hey,

Is the LS1 a cheaper conversion than the LT1 if your building the LT from scratch?

I ask because in doing the math it's gonna cost me about 4k (heads will be a grand) to build a 400hp LT1 and then say another 1,500 for a T56 or a little less for a T5....then you gotta throw in maybe a bellhousing and or clutch etc etc.....it adds up.

and you can buy an LS1 engine and tranny ready to go for 4-6k depending on the mileage.


how many extra's are needed to wire the LS1, and what might it add up too?

this would be for a 1st gen.

 

Screw the price. ls1 > lt1

 

ls motors are actually cheeper, given there are more of them and they are newer so less miles, depending on what you want the 5.3's around here go for less than a grand with the computer and with some small upgrades are good for 400hp.. the 4-6k figure better be a low mile gto or camaro motor with everything...

 

yeah, caddy cts-v, gto engines usually...

there's also something alluring to going old school carb and distributor that I can tune.......

decisions decisions .....

I'll look into the 5.3, but I saw one build and the intake was very high and needed to be swapped to an ls1

 

you know what......f$#k it.... I'm going LT350

everything else on this car is old school and mechanical. (no sunroof, manual windows, no power steering etc...)

I'm gonna keep it real and go old school. The weight difference in the block is like 48lbs. I can live with that. Heads, intake water pump etc. will be aluminum...

 

Oh, God. I'd never go through the trouble of Lt1 swapping anything. The ONLY good thing about the Lt motors is that all of the gen. I SBC stuff fits right in. ...but they're still junk especially if you don't do the Ls coil conversion.
You can find Ls motors for far cheaper than $4-6k. You might have to pay $4k for the Ls2, but the Ls1's you can find all over for $1.5-2k. The only 5.3 I'd swap into one of these is the Ls4. I wouldn't put a heavy iron block into a light car like this. That's a lot of weight over the nose of a car that never had a whole lot of weight there. As far as the harness, just give John at PSI a call and he'll make you one.

 

mpcv2000's LT1 FC cleaner than most if not all swaps I've seen.

 

Where are people finding ls1s for less then 2? Or is this motor alone because if you add in the price of the t56, clutch, flywheel and other odds n ends and your back to price that op was quoting 3-4k

 

I paid $4200 for my motor/t-56 in 2005 with 18k on the tick. You just have to look around. FParts on ebay is where I got mine. I was able to pick it up though. Seems prices have gone up $1300-1700 in the last few years.