LS1 Build ?

[bigtyme1]

ok Got my LS1 tonight. 1998 32000 miles, very clean with 4L60E. I'm sending the trans out to have some body go over. And working with Steve on my tork converter. My question is. What kind of minor mods should I do Such as Cam, intake, throudle body. I don't want to get out of hand and I don't think anything needs to be done to the bottom end. I just want to beef it up a little, still get decent gas milage, driver, some fun at the track. Some people have told me about an oil problem with the early LS1. how do I address that?

[Rybar]

Here is a thread I was just reading that may help: http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37081

Probably good insurance would be to upgrade the rod bolts and maybe install a ported or high volume oil pump.

What are your power goals and budget?

[bigtyme1]

yea I read that the other night. I'm going to look into a bigger pump. but for the rods I think they over powering the motor. Very rarley have I heard of one of these motors blowing up. This car will be lucky to see the track once of twice a year.

[Rybar]

yea I read that the other night. I'm going to look into a bigger pump. but for the rods I think they over powering the motor. Very rarley have I heard of one of these motors blowing up. This car will be lucky to see the track once of twice a year.

Well if it's any consideration I've got stock rod bolts myself. I never knew to change them before I installed my motor. I've heard to just be careful reving past 6500 rpm.

[Snap50]

ok Got my LS1 tonight. 1998 32000 miles, very clean with 4L60E. I'm sending the trans out to have some body go over. And working with Steve on my tork converter. My question is. What kind of minor mods should I do Such as Cam, intake, throudle body. I don't want to get out of hand and I don't think anything needs to be done to the bottom end. I just want to beef it up a little, still get decent gas milage, driver, some fun at the track. Some people have told me about an oil problem with the early LS1. how do I address that?


My 2001 vette LS1 rings allowed oil to pass through to the exhaust tips. Has to wipe them out on occasion to avoid messing the tail. It was never bad enough to cause misfire though.

GM replaced rings with redesigned units when the condition was bad enough, but not mine.

Also, my similar iron blocked 2001 Tahoe had severe piston slap, so maybe you'll hear that too.

[COYBILT]

you must be happier then hell with the new motor. I would say your on your way to a good foundation. keep in touch I would like to hear more about the project.
Pm me your number again.

[trapin]

Bigty....looks like you're looking for what I have in my motor.

I've been researching these engine for about 3 years now and finally pulled the trigger on one about a year and a half ago.

Here are my recommendations.

Camshaft - One of the most popular camshafts in LS1 history is the Thunder Racing 224/224. It is a .563 lift and you can get it in either 112 lsa for manuals or 114 lsa for automatics. This is the cam I went with.

Oiling System - The '98-2001 LS1's had subpar oil pumps on them. When modifying a '98, it is absolutely essential that you swap that pump off of there in favor of a ported LS6 unit. You can get these through Texas Speed. Another weak area was in the PVC system where a lot of oil was allowed to get into the induction area. The LS6 PVC system helps to solve this problem to a degree. I would recommend switching to that.

Bottom End - If you're going to go as far as to replace the oil pump then you might as well pull the pan and swap out the connecting rod bolts. Yeah you might not need them now but you never know in the future if you're going to go bigger with your camshaft or valvetrain. It's when that day comes that you'll be glad you went the extra 10 feet when you had the chance.

Valvetrain - Get rid of the stock timing chain and replace it with an LS2 chain. You can also get these through Texas Speed. The pushrods will also need to go, LS1's have weak pushrods. As far as cylinder heads....the best bang for the buck is Patriot Performance's Stage II LS6 heads. They are completely CNC ported with a competition valve job, brand new for $1095. You can't beat it. Although being since you had '98 cylinder heads, you will have to track down some center bolt valve covers over at LS1tech.com. Shouldn't be too hard to do. '98s had perimeter bolt valve covers and they will not work on 243 castings (LS6 heads).

Intake - If the budget doesn't allot for an LS6 intake then just stick with the LS1. Although I would junk the EGR and block the hole that is at the top.

A great resource for LS1 mods is www.ls1howto.com

I also have a spreadsheet for my build which lists all the parts and prices. My LS1 cost me a grand total of $6004 to build (thats including the price of the engine itself that I bought from a salvage yard). Not bad for an all-aluminum small block with roller camshaft, fuel injection, alterator, starter, water pump, powersteering pump, and serpentine drive. I am told I should be good for around 470-480 flywheel horsepower. You can't beat the power and what you get for the price with these engines.

PM me if you have any further questions. There's a lot more I can share with you. Always happy to help out.

