So ive been thinking about an engine swap?

[blacklt1firebird]

Joel- Thanks for ur input, ive seen pretty much all of ur videos on your channel haha. Where ur car is, is pretty much exactly where id like to b with mine. I'll have to start looking around for cams then, there's a place by my house called d&s engines that people i know have had heads done there for fairly cheap so i may look into that also. Not tryin to spend over a grand at this point though. So if i have to i can wait til later n upgrade. Do any of u know what the baseline for an lt1 stock would put down at the rear wheels?

[JoeliusZ28]

Agreed - We'll see how it likes a set of wrinkle walls this year though. As long as i can take the shock element out of it, I am hoping it can handle some load.

[birdie2000]

Yeah, I was the same way for my WS6. The rear that was in it was nasty, so I scored a really low-mile LS rear-end with 3.42 gears in it for a couple hundred bucks. Threw a coat of paint on it, a girdle, and it's still cheaper (and quieter) than even a gear swap in my old nasty rear-end. Suits me just fine for a street car, and being setup by the factory is about the best you're gonna get for quietness IMO. Has worked great so far even with Nittos.

[JoeliusZ28]

Im sure with 4.10s and a raised limiter i could achieve that. But, I refuse to do anything with my 10 bolt until it breaks. Its been a champion so far behind that Spec stage 3 and my driving

[birdie2000]

lol, that's why I asked about trap. I'd be nursing that 10-bolt too.

Yeah, I'm sure that cam wants more than 6k rpm to do its thing. That sure dyno's nice for stock heads. 114-115mph out of that cam only would be pretty cool for a car that's not a dedicated drag car.

[JoeliusZ28]

Ive trapped anywhere from 108-113 with it depending on day/track/conditions. Ive never put sticky tires on the car so my E/Ts suck

Everything so far has all been with the factory 5850 RPM rev limiter. I am going to bump it up to 6400 or so this summer, I think there is another mph or two in it. Its been hitting the stock limiter like a sprinting dog on a leash.

[birdie2000]

Joel, do you have any 1/4 mile times for that? I'm curious what you're trapping with that setup.

[JoeliusZ28]

Josh check out my youtube channel - same as my username here.

I have the AI 226/234 cam and my heads are milled .020. The valve bowls and ONLY the valve bowls were touched up on my heads. I do not have runner porting. I think it is matched to the cam well because my torque curve is flat as a table and the engine just seems work efficiently when doing a 2500-6k pull. I can have a ton of fun without ever breaking 4k RPM. The mid range is the best part about it. Peaky cams suck IMO.

Don't underestimate stock LT1 heads like everyone does. They are not that bad.

What you should underestimate, is the flow capability of a stock intake elbow and single 3" exhaust. I would not have hit 370rwhp without my 3" duals and LS1 lid. SBCs like easy breathing. Ive had 4-5 different exhaust configurations and with each change i picked up power. A good true dual system is a lot cheaper than headwork - but it is loud

here's an in-car video for you to get a feel for how it drives with street tires and 3.42 gears.

[Lucky SOB]

I'm not lookin for stupid power, as i said in the beginning im looking for 350-400 rwhp, if joels car has a decent cam and light head work n is puttin out 370 thats pretty much halfway between and more than perfect of where i want to be.

Sounds to me like you need to call AI or LE and have a cam spec'd out for ya. Probably not worth having the heads worked over more than a valve job and have them cleaned up for what you're looking to do.

[blacklt1firebird]

I find that hard to believe on an LT 1 engine. You should come to dyno day when it gets scheduled, as a spectator then you'll see real numbers that get made. I hear a lot of crazy claims but they never have data to prove it.

I plan on coming to the dyno day. I'm only sayin what i saw, n there were many cars on there that "claimed" they were using stock heads with just bolt ons and a cam and were making decent power, i believe i saw one car make 358 RWHP claiming stock heads, so i assumed if i did some head work i could be more in the middle of my goal which was around 375. If as stated above Joels car is cammed with light head work n is making 370 horse at the wheel thats perfect for me n seems like 350 rwhp is about right for cam only?

[blacklt1firebird]

Don't look for 400 out of a cam and headers on a LT1

I'd say you're more in the range of ~360 cam only with some cleaned up heads and headers. This is through a 6-speed. Drop 20 horse if you're going through a slush box

For reference, two 6 speed cars...

Joel's decent sized cam and light head work, LT1 makes ~370 to the wheels

Kolin's radical cam and LS6 heads, LS1 makes ~410 to the wheels

I'm not lookin for stupid power, as i said in the beginning im looking for 350-400 rwhp, if joels car has a decent cam and light head work n is puttin out 370 thats pretty much halfway between and more than perfect of where i want to be.

[98blackbeauty]

Ahh i see. I need my quarter panel fixed i got cancer startin under the gas tank door n its really makin me mad! Then im gonna look into a heads and cam package. I was youtubing last night n saw most ppl were runnin cam only cars with longtubes and basic bolt ons but stock heads an they were puttin out 350-400 at the rear wheels easily, so im thinkin with a good set of heads or p&ping the stock heads should make it even easier for me to get where i wanna be!

I find that hard to believe on an LT 1 engine. You should come to dyno day when it gets scheduled, as a spectator then you'll see real numbers that get made. I hear a lot of crazy claims but they never have data to prove it.

[Lucky SOB]

most ppl were runnin cam only cars with longtubes and basic bolt ons but stock heads an they were puttin out 350-400 at the rear wheels easily

Don't look for 400 out of a cam and headers on a LT1

I'd say you're more in the range of ~360 cam only with some cleaned up heads and headers. This is through a 6-speed. Drop 20 horse if you're going through a slush box

For reference, two 6 speed cars...

Joel's decent sized cam and light head work, LT1 makes ~370 to the wheels

Kolin's radical cam and LS6 heads, LS1 makes ~410 to the wheels

[blacklt1firebird]

ehh not cancer i got lucky and my car doesnt have that spot... but i know my my friends 60k ws6 lt1 ta had it starting! its crazy. i am pretty fortunate on very little rust on my car. yeah i would just start slowly saving any by next winter u should have enough for a AI top end if you want some good power, if not just cam it. i have stock ported heads on mine. alot of guys making 400 plus with the AI stuff to the tires.

Yeah... i was hoping to have it cammed by the m&g but id rather get the rust fixed and make it look pretty! Other than that spot the cars pretty clean. no rust underneath other than just surface stuff. im pretty happy with it being a 6 speed t-top car for 2800 bucks n only 95k on the clock!

[kyleozzie]

Ahh i see. I need my quarter panel fixed i got cancer startin under the gas tank door n its really makin me mad! Then im gonna look into a heads and cam package. I was youtubing last night n saw most ppl were runnin cam only cars with longtubes and basic bolt ons but stock heads an they were puttin out 350-400 at the rear wheels easily, so im thinkin with a good set of heads or p&ping the stock heads should make it even easier for me to get where i wanna be!

ehh not cancer i got lucky and my car doesnt have that spot... but i know my my friends 60k ws6 lt1 ta had it starting! its crazy. i am pretty fortunate on very little rust on my car. yeah i would just start slowly saving any by next winter u should have enough for a AI top end if you want some good power, if not just cam it. i have stock ported heads on mine. alot of guys making 400 plus with the AI stuff to the tires.