Shift_Light Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Like Dr. Nic says on The Simpsons, "Hi Everybody!" My V8 Z project has begun. This is way over my head skill-wise, so I am having the work professionally done. The LT1 is out of the donor 94 Camaro, and the machine shop is working on the block this week. Here are the parts I have purchased so far for the engine: 383 Stroker Kit Trick Flow 195cc Heads GM Hot Cam Electric water pump (may not fit) Transmission will be the six-speed automatic out of the Camaro. Mechanic said he would upgade the internals of the tranny to hold the extra power. My mechanic is talking 500rwhp after we upgrade the LT1 fuel delivery by replacing the fuel rails and adding a couple pressure regulators. He also has a complete rear-end that I am going to buy from him used. It's straight-axle, but he says it won't kill my handling. Somthing about "ladder-bar, triangulate, coilovers, and Nascar" if that makes any sense. You can see my lack of knowledge showing, so bear with me. My dilemma is that I would like to eventually leave the door open for forced induction, turbo or blower that would get me into the 700 rwhp range. I have looked at the rear-mount twin turbo kit for the LT1, which I like because at least I don't have to worry about space under the hood. I also looked at the T-76 single turbo and a Vortech supercharger. I am guessing that neither of these two will fit under the stock hood, which means I would lose at least the sleeper appearance of the car. I would appreciate any advice in regard to ways to get the car on the road now NA, while keeping it as easy as possible to add turbo or supercharging later, as well as input on the specific setup to choose later. I will upgrade to forged internals when I add forced induction. Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarguy07 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 now would probably be the time to add low compression pistons..unless you dont mind tearing it all back apart later..i think the rear mount setup would be very nice..i believe sts sells a universal one for $2900.00 good luck with the project..btw i didnt know the auto tranny came in a six speed in the camaro..might want to check into that...pretty sure only t56 maual and automatic 4 speed....jake.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 Whoops. If I might be wrong, then I probably am. But maybe the auto tranny is a five-speed? I looked at the parts I ordered a while back, and I also have a cloyes double-roller timing chain, and a throttle body (58mm I think). Mechanic has ordered an optispark distributor and we will upgrade injectors. With all the fuel delivery mods, I know the gas mileage is going to go to sh!t, but at least I still have fuel injection. Mechanic says the mpg will stay in the double digits, but I am sceptical. That's another reason to go with turbo over supercharging, afaik, that the turbo will not kill the mpg. I have seen some supercharged vettes that are obviously very fast, but if I get 3 mpg, then I am never going to be able to drive the thing anywhere. Any recommendations for forged pistons for this 383 would be appreciated, both brands and vendors. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 This discussion says that tuning and installation quality of the kit is critical: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:3sm_888FBkoJ:lt1tech.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi%3Fubb%3Dget_topic%3Bf%3D2%3Bt%3D000240+sts+LT1+turbo&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us STS data sheet: http://oi.b5z.net/i/u/1473169/i/pdfs/STSFACT_01LT1_02_Final.pdf The rear-mount is certainly innovative. Although I would sure as hell never want road salt on my expensive turbo, so no winter driving with that setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I wouldn't put the LT4 hotcam in a motor like your building, you wont get the full power out of your 383. Not only that but you will not see 500rwhp from that cam on motor alone. The cam has pretty good lift but low duration. I run it in my 355 LT1 and its ok but I will be switching it out sooner than later. My engine probably puts down 330-340rwhp, if I had to guess. You would probably see low 400's with a 383 with that cam. You should decided now if you want forced induction or not. You can either build a high compression engine for NA or a low compression egine for boost. You can boost an LT1 in stock form but why bother with it when you can only run 6psi? That's the way I look at anyways. If you want boost build a 383 with something in the neighborhood of 8.5:1 compression. Put forged pistons, rods, and crank in it and boost away! You wont be able to boost enough on a high compression LT1 to see 700RWHP with out running into detonation issues or having to run race gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarguy07 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 if you look up golen engines,i believe they have pistons..they build and sell low comp short and long blocks for lt1..i still think its a 4 speed auto..to get you target hp range your gonna have to go low compression and forced induction and run between 11-14 psi..in the end its your call..just giving my opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarguy07 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 80lt1:just gotta say thats a beautiful 280zx...well done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 Thanks, 80LT. And nice car! Have you done this mod?: http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0409htp_lt1_fuel_system_modification_third_gen_use/index.html I just talked to sts about two