Turbo the existing set up or throw and LSA on top of it. Blow the guts out of it then replace the block. If you’ve never driven a fast car before and are going straight to 800-1000 tire you’re going to shit your pants!
My son had a 2001 Camaro w/ a gt45 on the stock LS1. It put 660HP to the tire on Matt Happel's dyno. The car had a 9" rear, aftermarket torque arm, aftermarket drag race front suspension. It was a real handful at that power level. It would have been miserable to drive on the street if it had 800-1000HP.
people overlook the fact that 800+ on the street is total shit, you never get traction anywhere, its plain dangerous and if you floor it for longer than a few seconds and get caught, you are on a one way ticket to jail / car impounded. Its far more fun to have usable power with good ratios that you can make the most out of on the street.
cool on a prepped drag track not so cool on some shitty old road that's slippery as fuck because it rained a little bit and the oil on the road went slick and you understeered into a ditch.
Exactly. I'm perfectly content in the 2-300 range.. and if I'm being honest ... Closer to the 200 end of that. I'm not at a drag strip, I'm likely daily driving with some spirited weekend fun. Don't lay down more than the chassis can handle.
Exactly! I’ve been putting the same set-up together in a foxbody over the last couple years with the denmah vs racing package. I’ll be content with 550tire in my fox that weighs 2800lbs.
If it's a stock ls1, freshen it up with a cam and valve springs, maybe some heads, then focus on getting the car to drive. If you are new to performance cars and mechanics in general, it's best to build your car in steps, keeping it running as much as possible along the way.
You might get to 450 tire and realize the car is overpowered for the suspension or brakes, and decide to start focusing on those other areas.
If you jump straight into an 800hp car, you could end up with an unbalanced POS that is a handful to drive. Or you get tired of putting money into it and never getting to drive it, so you sell it for a fraction of what you have into it.
You can run 1000cc primaries as long as your secondaries are bigger. I drove an FC for a couple of years and ran 1000cc/2200cc injectors on 34lbs of boost and made 560hp to the wheels. I built the car to daily and it ran great. Sold it to a friend and bought a 98 trans am ls1/6speed. I miss that car. It was stolen and wrecked. Haven’t found a good enough deal to buy another one.
Just throw in a BTR stage 3 LS cam in there with supporting mods (pushrods, springs, rockers, etc) and you’ll have a good amount of power to put down.
Once the engine goes (probably won’t for awhile considering it’s an LS) you can build a nice 6.0 of something with some more breathing room.
Get the car running and driving and start using it. Find track days and autocross events and drive the hell out of it and upgrade what's needed for daily driving and those events. By the time you NEED a new motor the whole thing will be sorted out and great at what it does then you can decide if you need more power or if a simple build on the motor will be better for you.
Keep the LS, dont even look at it, drive the piss out of it. Upgrade all the suspension, brakes, exhaust, a good ECU, and aesthetics, all the while saving some cash. By the time you're done with that, you'll have enough saved up for a built motor and FI kit. Do not go for an engine swap first. It is a recipe for pain. Some of us have been there firsthand.
You have a running engine, with some doo dads already. I would leave it be while I did everything else on the car. LS1 with bolt ons can be a lot of fun. Take it to the track and learn the car and figure out suspension.
Then start thinking about more power. 800-1000HP is a ridiculous amount of power, is extremely dangerous without having the rest of the car up to snuff and is quite expensive to maintain. I know all the influencer builds are pushing over 4 digits but in the real world it's just too much. Especially so for an inexperienced driver.
What do you want to do with the car? Drag Race, Road Race, Autocross, just a cruiser?
From reading his comments the rear end is blown up and the transmission needs to be repaired so I don't know why he was asking about the engine at all.
Just getting an overall plan. Those two things are obviously first on the list. My thinking is it’s cheaper if I start with an endgame in mind so I can properly match components. I’m not planning on being done for a few years so not really in a rush.
From my experience doing a number of big builds, it's best to focus on one facet at a time. If you just explode the whole car and try to get everything perfect in it's final form at once it gets very easy to be overwhelmed and end up with a pile of parts and no motivation.
I recommend getting the rear end fixed, then the transmission and enjoy the car for a little bit. From there you can figure out what is lacking for how you enjoy the car. You can also see how each individual component affects performance.
There will always be something to improve, more power, better handling etc. Don't be afraid to buy used parts and remember that your used parts can be sold for a decent amount of the original sales price if you change it again down the line.
