Ok guys. I had swapped my car from a 305 TBI/5-speed to a 357 Carb/700R4. I am wanting to go back to a manual so i picked up a T56 from a 94 or 96 LT1 Camaro. Now i see to adapt this engine to this trans is quite a bit of work as its a 78 block i believe. So i am thinking i midas well just buy an LT1 now, convert it to Carb and slap it in with the T56 and hope for more power than i have now.

My car is a weekend car that see's maybe 1500 miles a year at the most it seems. But my goal is to have in excess of 500-600hp on nitrous. The car may see a track if i feel i have enough HP/TQ finally as my engine now is gutless IMO.

What do i all need to take a LT1 engine and make it run this kind of HP consistantly and still be fairly reliable that i wouldnt be afraid to take it on a trip some day a couple hundred miles away?

Im not looking to do forced induction (supercharger or turbo) unless i can get a really good deal on a super charger. My current engine is 10.5:1 Compression Ratio, and i would like to stay around that to still run 87 octane if there is no premium available.

I want to run about a 150hp shot of nitrous occasionally (mostly track probably and bragging rights). But want at least 400-450hp before the spray.

I was thinking of taking an LT1, stroking it out to a 383, Running my vortec heads i have now (if i can. They have extensive work done already) or better, and converting it to carb with at least a 750cfm or bigger if i need with a good ignition system.
What should i have for a cam? What should i do for parts in general? Im sure someone has done this before.

I want this to be one fun weekend summer car that can hold its own on the street and track!

I will go for an older 350 block instead if there's one out there i can attach to my T56 without the special flywheel and other special parts? I got a good flywheel and clutch and everything with my trans when i bought it, and would like to re-use it if i can.

 

I know a guy who makes about 420whp on a stock LT1 shortblock, and spins it to about 6700rpm sometimes. He has the equivilent of a Lloyd Elliots LE2 setup. I built my car after his, but I have better porting on the heads, and a larger cam. I would have gone with a larger cam, but I don't want to spin it that high with a stock shortblock. The thought of a rod letting go and a piston smashing my ported heads makes me upset.

LT1s will survive all day long to 6500rpm if maintenance is maintained.

If you have $$$ and want to go with a LT1 I say look up www.advancedinduction.com or http://elliottsportworks.com

As for using the T56 with a 1pc rear main seal you'll need a roller 350 block. Do that and you can use a stock T56 flywheel.

 

If you plan to carb it, I wouldnt even bother with the LT1 as a starting point. Get the a custom flywheel for a T56 to 2pc RMS and use the T56 behind the hot little SBC you've got now. The beauty of the LT1 swap is cheap/reliable/efficient fuel injection in a very similar package as a SBC which out cars came with, so the swap is simple. Custom harness and new fuel system gets it going. Slapping a carb on it ditches most of those features so you're left with a special block, special front accys, special heads and special intake. Upgrades for those are much more limited and higher than the equal SBC. About the only useful things about them are the 1pc RMS style rotating assy and factory hyd roller cams that can be scavenged from generic SBCs