gvincent Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I searched and everybody seems to be in agreement that thr 95 LT1 was the best because of the vented Optispark and the OBD1. I know the 93 LT1 was Speed Density instead of MAF and Mult-port instead of Sequential. Is there any reason to not to buy this engine? I went to speeddensity.org and they say there is no difference performance or mileage wise as far as the injection goes and actually claim their cars are faster with the Speed density VS MAF? Of course the site is probably bias towards the 93 anyway. If you could get a complete 93 LT1/T56 Camaro for$1500 that needs a head gasket possibly on a 40K rebuild VS a 95 LT1/T56 with 80K with new head job but spun bearing (s) (low end knock) left antifreeze in the oil pan for a month when the headgasket blew, had the heads re-done and re-installed only to spin the bearing (s) 4 days later. for $2200 Getting desperate to find a motor and trans! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschiltz Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I don't know much about LT1s, but that's quite a story that goes with the second. Are they coming form two different people? If the guy with the 95 is fed up with his car he may be willing to come down on the price a little. On the flip side of the coin, there may be other problems with the 95 that he is leaving out just to get rid of the thing. Just my two cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 The LT1 are getting cheaper, I would not rush it, you will be sorry later. I paid $3000 for my LT1 with T56 and drove 8hrs to get it. I Just saw a motor and trans in the paper for $900.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gexgexgexgex Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 The main prob with the 1993 LT1 is the ECU, it is not Flash based so you have to "burn" a chip everytime you want to change anything. Also you have to have the software and hardware to make the chips, could be $$$$. But if its flash based like the 95 all you need is a cable, like 50$, and the Tuner cat software about 50-60$ more. then you can tune it all you want with just a simple laptop. So if you want to be able to "tune" the lt1 get the 95 for sure. But if tuning is not a prob just get the 93 Lt1. And dont forget that the 95 can run off of MAP as well, with no tuning required. JUst do not plug in the mass and the ecu goes back to MAP based. Also if you want to know all iron head LT1's have the vented opti and flash based ecu One last thing the vented opti's have the better timing chain, that can be upgraded if need be. The non vented opti will have to be upgraded with a new timing cover, opti, and a few other little things if you want to change the timing belt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin280zx Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 anitfreeze in oil is not good, it eats away at the bearings so plan on replacing all the bearings. also you may need a new crank depending on how bad the spun bearing scarred it, but then again a polish job might be all it needs. i had a spun beaing in the sbc i got and i just got another crank rather than spending money to get it polished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I would hold out for a better deal. I think a 95 is the way to go, but the one you mentioned above sounds like too much money for what you would be getting. Having a vented Opti is a big plus, and it winds up being pretty expensive to upgrade a non-vented opti to a vented unit (I know because I did it). I wasn't aware that all iron head LT1's have vented opti's, but if that's the case then you could opt for a 94 iron headed motor. I started a thread a while back on the differences between Caprice and Camaro LT1s: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=109370 You can definitely find deals on LT1's, so don't settle for less..it may cost you more in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbhsbZ Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Take some tools with you and yank the heads and the oil pan before you hand over the cash. Pull a main bearing cap, and the #1 and #8 rod caps and check the bearings. Feel the top of the cylinder for a ridge and from the underside, feel the bottom of the cylinder for a ridge. Bring a set of calipers with you and measure the bore. If you're quick, this should take less than 2 hours. The one thing that I've learned buying used "good" or "just rebuilt 500 miles ago" engines is that they are mostly junk. Some aren't even rebuildable. If the seller is not willing to let you properly inspect what you are buying, then find another one. I know its a pain in the butt to take apart a couple of motors and waste time, but it beats getting home with an empty wallet and tearing a motor down only to find that all its good for is anchoring your boat...if you have a boat. If you don't have a boat, its worthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwanray Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 If you can do it try to buy a totalled Camaro/Firebird. This is a great way to find a quality motor that you can actually start up, and the $$ you make from selling the parts will fund your project. This