Im a collage student with a fairly low budget, but i do enjoy working on and modding my cars. I currently have a pretty stock 1987 iroc-z with the 5.7L TPI engine. Im thinking of rebuilding it this summer because its had a few problems and i think itd be good to just yank it out and clean everything up, and replace some of the more worn out parts. I imagine if i go to all of that effort though that i should at least treat myself to a few mods, and ive always loved the sound of rough street cam. I also considered swapping in an old LT1 block from a 90's z28 but i could never think of a real good reason to get an entirely new engine... idealy an LS1 would be great but.. o wait.. im poor.. Anyway i started wondering in class today if i could convert my existing setup to an LT1.. i dunno, would it be any faster? how bought with a cam? could i do it?.... leave me some comments guys cause this broke old TPI thing doesnt quite put me in my seat as hard as i would like it to...

 

How much of the LT1 do you have?

Unless it's a complete engine with harness and PCM, nothing will be compatible with a college student budget.

 

my buddy has it in a storage locker, im pretty sure its complete since he swapped in some sort of racing engine, but he wants like $1200 for the engine, and if i can get my TPI up to 300 hp.. id rather do that then try to **** with installing a different engine...sounds like a wiring headache to me..

 

It is a headache! The cam and lifters will work in a L98, though. If you dont have lots of cash, go with a basic rebuild.

 

Getting an L98 to 300 HP will probably come close to $1200. If you have to rebuild the engine, more than $1200.

The LT1 install isn't that bad. No worse than a V6 to V8 swap, probably easier. And, it's a superior engine.

 

I guess everyone has different experiences. I had nothing but trouble with mine. After 3 water pump failures (One of which took out my very expensive MSD pro-billet dist) in one year and a very expensive 396 ci rebuild, I sold the engine for 2,500.oo and did my LS-1 swap. the Lt-1 was an easy bolt in (Compared to the LS-1) and the torque was pretty good, but I just cannot handle all of the failures. I know a few people who are selling LT-1's (Usually sell in working cond for about 600.oo with ecm and harness.) and parts (Heads, intakes, etc) If you are interested, PM me.