LT1 questions

Patrick said:

The budget headers for lt1 b bodies used to be the flowtech 2nd gen camaro afterburners.  It’ll likely seal, you’ll just give up some smooth flow.  

If you’re at like $1500 or less it’s too good to pass up.  The transmission is 90% of the value, I couldn’t give away a low mile lt1 a few years back and it got scrapped.

It's entirety possible the number is waaaaay lower than that. 

Call in sick and get in the truck

Just be like...

Looks like the seller is saying he's also only available on weekends. Strangely enough several people have turned it down because he won't separate the motor and trans. Probably because it's an LT1 and most normal people don't want an LT1 in 2019, they do want that t56 to put behind their small block though.

Obviously I love LT1s

Btw is someone in North Texas can't sell LT1 parts email me. I have a couple of buddies building super ratty cars, need all kinds of stuff. Right now main thing is some aluminum heads.

Dude, send him the "take my money " meme!

Can you hear it run?

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I have suspicions of the motor running because he claims it has a hole in the pan from when it was pulled. I suppose I should ask for pictures of the hole to see if it's an inny or outty. But again I have no idea how this hasn't sold already because he has it priced so low that the trans is still worth it even if the LT1 is scrap.

Daylan C said:

 most normal people don't want an LT1 in 2019

Lucky for us!

I'd want an F body LT1... for the heads and intake, to put on a 4.3.

Way off the deep end of the bell curve

So it the engine doesn't come with the ECM and is still usable, what's the move for getting it running cheaply? Track down an F-body ecm or is something like microsquirt a viable option. This would need to fit in a challenge budget but I think I have more room in the budget going with this setup than I do with my current spare parts L98 build. 

In my '89 Caprice wagon with a manual trans. Having computer control of the e-fans and AC clutch might be nice. Not sure if the microsquirt does that or not. I know it won't work a GM IAC valve without adding another module to it so that's something to consider. 

Does it have the harness?  I have a 95 b body ecm on the shelf that i pulled for a spare.  

In reply to Patrick :

Looks like it still has the harness and front accessories on it. The ECM wasn't specifically mentioned. I have a couple ECMs laying around but they're for older TBI/TPI stuff.  Closest one I have that might work is the one I pulled from a '95 Suburban 2500. I suppose I need to go find that and Google the numbers on it.

In reply to Daylan C :

I have a 96 d body ecm floating around here you could have, but being odb2 it's not very desirable for those wanting to tune (thus me offering it up for free)

If you pass on buying this thing please let me know, even with a hole in the pan I'd be driving to Kentucky tonight for an LT1 t56 for "way less than 1500".  

Patrick said:

Does it have the harness?  I have a 95 b body ecm on the shelf that i pulled for a spare.  

I have a complete B body harness complete with fuse block.  Came with an engine, and they didn't need the wiring back for the core return...

Opti said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Ehh it's a little overblown, Ive pressure washed every LT1 I've owned or worked on, vented and non vented Opti, it hasn't caused an problems that wouldn't have also happened on a normal distributor equipped vehicle

Agreed.  People also usually complain about LT1 optisparks because they need to buy a new one at 100k.  Well, it is a cap and rotor after all.  You'll likely need a new water pump by then anyway.

The "opti" part of an optispark is ridiculously accurate, the coil puts out tons of voltage, and they are far better than an old-school HEI

There are specific differences with internal/external balance.

Old, 2-piece rear main SBCs had both internal and external balance depending on the application, but even the internally balanced engines still technically were somewhat externally balanced.  If you look at the back of the crankshaft, they all had some sort of lobe on the back flange.  Pictured below, a 2-piece SBC crank on the right, and a later 1-piece on the left.

An LT1 crank will physically bolt up to an SBC flywheel, but you'll have to be careful about the application.  T56s used a different bellhousing depth from other more traditional pairings and (although I can't put my finger on it right now) there is some difference in the flywheel

In reply to Curtis :

Specifically what I need to know is can I use an Nv3500 flywheel from a 1 piece rear main small block (last used on a 96 Vortec motor) on this LT1. The T56 is probably going to be used with a standard TPI motor in my GTA while the LT1 goes in the wagon with it's Nv3500. The t56 on a TPI setup is a much more normal thing I know.

Everything I'm saying says they should be ok together. I've seen LT1 wheels on 1 piece rear main SBCs for T56 swaps done a few times.

In reply to Curtis :

The "lobe" setup on the back of a 2pc crank was supposedly so you could quickly identify the crank, visually.  Sort of like the casting marks on the heads.

Daylan, you can use a 1-pc rear main flywheel on the LT1 with the NV3500, did a similar conversion with a Richmond 5-spd behind an LT1. It's only when using the LT1 T56 that you need the special LT1 flywheel.

Knurled, yes you can identify the early cranks by the counterweight (or lobe) on the back. When they went to 1-pc rear mains, they had to add the counterweight to the flywheel/flexplate instead.

In reply to 81cpcamaro :

Ok good. I was thinking I was safe but I guess I wanted to make sure.

The LT1/deal is probably one I missed, but I've convinced myself I'd be happier with an LT1 than my cobbled together L98 with a carb. Searching for others now.

EDIT. Wasn't a hard search. Found one still in a car complete with wiring, ecm, front accessories and all. Guy is asking $500 and he pulls it. 4l60e instead if a t56 but atleast with it being a B-body motor I can be reasonably certain the front accessories will fit in my b-body. Still going to run my nv3500 behind it.

I've got a fresh block, bored 0.030, stroker cleranced, new cam bearings, freeze plugs, etc. oiled and wrapped in plastic in my folk's barn.

I bought a complete dropout engine, all accessories, wiring harness, and ecm from a '97 Formula Firebird.  I paid a reasonable price for it at the time, then paid a machine shop too much money to clean it up and bore it, I took them the bare block.

I had delusions of 383 LT1 running through my head, but that was ~13 years ago. 

I go through Summit, Jegs, Speedway, etc. catalogs at least once a year trying to put together a reasonably priced engine, but good golly are rotating assemblies expensive.  I might be willing to pull the trigger on it someday, if I didn't know what LQ4/9s and LS1/6es go for, or even an LR4 and an ebay turbo.

I haven't looked at the thing in years, it may be ruined, and home to vermin at this point for all I know.

So I went and looked at that '94 LT1. Checked numbers on the car and determined it was probably a 4.3. So I used the knowledge that he didn't know what he had to lowball him and buy it anyway. For $300 I'm getting the engine, trans, wiring, ecm, front accessories, air box and tube, maf, overflow bottle and whatever else he decides he doesn't need to run the car with a carbeurated 383. Engine has 80k miles on it.

Daylan C said:

So I went and looked at that '94 LT1. Checked numbers on the car and determined it was probably a 4.3. So I used the knowledge that he didn't know what he had to lowball him and buy it anyway. For $300 I'm getting the engine, trans, wiring, ecm, front accessories, air box and tube, maf, overflow bottle and whatever else he decides he doesn't need to run the car with a carbeurated 383. Engine has 80k miles on it.

Sounds like a solid haul for $300

Daylan C said:

So I went and looked at that '94 LT1. Checked numbers on the car and determined it was probably a 4.3. So I used the knowledge that he didn't know what he had to lowball him and buy it anyway. For $300 I'm getting the engine, trans, wiring, ecm, front accessories, air box and tube, maf, overflow bottle and whatever else he decides he doesn't need to run the car with a carbeurated 383. Engine has 80k miles on it.

Dibs on anything you don't want.

I'll probably hang onto most of it until my car runs. The 4l60e is going up for sale as soon as get it home and unbolted though.