First time poster, so forgive me if this is in the wrong spot.

Foremost, good job CC! This is why I subscribe to the rag, and have been for the last 5 years.

I can't believe my luck, an LT1 article! Just in time for my swap. I have a LT1 350 sitting in a 96 Chevy Caprice with the 4L60E tranny. It needs to leave the car and find its way into my 69 'grandma fresh' Nova with 73K original miles. Move out of the way 250CI 6 banger!

So on the LT1, give me more! I will be writing e-mail begging for more. Nice teaser article with some background information on the motor's history, cooling, ignition, etc. Basically some nice book work... but I thought this was Car Craft. Where is the engine build?   Nice little blurb from the builder expert - 'four or five hundred horsepower is easy...' care to show us?   PLEASE continue with this series, and do it in typical CC fahion with detailed steps AND penny by penny build sheet costs. Build it to scare the neighbors, but on a budget. (BTW - I have to admit that I would be looking at a lower ~ 400HP build. Yeah yeah, I'm a wuss, but I just like having enough to smoke those stupid import punks and be driveable)

While you are there talking about the LT1, you might as well cover the basics like cast iron VS aluminum heads on these mills. Some say the cast iron heads flow better - there is a controversial topic for ya. How many miles should you go on one of these motors before a complete teardown? They seem to stay strong a long time. Also look at speed density vs MAF control, etc. And oh yeah, you may want that power to get to the ground, so a nice blurb on how much HP the 4L60E tranny can handle and standard upgrades to the slushbox to make it streetable would be nice. Am I too needy?  

Ok, this is a book already. But lastly, PLEASE... LS series guys... don't bag on my LT1. I got it in a WORKING car cheap, and can make almost as much power as ya without doing funky things to the frame of my classic.

Build it fast, build it cheap!    

Oh yeah, it seems like a lot of guys will ditch their OBDII for OBDI computers. What are the options for the guys that want to keep the OBDII for ease of diagnostics?  

I don't know how deep you want to go into rebuilding your LT1, but if you use the Search box in the upper right hand corner (simply type in LT1), you'll get lots of info back on that motor of yours.  And I don't think many people here would bag on your motor, as you got it cheap and you're using it to replace a I-6.  Despite whatever their favorite car brand, motor, or whatever...who can't appreciate breathing new life into an old car on the cheap?  

LOL! Thanks for the words of encouragement Hillbilly. I know people that knock my choice of the LT1. LS this LS that. Being a transition engine, the LT is a redheaded stepchild of sorts. Little more info for ya gearheads: the Caprice the LT1/4L60E is coming out of has 130k on it. It drove great until it got rearended and got the frame tweaked (rear axle is dogging).

As far as freshening up, I am willing to do whatever it takes to support my 400HP goal in the new home of my Nova. The engine has been gently used as an elderly lady bought the car new and changed everything at or before the reccomended intervals (have all service records). So, no smoke, no knock, or anything. But while it's out of the car... it sure makes things a lot easier to tear into if I need to. Perhaps just putting a new MSD cap and rotor on the Opti along with new wires, bigger throttle body, cold air intake? Headers and elimination of un-needed smog stuff? And maybe tear the heads off for some GENTLE port and polish work?

Hey, kinda sounds like I really want CC to put out more LT1 info so I know what options are out there. I'll still cruise the forum for more info though!  

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll need to stab a cam in the LT1 to get to 400HP.  

Excellent LT1 article love to see more, do some performance upgrades on LT1's and 93-97 camaros. keep up the good work! you always hit a home run!!!  

Here's a website that gives a good detailed explanation about your LT1...

http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/ar99928.htm

And before your start ripping off your smog stuff, make sure it doesn't interface with the computer in any way.  You could be causing yourself big problems in the long run.  And I recommend a computer out of a 94-95 Camaro as it's of the OBD-1 variety and easier to tune.  You may need to get a wiring harness from a 94-95 Camaro, because I'm not certain if a 94-95 computer will plug into the 96 harness.  Here's another website that may help you in your retrofit quest...

http://www.geocities.com/lt1tech/

It covers alot of stuff and has links for things like the wiring harness I just mentioned.  There's one link to a company that modifies the existing wiring harness, so you may be able to go that route in order to use an OBD-1 computer.  hope this helps!  

I'm new to this forum. i love lt1's. i guess cause I've had to work on them a lot and I'm familiar with them. I've got a '95 6-speed corvette, a '95 z-28 that I'm building a 355 lt1 for, a '94 6-speed trans am that I've got a 383 stroker lt1 in my garage, and a couple of fieros that are on my list of lt1s transplants. any info on lt1s i can get is helpful. keep up the good work cc. here is my space page with a couple of my projects.  http://www.myspace.com/ghostle13 or try  myspace.com/ghostle13  

Alrighty then guys, thanks for all the input! Good to know I'm not alone in my quest of making my LT1 the baddest motor on the block. Interesting company for the rest of the guys interested in this stuff - Street and Performance. They build a harness, although a little spendy, that will directly work with the 96 brain. http://www.hotrodlane.cc/ They even referenced an old CC article (Feb '97) when they stuffed a LT1 in a '67 Camaro (gee, even the same subframe as my Nova). Here's the PDF: http://www.hotrodlane.cc/PDFFILES/real%20street%20camaro.pdf    Does anybody have experience dealing with these guys? They seem to know their stuff. Also, has anybody installed the Painless Performace PERFECT system they're always advertising in the mag? Looks like a great stand-alone system AND gives you a cam... but once again SPENDY. Ouch.

