which thats a hell of a deal

 

Yeah I meant can lol and I think it's good. Just have to take all my own tools and picker. Also need to find out where the harness is hooked too the car where the computer is ect