LT1 rebuild? Need help

[JKDGabe]

Let's assume full rebuild on an LT1, '96.

 

1a. How much for stock?

1b. How much for 350hp and at least that much torque to the wheels?

1c. How about if I pull it and reinstall it?

 

2. Got any shops to recommend?

 

My little bro's car went boom... trying to price things out for him. Thought somebody might know, already asked over on ls1.com.

[Guest Script]

If your going to rebuild I would stroke it out to a 383, I have seen the stroker kits as low as $900.00.

 

Stroked out to a 383 should give you 350hp NP, port and polish the stock heads and you will definitely be there and probably further.

[jbc3]

First of all, what exactly went boom???

Spun bearing? Cost of new bearings, gaskets ,machine the crank and assembly. Your labor, pulling the motor etc...

Broken crank or broken rods and you could be talking a new motor.

You need to figure out what is broken before you talk upgrades. There could be considerable cost if the block or major internals are hurt..

 

350 crank HP is really just a cam, cold air intake, roller rockers and some tuning..

350 RWHP is heads (or port and polish), headers and the above mods

350 RWTQ is doable with heads, cam, exhaust and bolt on's on a stock bottom end.

I made 378 rwhp/365 rwtq with PP stock heads, 224/230-114 cam, 58mm Tb, 1.6 RR's, cold air, headers, Borla cat back and tuning.

Cost... P&P stock heads w/ larger valves and springs and new seals 1400, cam 300, cold air 150, rr's 300, cat back, 650, headers 500, tuning 300. Don't forget gaskets and seals, head gaskets, intake gaskets, front cover gaskets and seals.

IMO... Cheap stroker kit are just that... cheap. Get quality parts or you'll be redoing it again soon. (I have a friend that recently bought a cheap crank and it broke in about 400 miles) You would still need alot more than just a stroker kit. There is machine work to clearance the block even if you are just stroking a stock bore, if you're going 383 or 396 then you have to bore the cylinders and clearance the block, and you would still need breathing mods to make it work, like new heads or head work, a cam, cold air intake, larger throttle body, rockers and springs and then you get into larger injectors. All new gaskets etc... Then you have the tuning costs. (Lt1-edit)

How much do you want to spend... My Lt1 is now a 385 stroker w/4bolt splayed mains, forged bottom end etc...

Or search e-bay and your local f-body boards and get parts cheap when others are upgrading.

[JKDGabe]

Thanks. "Went boom" was a figure of speech but there's oil in the radiator and fuel in the oil.

[jbc3]

Oil in the radiator... maybe a head gasket.

Fuel in the oil, maybe ring failure, maybe piston failure, maybe a stuck injector and it washed the cylinder wall and into the oil.

If there is alot of fuel in the oil, it thinned the oil and and besides fixing the source, you should replace all of the bearings and hope that there is no crank damage.

The combination of the two issues could mean a cracked block.

Pressure test the coolant system and see if you can determine the source of the oil/coolant issue. Compression and leak down test to the cylinders to check if a ring/piston issue exists.

Pull the fuel rail with the injectors on and still connected to the fuel line and turn the key to the on position, the fuel pump runs for a few seconds and pressurizes the system, check for a leaky injector.

Either way, pull the motor out and apart and figure out what happened and go from there.