I may just bite the bullet and cough up the money for the new harness (at least then I know it'll work - new harness with my known good computer). Or maybe I'll go crazy with my multimeter and attempt to install the Caprice harness and have the computer flashed by PCMforless.com so it'll ignore that the smog stuff has gone missing. Another advantage of the Caprice harness - the brain is located in the engine compartment making under my dash a lot more hassle free.

I gotta do more research. Keep the comments coming boys, I want CC to hear us loud and clear that there is an LT1 following out there!  

Hey gents, another question, and maybe I'm not the only one to think of this one. As far as the fuel tank goes, I've seen a lot of people use a custom tank when going to EFI. Internal baffels and a pressurized system, along with a fuel return. Anybody have luck swapping a tank from a factory EFI ride in their older classic? As I have stated, I have a 96 Caprice donor. The plastic tank fills from behind the license plate just like my 69 Nova. I'd have to measure the width, but hey, if it fits - why not? (or find another EFI tank) That way it has the fuel return line, and the in-tank fuel pump. May even be able to use the sender...  

Hey, it's worth a try.  Measure the tank and mock it up and see what happens.  It would definitely keep with the low buck theme.  Providedthe tank fits, you will want to measure the resistance of both sending units to be sure that they're the same (or close to it).  That way you can be sure that when your fuel guage says full or empty, it's actually full or empty.  

Good to know about the resistance test. I want to keep the Nova fuel gauge so it looks and feels stock from the driver's seat, so I will compare the two senders.  

While you are there talking about the LT1, you might as well cover the basics like cast iron VS aluminum heads on these mills. Some say the cast iron heads flow better - there is a controversial topic for ya. How many miles should you go on one of these motors before a complete teardown? They seem to stay strong a long time. Also look at speed density vs MAF control, etc. And oh yeah, you may want that power to get to the ground, so a nice blurb on how much HP the 4L60E tranny can handle and standard upgrades to the slushbox to make it streetable would be nice. Am I too needy?  


The Iron's flow better than the early casting Alumiums(the ones you want for porting), and flow the same as the later Aluminum castings.

There were 2 Iron castings.  the 94/95's flowed better on the intake side, while the 96's flowed better on the exhuast side.

Also, the irons had bigger combustion chambers.  The iron headed motors also got a smaller cam, with 190*/195*.

I've seen the Caprices get close to 300k, in police use.  Aslong as you change the oil, they keep going and going and going, like that furry pink bunny!  I've got 3 old police cars(2-94's, 1-96) with near 200k on them, and none burn any oil.

More LT1 articles!!!  ANd this time when you guys do an LT1 build up, lose all the crappy parts!!!   Like that retarded Granilli MAF, that thing is GARBAGE!  I don't care if they pay for adds, it's JUNK.  Also, those Hypertech tuners, or Jet chips...  VERY over rated.  PCMforless blows them outta the water.  

Wow, lots of buzz about this January LT1 article.  The mail-lady has not delivered my issue yet.
I hope that Car Craft does do quite a few more tech and build articles on the 92-97 LT1.  It really is a very good small block Chevy.  Being that the LT1 really is just a SBC with with 1-piece rear main seal and a funny front timing cover  I think that makes the LT1 a good, (and easy) engine to hop-up.  But I do think the aftermarket is luke warm to the LT1.  Cylinder heads can be had by Dart, AFR, Trick Flow and Edelbrock which is great. Conn-rods and pistons are available in abundance, (large journal SBC).  1-piece rear crankshafts are available but not such a large selection.  
The factory iron block is strong as an ox and some have pushed it a bit past 1000 horsepower.   One bummer though, there are no aftermarket blocks, (cylinder cases), available.

I think the easy 400 horsepower (at the crank) is found in ported factory heads, (good valve job with pocket port and good valve springs), and a mild cam like the Crane 109831 or Crane 104227.  More power is had with more aggressive cams surly but gear the car for the cam.

I'm sure we'll see budget, mild and wild build-up tech articles in the near and distant future.

Karl Ellwein  

Guys,

Thanks a lot for the feedback!  There has been a lot of response to my article, both on the message board (which doesn't see mech traffic lately!) and to the magazine's email account, and I really appreciate it.  I did a lot of research in preparation for writing it because I wanted it to be more than the typical stuff you've seen before- "Here's the LT1, the coolant flows backwards" crap.  

Karl, thanks for posting.  For those who don't know- Karl specializes in LT1 builds and knows the formula to making BIG power with these engines.  He's one of the guys I talked to while researching the article.  Look him up at ellweinengines.com  
http://www.ellweinengines.com/

I'm a big fan of these engines too, and hope to do some more stuff with them in Car Craft.  I have a 94 9C1 Caprice who's drivetrain will be going into my 86 Caprice.   We're shooting for having that done by July's issue.  Stay tuned!!!

Thanks again for reading!
John