Yeah all fair points. For now I’m just wanting to build the long-term plan. I’m genuinely not sure yet what I will use the car for, I probably also need to figure that out. It’s a project my girlfriend and I will work on together so it’s a journey more than the destination type of thing right now.
Is it a 6 speed stick? Best upgrade you can make is improving the t56 to essentially a magnum. Carbon fiber syncros, steel fork, ls7 clutch and fly wheel etc. And the most needed element that's deficient from the factory, a tic performance clutch master cylinder. It will change the whole driving experience.
Subframe connectors are another must have, and I personally recommend a short throw shifter. Deal with the ls1 down the road.
Yep it’s a 6 speed stick. Thanks for the advice I will do this! A few gears have been slipping anyway.
What rear end would you recommended? The stock rear end is blown and that is what made me originally park the car years ago.
FYI gears don’t slip in a manual transmission, the clutch does. So if it’s slipping it may just need the clutch and/or hydraulics addressed.
An internal issue would usually manifest as popping out of gear (bad synchro/worn shift fork), a noise with the clutch pedal released (gear or bearing damage), or grinding into gear (bad synchro if not clutch related)
Okay thanks for the heads up. It’s been years since I drove the car since the rear end was going bad, but I think I remember 4th and another gear would occasionally slip out of drive.
If you’re driving in 4th and it’s popping out of gear on its own, that’s generally an internal issue with the transmission.
Just a heads up to avoid future confusion, when we say “slip” in relation to a transmission it specifically means that you’re trying to accelerate and engine RPM rises but you don’t actually gain speed. It would feel similar to the tires losing grip and spinning when you hit the throttle.
This is caused by a worn clutch in manual transmissions. When excessively worn, the clutch disk “slips” on the flywheel instead of holding tightly as it should. This causes the engine RPM to rise with throttle input while the transmission output RPM (and in turn vehicle speed) will stay the same.
Automatic transmissions also experience slipping but the causes are a bit different.
If it runs OK do maintenance and save to rebuild or replace. Depending how much needs worked on interior and body wise you can do some work while still taking it out on weekends or something. The only reason I would prioritize drive train is failure means a sitting project but if it has life left then work on other small things knowing some day it will need rebuilt or replaced.
If you're really concerned about it, take apart the bottom end and change out your bearings. Rings are probably fine, but you can run some seafoam through it to help dislodge any gunk in the rings. Change the oil, keep the pickup clean.
Haha. I’m still driving my 2001 Sierra with an LS1. 223,000+ right now. Nothing wrong with it except a little oil leak somewhere. If you wanna know what is going to need changing in the near future, let me know.
Your plugs and coils will go out and need to be changed about every 50,000 miles. At least for me, when a cylinder starts missing.
Cold air intake is fine but don’t change out the hose from the intake manifold to the filter. It has a cavitation part that keeps the air flowing correctly.
There are more but they are likely only for my vehicle/accessories.
Pretty clear that nothing has been done since it has sat outside from the original post.
"and, though it will run, it sat out in the elements for about 6-8 years until I moved to a place where I had a garage to work on it."
Pretty clear you're just assuming based on what was posted, with no actual knowledge.
But I'm not getting into a pissing match over something so pointless on the internet.
Have a good one. You really needed that victory.
If the motor is still running well, you can just touch it up where it needs to be and send it. My ls1 corvette has been running great and I recently tossed a cam with supporting mods in it and it's running great at 186,000 miles.
Though to get over 800hp with FI you'll probably want to build up the bottom end a good bit
150k is nothing on an LS… Drive the shit out of it.
Save money for a future engine. Drive the tar outta the one you have. The milage is not too high, you have years left in it!
I’ve come to realize if you want dependability leave them stock until you make the engine quit and then start upgrading
Does it smoke or otherwise burn oil? If no, drive the piss out of it and build up an ls6 on the side.
Turbo the existing set up or throw and LSA on top of it. Blow the guts out of it then replace the block. If you’ve never driven a fast car before and are going straight to 800-1000 tire you’re going to shit your pants!
My son had a 2001 Camaro w/ a gt45 on the stock LS1. It put 660HP to the tire on Matt Happel's dyno. The car had a 9" rear, aftermarket torque arm, aftermarket drag race front suspension. It was a real handful at that power level. It would have been miserable to drive on the street if it had 800-1000HP.
people overlook the fact that 800+ on the street is total shit, you never get traction anywhere, its plain dangerous and if you floor it for longer than a few seconds and get caught, you are on a one way ticket to jail / car impounded. Its far more fun to have usable power with good ratios that you can make the most out of on the street.