[HRBS]

Mark... on 11.29 you posted that you got the new engine...... Why isnt it built and in the car yet ?
Come on bro....:lol:
Glad you found one.... keep me posted !
talk to you soon

[bigtyme1]

I'm working on it.:thumbsup: I have tomany loose ends write know and I'm just trying to stay on it. The body is complete but I'm waiting on some custom work to get done. So I thought I would start on the sub frame and research the motor a little. My plan is to get it back from getting the tub work done and start assembling.

Trapin, I like you recondmadations. I looked at the Heads last night on the web. great prices. What rod bolts do you use? I was told there was a company that made them to use with out washers.

[trapin]

I went with ARP rod bolts. Honestly they weren't that expensive and are great insurance for the future. At 32,000 miles your LS1 is still a spring chicken. A lot of life that engine has in it. Might as well go for it.

[bigtyme1]

Mark... on 11.29 you posted that you got the new engine...... Why isnt it built and in the car yet ?
Come on bro....:lol:
Glad you found one.... keep me posted !
talk to you soon

BTW your still on my list to call for all the electric work,:thumbsup:

[HRBS]

Who me :_paranoid
Bring it on.... you may get frustrated when I wire it... I am very anal and meticulous.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff143/hrbs/misc/petes06.jpg

[bigtyme1]

That's looks great! what the hell is it?

[bigtyme1]

All kidding aside, when I'm ready if your interested I'll take care of all expenses and fees. I'm just scared I'm going to mess something up.

[HRBS]

Main fuse block on my friends 06 S&W Dragster. Basically the same as what you have under the dash etc.
Look into something like (oh, wait here comes a plug) American Auto Wire set-up for your car that'll include everything for the LS swap as well as stock 69 Camaro electrical components. Good people, great product. I can get that for you. I have no problem helping out.
Whats you ETA on wiring it?

[bigtyme1]

Well it really depends. I'm hoping to paint around the end of March early Aprill. It all depends on a few other things falling into place. I got the AAW 69 updated set allready so were good to go. Know I'm looking into the Engine Harness and PCM Set up. Give me a call I'll go over it with you.

[bigtyme1]

AM I going to need one of these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320194862253&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:MOTORS:1123

I allready got the LS6 manifold, thottle body, rod bolts, oil pan. and all new acceseries.

[pist0lpete]

Thats the little blockoffs that go on the back end of the heads near the rearmost intake ports then the crossover tube goes in the same spot but near the frontmost intake ports. Then the tube needs to hook into the cooling system. There are a few different methods to do this i plan to drill and tap the top of my water pump and have it feed into there.

[bigtyme1]

Trappin, need to know what chamber heads to go with? they come in 3 different size.

[Rybar]

Trappin, need to know what chamber heads to go with? they come in 3 different size.

What size cam are you running? I'd say 60cc chambers, and you can adjust compression with head gasket thickness.

[69MyWay]

When I built the LS1 for my 69 Camaro I wanted to keep it as simple as possible in terms of matching components - proven to work.

I called SLP and spent some time looking through packages. I ended up buying the SLP Stage III kit that included modified LS6 heads, 36# injectors, SLP Stage III cam, matching push rods, gaskets/hardware, high performance oil pump, and other misc. stuff. I already had a LS6 intake and headers for the project.

I had to modify the oil pan from the F body and I used BRP mounts.

All of this mated to a TCI 2,800 stall on a 4L60E was a nice match. Car has plenty of rump to the idle, and able to run 12.5 in the 1/4 without breaking a sweat (running on 18" Goodyear runflats out back and 2+ 60' times).

I have since noticed other LS performance shops with "package" deals. I hate to venture out on my own mixing and matching parts - so this seems to work well for me.

I used a painless harness and a 98 F body PCM programmed by wait 4 me performance. I also used a fuel tank from a 1996 Caprice with minor mods and dropped a Walbro 255 pump straight in the tank like factory. I used the Caprice fuel lines and mated them up to 97/98 Corvette fuel rail. All in all, this kept the fuel system on the low budget with high reliability.

You will love this motor. They are so amazing!

[69MyWay]

duplicate post in error...sorry.

[bigtyme1]

here is the cam 99-TR224/224-114 Thunder Racing Custom Camshaft
"TR 224-114" - 224/224 .563/.563 114 LSA 1700-6600 RPM Power Band. Excellent mid-range & high RPM power. Requires computer tuning on automatic transmission cars. Due to the fast ramp rate of this camshaft, the use of 1.8 rockers is not recommended.
$389.99 Buy Wish


99-TR224/227-114 Thunder Racing Custom Camshaft

here are the heads 59 64 and 68 CC
https://www.patriot-performance.com/xcart/home.php?cat=37