is what I did and I estimate making about around $1500 more than what I paid. Its basically like someone gave you an engine/tranny/$1500 for the removal of their totalled car. The downside to it is...you have to be willing to put in time and effort in selling. But, look in the classifieds and ebay for totalled cars....best way to go in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 I ran the 1993 camaro LT1/T56 electronics in my car for a year. I am now switched over to the 1995 ECM and wiring harness. I bought my combo back in 2002 for $2200. There is no way I would pay $1500 for a combo now. I think a $1000 would be as high as I would go. With the LS1's taking over in the popular motor swap area the LT1 has just gotten cheaper by the day. $1000 should get you a good rebuildable motor and tranny. If you don't want to rebuild it then I would spend a few more bucks on a lower milage motor. When I bought my LT1 I had every intention of rebuilding it but updating the optispark. I had to buy a new timing cover from a 1996 LT1, a new opti and the cam dowel had to be at the right length(my new cam already was set up for the 1995+ opti though so I didn't have to worry about it). I think I had to spend $40 on the timing cover, $275 on a new opti(which didn't matter because the one on the motor had a 100K on it anyways). Updating the opti really isnt a huge deal or a lot of money. The only real down side to the 93' LT1 is the none reprogrammable ECU. If you have a chip burner your good to go but who has one of those! Everytime you make a change to your engine you have to send out your ECU to have a chip burned for it. Now that I have Tunercat and laptop I can just go in and edit it myself for free! Granted you have to kind of know what your doing but there are plenty of guys on here and other LT1 sites that can help with basic tuning! I say hold off for a better deal or find a wrecked car and make some money! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvincent Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 I am going to see the 93 later today, it is a complete running car. I was figuring that for $1500 at least the transmission would be a score and I could sell the rest of the car. Here in the northeast at least the junkyards are still getting 1200-1500 just for the T56's and 1100-1700 for LT1's! I thought that prices would go down for the winter but they haven't so far. There have not been any adds of late on Craigslist or the Want advertiser for Camaro or Firebirds running or wrecked lately that haven't been below 3K, I can or could of gotten a slightly wrecked 95 Firebird formula LT1/T56 for $2500 with 82K on it as of a couple of weeks ago. There hasn't been any bargains on eBay lately either at least not within 250 miles. I guess I should probably hang in there and wait somemore but I am getting worried that there hasn't been anything available lately and the junk yard list on Car-Parts.com is also getting smaller. Maybe it has been the post holidays or the real lack of winter here that is causing the shortage of donor cars lately. I guess we need some snow here to get the F bodie cars smashing around again Thanks for all your responses. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 All this is good info on the 93. I've had the 93 lt-1 in my Z Since 96. Still nonvented optispark. I've replaced it a couple of times. On the last rebuild of the engine, I bought a package from the builder to dyno tune it once I got it in the car. He burned the chip and it runs great. 400+ RWHP. I reallly can't find a reason to upgrade that right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvincent Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 Well, I went to see the 93 Camaro and the motor is toast, it is blowing out clouds of steam and has lifter noise and a lower knock from what I could hear. It was tough to listen because the Idler pully was wasted and wobbling and the serpentine belt looked like it was going to goany minute. It had a brand new electric water pump but wasn't installed corretcly from what I could see, there was antifreeze leaking everywhere. The car had 2 flat tires so I couldn't drive it but the shifter did shift all 6 gears and I rocked it back and forth in each gear, supposedly it has a new clutch. Is it worth $1500 for the trans alone? Not much else good about the car it has some rocker rust and a dirty interior. Thanks, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Man I would try and talk him down under a grand. The LT1 T56's are actually more desireable than the LS T56's because the input shafts allow them to be bolted up to a first gen SBC. BUT used T56's all too often need rebuilding. That can easily run $1500 all by itself. If the motor is that far gone, the trans can't be far behind. This F body stuff isn't getting any easier to find, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Ditto to what Pop n Wood said. I am having my 1993 T56 rebuilt by a buddy of mine. Parts alone is around $600. Thats for a steel 3-4 shift fork, billet keys and a full rebuild kit. Then if you need gears or an input shaft the price really jumps! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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