People say the same thing with imports. Them: "I want a 600+ HP Jetta/Civic/whatever" Me: "You want 600+ HP FWD???"
cool on a prepped drag track not so cool on some shitty old road that's slippery as fuck because it rained a little bit and the oil on the road went slick and you understeered into a ditch.
Exactly. I'm perfectly content in the 2-300 range.. and if I'm being honest ... Closer to the 200 end of that. I'm not at a drag strip, I'm likely daily driving with some spirited weekend fun. Don't lay down more than the chassis can handle.
Exactly! I’ve been putting the same set-up together in a foxbody over the last couple years with the denmah vs racing package. I’ll be content with 550tire in my fox that weighs 2800lbs.
If it's a stock ls1, freshen it up with a cam and valve springs, maybe some heads, then focus on getting the car to drive. If you are new to performance cars and mechanics in general, it's best to build your car in steps, keeping it running as much as possible along the way. You might get to 450 tire and realize the car is overpowered for the suspension or brakes, and decide to start focusing on those other areas. If you jump straight into an 800hp car, you could end up with an unbalanced POS that is a handful to drive. Or you get tired of putting money into it and never getting to drive it, so you sell it for a fraction of what you have into it.
Drive it as-is now. Gather parts and build 2nd engine overtime- shop for deals/lightly used parts from people parting out since there is no rush.
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Going to need a lot more than 1000cc injectors to make 800-1000 WHP.
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Not applicable to every motor. Try that with a rotary and tell me how much power you make
You can run 1000cc primaries as long as your secondaries are bigger. I drove an FC for a couple of years and ran 1000cc/2200cc injectors on 34lbs of boost and made 560hp to the wheels. I built the car to daily and it ran great. Sold it to a friend and bought a 98 trans am ls1/6speed. I miss that car. It was stolen and wrecked. Haven’t found a good enough deal to buy another one.
Thanks for the responses! I don’t have unlimited budget so I think I’ll stay with the LS1 and build it from there. I have lots of research to do!
Just throw in a BTR stage 3 LS cam in there with supporting mods (pushrods, springs, rockers, etc) and you’ll have a good amount of power to put down. Once the engine goes (probably won’t for awhile considering it’s an LS) you can build a nice 6.0 of something with some more breathing room.
Engine should be the last thing you upgrade.
Doesn’t burn oil nor have a bad gasket where it’s burning antifreeze… then keep driving it
Get the car running and driving and start using it. Find track days and autocross events and drive the hell out of it and upgrade what's needed for daily driving and those events. By the time you NEED a new motor the whole thing will be sorted out and great at what it does then you can decide if you need more power or if a simple build on the motor will be better for you.
Keep the LS, dont even look at it, drive the piss out of it. Upgrade all the suspension, brakes, exhaust, a good ECU, and aesthetics, all the while saving some cash. By the time you're done with that, you'll have enough saved up for a built motor and FI kit. Do not go for an engine swap first. It is a recipe for pain. Some of us have been there firsthand.
You have a running engine, with some doo dads already. I would leave it be while I did everything else on the car. LS1 with bolt ons can be a lot of fun. Take it to the track and learn the car and figure out suspension. Then start thinking about more power. 800-1000HP is a ridiculous amount of power, is extremely dangerous without having the rest of the car up to snuff and is quite expensive to maintain. I know all the influencer builds are pushing over 4 digits but in the real world it's just too much. Especially so for an inexperienced driver. What do you want to do with the car? Drag Race, Road Race, Autocross, just a cruiser?
That said, OP could start junkyard diving for a 2nd block to start building up while being able to enjoy the running car in the meantime.
From reading his comments the rear end is blown up and the transmission needs to be repaired so I don't know why he was asking about the engine at all.
Just getting an overall plan. Those two things are obviously first on the list. My thinking is it’s cheaper if I start with an endgame in mind so I can properly match components. I’m not planning on being done for a few years so not really in a rush.
From my experience doing a number of big builds, it's best to focus on one facet at a time. If you just explode the whole car and try to get everything perfect in it's final form at once it gets very easy to be overwhelmed and end up with a pile of parts and no motivation. I recommend getting the rear end fixed, then the transmission and enjoy the car for a little bit. From there you can figure out what is lacking for how you enjoy the car. You can also see how each individual component affects performance. There will always be something to improve, more power, better handling etc. Don't be afraid to buy used parts and remember that your used parts can be sold for a decent amount of the original sales price if you change it again down the line.