kits, one with a GT70 turbo that will make about 10 psi and the other with a GT 76 that will make 15-20 psi. I imagine I will need all forged internals for either kit? These kits are like four grand before I even buy the forged internals, which makes it hard to do everything all at once, although you are right that it would make more sense that way. Another question, how would my 383 LT1 boosted to 700+ hp compare to the same 300zx with the original Nissan V6 boosted to similar hp numbers? I see a lot of boosted oem engines claiming 700+ hp, but afaik the V8 should put out a much more impressive power band and seem like a faster car, especially off the line...right? I'd hate to spend all of this money to have a slower car than what could have been accomplished with the original engine. And yeah, my collection of parts will not make optimal sense. The parts lised is largely based upon what the mechanic had laying around and sold to me at a discounted price. Also, even with forged internals, is boost just going to blow this engine 10,00 miles down the road? I read that LT1's don't handle boost well, but is this cured by forged internals, or are there other issues? Thanks for the input, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarguy07 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 i think the only issue with the lt1's and boost are people taking it higher than 6-7 psi without forged internals and lowereing the compression ratio..my girlfriends 300tt is running 15psi of boost and only putting down around 350 whp...im sure the lt1 with 15 psi would be putting down way more than that...probably more than 650whp.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Well a stock camaro LT1 is running 10.5:1 compression, that's why you can't run more than 6-7PSI safely. Even then your using an engine with a cast crank, cast pistons, and cast rods- if you start to detonate at all you will most likely break a piston. It's not that LT1's don't like boost, just that it wasn't set up for it from the factory. Most car's aren't that are NA to begin with. Buy an "Eagle" forged rotating assembley off ebay, I think they are right around $1400(I've been looking at them too). If you want 700HP your going to have to go with boost though or a lot of nitrous. The LT1 with the same boost will make more HP/TQ across the board, its nearly twice the size in cubic inches as the original engine that came in your car! Not to mention parts and maintance on your original engine are WAYYYY more expensive than the LT1! Guy (thanks for the complements guys!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 Forged internals plus turbo is looking like a $10,000 upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarguy07 Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 costly little obsession huh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Forged internals plus turbo is looking like a $10,000 upgrade. Speed costs...how fast do you want to go! LOL That does sound about right after you buy the engine/tranny, buy all the upgraded internals, new fuel system, and have a turbo kit fabricated. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 It looks like NA for now, to get on the street, and I will save for a turbo setup. The car has been sitting for a while, and I just need to get it on the road. This should be a fun car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Whoops. If I might be wrong, then I probably am. But maybe the auto tranny is a five-speed? One more drop. 94 Camaros came with a 4L60E, 4 speed overdrive automatic. There is a GM 5 speed automatic in the new cars like the Solstice GXP and even a 6 speed automatic in the GMC Sierra 2500HD. No clue if they could be adapted to work on a 94 LT1. My bet is you'll have a 4L60E with beefed up stuff which probably make it like a 4L80E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Im surprised nobody has commented on the straight axle yet. Thats totally reverse engineering. Your mechanic says it wont kill handling...yes it will. Why would you go from a beefy IRS LSD to a straight axle? Theres no need to, the rear will handle it. Its not like you are replacing a weak lil R180 in a 240z to handle a high power motor, we are talking about a seriously beefy r230 LSD here. Ill mention the independant rear suspension one more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Thanks, Deja, it's been almost a year since I bought the Camaro. And David, a friend of mine made the same point as you. The mechanic says that the low-end torque we will make will break the Nissan rear-end if I stomp it from a stop. I would also like to leave the door open for a 700+ hp turbo's car someday. I'm also extra-cautious and conservative about estimating what a part can take, so I'm trying to err on the side of caution. Can a straight-axle ladder-bar rear suspension be made to handle well? Mechanic said the coilovers that are on the rear end now will still work with an air ride suspension if I add that later. There is no autocross course anywhere near me, and if this car is at any track, it will probably be the 1/8 mi drag strip near me. I still want it to handle well on rough country roads, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift_Light Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 This is a link that I just found about suspensions. http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible.html'>http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible.html And the main site is http://www.carbibles.com/ Helpful for basic information at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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