New to the 3rdgen site. I bought my 1991 RS brand new with 4 miles on it and I still drive it now with @201k on the stock 305tbi motor, 5 speed tranny and rear end. I recently completed a build on my 2007 Trailblazer SS (Procharged LS2 - 610rwhp 7.3x in 1/8 with a 4600lbs SUV) and now looking to move on to swapping the drivetrain out of the my Camaro. I have a budget of about $12k to put towards making this a total sleeper ride (ever seen Street Outlaws? IF so - think farm truck). Probably thinking of getting a junkyard LS1 or LS2 maybe even an LS3 if the price is right. I will also be looking to convert to a 6speed manual built transmission. I will also be upgrading the rear end too. Basically I am looking for suggestions from experienced 3rd gen owners / builders on what to definitely AVOID as well as what works great. Hit me up with your ideas and / or horror stories. Thanks in advance!

 

i havr 91 rs also. im in the process of a 410ci full tilt forged motor. the worx.
going with a pd blower,tbrake th400, moser 12bolt w all the upgrades. big cam, etc. im looking to run mid 9s full trim when i gets on it. if not i got i got a cheater n20 kit. driven to street/strip/gtg,etc.

Sounds like we are building similar street type cars, alot of hp and quick ets.
are you thinking of a certain hp lvl or et?
12k$ is a good chunk and will allow for quite a stout build

1) capable engine build. i prefer iron block builds. nothing against aluminum. they are bout 80lb. lighter.

2) capable transmission. i have close to 3k$ in my built t56/ monster clutch/tick/shifter/hydraulics. you can shop around. maybe find for same price or cheaper. keep in mind i had a core. well was my original transmission. it came new in my car. i specified i wanted it returned. so you may have to pay more if you dont have a core t56.

3) capable rear end. any one will get job done. im biased to moser 12bolts. but did consider strange and 9" aftermarket rears. prolly bout. 1500-2500$ depends on what you can find. abandoned builds or parted out cars, may get lucky and find one for a good amount.

4) fuel system. im particular to rising rate fpr return style. my car was tbi. i pulled the gas tank and am gonna use the holley dominator dual pump system. secondary pump is activated by hobbs switch. supports 1600+bhp and e85 rated

 

There is a guy parting out everything you need on here.

 

a junk yard motor, a good 6.0 ly6 is a dam stout motor from the jy. get some ls9 gaskets and some head studs if you are going forced induction.
gonna need a proper suspension to hook and handle all that power.
im seriously considering the s&w subframe connectors with the matching adj. tq arm that ties in to the sfc's. 2in rear drop. 1.5 front drop.
if you want really shave sime weight off the front end, go with aluminum block, tubular.kmember and aarms.

 

If you can find a low mileage LT1 would drop right in your Camaro, a few bolt ons this and that and your up to scratch with any LS motor.

 

With bolt ons, a lt1 can run a STOCK ls1. With the OPs budget and goals, I strongly feel he is on the right track with a LS based engine over a traditional sbc or LT. In stock form, a LS1-LS2-LS3 will make more power, and per mod, a LS motor will respond better than a gen1-2 engine.

12k budget is a reasonable budget to go very far. As nemeSS already touched on, budget around 2500 for a S60,9inch, or a 12 bolt from moser, strange, or another similar company. Quick performance does 9inch axles at a competitive price, but five7kid has a issue with their torque arm setup at the moment, and would be something to look into further before buying their piece. A 7.5 10 bolt just will not hold up to a higher power level with a standard trans.

A good 6 speed setup will realistically be 3000-3500 with upgrades, good shifter, and a nice clutch. Ls7 clutch sets are awesome for the money, so long as you are under 600 flywheel HP. Your bigger cost here will be not having a core to start with.

A Iron 6.0 might even be something to consider over a aluminum block engine. Iron blocks will hold boost better if you do so. Texas speed even has awesome iron block forged 408 stroker motors for under 4k.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. Keep them coming. Right now in my mind I am thinking about pulling the 6.0l (iron block) and 4l80 tranny out of my total loss 2500 Silverado HD (old tow rig) and having them built. I can do this at my own pace and in my garage without having to work on someone else's time table. This will also allow me to save up some cash for better internals and power adders rather than tying $ in a used motor. I would like to have a manual but that is not a requirement. Another nice thing about using that setup is that if decide to pull the procharger off the TBSS and get some other power adder on it, the PC will bolt right up to this engine. Pop in some larger injectors, get a tune and drive.

 

12k is a good budget but it really depends on if you are trying to only do a stock engine swap or upgrade the entire car at the same time.

Strange S60- 2500 and I believe it will need a new driveshaft as well and brakes.

T56 and a good clutch, master cylinder, pedals: 3-3500 I went with a Tick MC and a Textralia OZ 700 clutch and love the way they work.

LQ4: free if out of your truck but you can really wrap some good money into it if you are trying to build it and do it right. As I am sure you know with the TBSS build figure3- 4k for a forged bottom end and another 1-3k for heads, cam, and valvetrain stuff.

I would swap out the k-member for a tubular unit from BMR and you need new A-Arms with theirs as well. Figure at least 800 for that.

Headers: 300-1200 depending on which ones you go with.

Now you end up with do you still want stock brakes and what about the suspension? To me this is where most people don’t factor in enough money and now you have a great running car but it lacks in the suspension area or the brakes. If all you want is a good driver and don’t care about this stuff then you can keep the stock stuff. I didn’t want to leave stock or old stuff on my car and chose to upgrade, but even mine is not done yet as I still want to do the rear suspension and get a Strange S60. Also if you are going to put some good horsepower to it then you will probably want subframe connectors as well. These are things that can be added later but just something to think about.