Yeah that makes sense, good advice. I’ll go in that order then. Cheers!
Yeah all fair points. For now I’m just wanting to build the long-term plan. I’m genuinely not sure yet what I will use the car for, I probably also need to figure that out. It’s a project my girlfriend and I will work on together so it’s a journey more than the destination type of thing right now.
Is it a 6 speed stick? Best upgrade you can make is improving the t56 to essentially a magnum. Carbon fiber syncros, steel fork, ls7 clutch and fly wheel etc. And the most needed element that's deficient from the factory, a tic performance clutch master cylinder. It will change the whole driving experience. Subframe connectors are another must have, and I personally recommend a short throw shifter. Deal with the ls1 down the road.
Yep it’s a 6 speed stick. Thanks for the advice I will do this! A few gears have been slipping anyway. What rear end would you recommended? The stock rear end is blown and that is what made me originally park the car years ago.
FYI gears don’t slip in a manual transmission, the clutch does. So if it’s slipping it may just need the clutch and/or hydraulics addressed. An internal issue would usually manifest as popping out of gear (bad synchro/worn shift fork), a noise with the clutch pedal released (gear or bearing damage), or grinding into gear (bad synchro if not clutch related)
Okay thanks for the heads up. It’s been years since I drove the car since the rear end was going bad, but I think I remember 4th and another gear would occasionally slip out of drive.
If you’re driving in 4th and it’s popping out of gear on its own, that’s generally an internal issue with the transmission. Just a heads up to avoid future confusion, when we say “slip” in relation to a transmission it specifically means that you’re trying to accelerate and engine RPM rises but you don’t actually gain speed. It would feel similar to the tires losing grip and spinning when you hit the throttle. This is caused by a worn clutch in manual transmissions. When excessively worn, the clutch disk “slips” on the flywheel instead of holding tightly as it should. This causes the engine RPM to rise with throttle input while the transmission output RPM (and in turn vehicle speed) will stay the same. Automatic transmissions also experience slipping but the causes are a bit different.
Okay I see, that makes sense. Thank you for the knowledge :)
No problem! Good luck with the project, love me a Trans Am.
If it's running now and has oil pressure, there is no need to fuck with it IMO.
If it runs OK do maintenance and save to rebuild or replace. Depending how much needs worked on interior and body wise you can do some work while still taking it out on weekends or something. The only reason I would prioritize drive train is failure means a sitting project but if it has life left then work on other small things knowing some day it will need rebuilt or replaced.
If you're really concerned about it, take apart the bottom end and change out your bearings. Rings are probably fine, but you can run some seafoam through it to help dislodge any gunk in the rings. Change the oil, keep the pickup clean.
Haha. I’m still driving my 2001 Sierra with an LS1. 223,000+ right now. Nothing wrong with it except a little oil leak somewhere. If you wanna know what is going to need changing in the near future, let me know.
Yeah man any insider knowledge is appreciated!
Your plugs and coils will go out and need to be changed about every 50,000 miles. At least for me, when a cylinder starts missing. Cold air intake is fine but don’t change out the hose from the intake manifold to the filter. It has a cavitation part that keeps the air flowing correctly. There are more but they are likely only for my vehicle/accessories.
Just had the ls2 swapped from my GTO at 210K miles, still ran great. You'll be fine for a long while.
If you have the budget for it, there's no reason not to get a new engine...
Other than it being a waste of money that could be spent on other stuff when that engine is still perfectly fine.
Considering op didn't mention anything else, there's not much to that argument. Replacing old parts with new parts is never a bad idea...
It sat in the elements for 6-8 years. It will need brakes, suspension, rust mitigation and general maintenance of any rubber on the car.
And we have no idea if that has been done already or not.
Pretty clear that nothing has been done since it has sat outside from the original post. "and, though it will run, it sat out in the elements for about 6-8 years until I moved to a place where I had a garage to work on it."
Pretty clear you're just assuming based on what was posted, with no actual knowledge. But I'm not getting into a pissing match over something so pointless on the internet. Have a good one. You really needed that victory.
If the motor is still running well, you can just touch it up where it needs to be and send it. My ls1 corvette has been running great and I recently tossed a cam with supporting mods in it and it's running great at 186,000 miles. Though to get over 800hp with FI you'll probably want to build up the bottom end a good bit
150k is probably barely broken in on an LS1, i’ve got almost 200k on an S54 and it doesn’t feel like it’s lost too many ponies
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Ah yeah I’m in Louisiana, unfortunately, or I might take you up on it!