Didn't know where to post this but I figured this would be the best place as you guys are very knowlegable here on the LT1.
Well the story is I can get a fully re-built LT1 ......This is a freshly rebuilt 1994 Iron Head LT1 and has not been run since the rebuilt. So basically it's a new motor. I purchased it and had it rebuilt for a cost of $3000. It was a stock rebuild so it would be about 280HP and 330lbs-ft of torque. It does need a few accessories, such as, high volume oil pump, optispark distributor, fuel rails, injectors, water pump (reverse flow)..... for 500$ canadian but I would want to change it to carb because I really dislike FI in many different levels lol, I was woundering how much it would take to get it up and running with a carb I was thinking about 1000$ on top of the price of the engine go get it going the another 1000$ to get it working and in the car then maybe another 1000$ to get make the car able to handle the engine. Am I about right? Any info on anything would be greatly appricated.

Kyle

 

Carb + LT1 = waste of money.

You don't need a HV oil pump with a stock LT1, and the iron headed LT1 has a smaller cam than the F-body ones, so it's only about as much HP as an L98, around 250 or so. I would really say to wait until you can find an F-body motor complete and keep the FI since it is easier to tune, better on milage and keeps the HP and torque up.

 

Well cam size doesnt matter at all since that will be changed anyways. I REALLY dont want FI even if i could get a complete TPI set up i would rip that FI **** off of it, I like my old school power with a carb and when something goes wrong all I need is a screwdriver not a computer.
But what makes you think a LT1+carb is a waste of money? what is the true thought behind that? My other reasoning to not going FI is I think it would cost WAY more to get it going not te mention the wireing hell arent I right?

Kyle

 

For referance, stock cast iron B-body LT1 heads flow BETTER than stock F-body aluminum heads do. The performance difference if due almost entirly to the cam because the B-body cam was built for low end torque to get 4400 LB Caprices and Impala SS's moving, where as the F-Body cam was more high end HP oriented.

As for your question, the wiring is not that bad, and I bet cost wise, it would be pretty close to even if you bought new parts for everything. The biggest disadvantage to carbing an LT1 is that the LT1 FI intake is almost a perfectly designed intake for that motor. The reason there are almost no aftermarket LT1 intakes is because the factory one works so well. Even the fabled LT4 intake will gain you nothing without some serious motorwork to back it up. You would loose alot of that with a carbureted conversion intake. Not that you couldn't match the performance with a carb, but you'd have a hard time trying to get something that works so well over the entire RPM range. By the time you get there, You'll have as much in your carb, intake, and ignition system as it would have cost to keep the FI. Of course, it's your car, and you can do with it what you want. I really dont care either way.

 

Also, I agree that the HV oil pump is not needed. A Melling stock replacment pump is more than adaquate, especially on a fresh rebuild

 

So you think if I stayed FI the wiring could be done without a painless wiring kit cuz 600$ american is alot for a few wires. If I went that way can you guys give me a list of what vehicles I can take parts off of that have the LT1 so I can start pricing things out, I have it priced out for a carb already and it will be about 700$ canadian to get it running but now I have to take the disadvantiges into account. Anything else I should know before I start?

 

B, D, F, and Y bodys all came with LT1s(or their smaller brother, the L99). This includes B-Bodys, 94-96 Caprice, Impala SS, Buick Roadmaster, D-body Caddy Fleetwood, F-body 93-97 Camaro/Firebird, Y-body 92-97 Corvette. If you don't mind scrounging through junk yards, a stock harness can be had relitivly cheap. Ebay is also a great place to find factory parts. Note that the '93 Camaro/firebird and 92-93 Corvette were speed density, not MAF, so no mass air sensor plug, and its not programmed in the computer. All external L99 stuff, found only in B and D bodys, is interchangable with LT1 stuff(water pump, alternator, brackets, etc.)

How'd you figure $700 for the carb setup? With e-bay and swap meets, you could pick up a carb and non-computer HEI distributer for less than $200, and figure another $200 USD for a new LT1 carburetor intake. Remember with a carburetor, you need to use a standard in the back distributer, not the Opti-spark(which is good cause it's much cheaper). The thing with the FI is if for some reason you can't get it to work, you can always convert it to carbed later. Although, if even I can figure out the wiring, anybody can. This board is a great resource for that kind of stuff. It only took me 3 weeks totak to do my LT1 swap, 2 of the 3 were spend on wiring.

Like any project, the best thing you can do is decide what you want from teh car and plan accordingly. Do you want low end grunt? High end horsepower? What are your HP goals(be realistic). Is it a weekend fun car, or a daily driver? Planning on racing any? Road or drag? How fast do you want it to be? Do you need to be able to drive it 1000 miles at a time? Does it need to start when it's -20 outside? Once you have your goals set, you can plan your build accordingly.