should have gone with the LS7

2/11/2008 2:27:28 PM

opti-spark is of course the weakest/most annoying thing about the LT engines. Is there a new/cheaper alternative to it that actually is reliable long term?

2/11/2008 2:37:14 PM

^yep, there are several options out there. some that utilize the original optispark unit and some that completely replace it.

in reality, for a fairly stock motor they're not that bad of a unit if you go with a genuine gm replacement of the vented design and have an updated water pump/seals installed.

2/11/2008 4:16:23 PM

true... i managed to ruin a few in my supercharged camaro once upon a time though and i always hated getting that damn pin that drives it from cam sprocket lined up right. the first time i ever did it slipped in perfectly first try and i was so sure that couldn't be right that i took it back out--took another hour to get it back in

[Edited on February 11, 2008 at 7:19 PM. Reason : [no homo]]

2/11/2008 7:18:37 PM

Okay. So another update. Here are more pics for pleasure... As of right now, all 8 cyl. are firing and operating properly. I should have the car back in Raleigh (hopefully) by this weekend, but we'll see. After I break in the engine a bit (a month of two) I'll take it back to the shop to get it dyno'd, tuned, and then dyno'd again. Also, the AC isn't installed yet, but I'm not too worried about it ATM. Also, Cody's going to hook me up with some nice military grade AN fittings with custom fuel lines to replace the temporary hoses that are currently hooked up. I'll see if I can get a short vid of the engine running.

Enjoy for now:

Belly Shot


Passenger Side Header (Sanderson Ceramic Coated)


Fan Shroud Clearance


LT1 Oil Cooler


The exhaust manifold on the passenger side is close, but it does have enough room for when the engine torques. It's not touching though the picture appears otherwise. And I did not destroy that front valence (previous owner's damage). It will be replaced at some time later with a 951-look for looks, weight reduction, and increased airflow to the radiator.

2/18/2008 10:44:59 PM

Oh and stone, in regards to your comment about the exhaust being so close to the steering shaft, the 951's turbo is fairly close to the knuckle and runs much hotter than the exhaust. Plus there's some room for airflow, so it's not as bad as it appears.

[Edited on February 18, 2008 at 10:51 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2008 10:50:54 PM

i wanna see donuts in a parkin lot on video after this car is done.

2/18/2008 10:55:40 PM

I'll need to upgrade the tranny to something stronger. (preferably the 951-S if I can ever get my hands on one at a decent price) Maybe Ahmet can help me there. Actually, here's a vid of 951 track car that has an LT1 with comp cam, custom full length exhaust, and ported heads doing donuts. Cody helped build this one and tracks it occasionally. F'in sick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5Wz_Y38CI

Here's another guy doing a burnout. Granted, this guy has done away with everything Porsche and has a Ford 9" rear end with a temec tko600 gearbox. There's no way a porsche tranny could take this abuse without spending tens of thousands of dollars on one. Its safe to say that this guy is making over 650hp and just over 600tq.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuVJc3nZqzU&feature=related

[Edited on February 18, 2008 at 11:13 PM. Reason : more]

2/18/2008 11:09:42 PM

spinning tires doesn't break parts, it's only when/if you get it to hook. i just went through that painful stage of upgrading drivetrain parts in one of my cars. it sucks to dump cash into something that doesn't give you any more power, but the peace of mind and reliability is worth it.

that's some clean exhaust/tig work. i assume you mean you're taking back down to this place to have it tuned, but just an fyi two of the premier ltx/lsx tuning specialists in the world are right here in raleigh.

2/19/2008 12:08:34 AM

^ Who? I could take a guess, but I'm wondering your opinion.

2/19/2008 9:58:36 AM

obviously CAM

2/19/2008 10:05:29 AM

^haha, yeah.

^^rpm and mayhem motorsports

not to mention fastlane for ford stuff. they're towards the top of what they do also.

2/19/2008 12:14:36 PM

I figured RPM would be on the list. Was really wondering who the other might be.

And I've heard good things about fastlane too.

2/19/2008 12:28:13 PM

fastlane is good but over priced... theres a place called Jacob's Garage in willow springs that does just as good if not better work for half the price

2/19/2008 12:51:20 PM

very doubtful. maybe for basic stuff, but there's no way they provide the level of dyno tuning AND custom fabrication that fastlane does.

to each his own... i'd rather pay a little extra for a shop with a proven reputation though.

2/19/2008 2:13:53 PM

Sorry about the red [x]'s above. I've relocated those pics in my attempts to organize my pictures...

So I've decided to provide you all with these:

LT1 under the hood:



Driver Side Header:



Passenger Side Header:



Belly shot with Y-Pipe and custom Corvette bellhousing



Rest of the 3" Exhaust (Magnaflow Performance Cat, Flowmaster 50 Series)



Custom Alternator Bracket



Um. Cody ran out of 3" mandrel bent tubing, so the intake is going to have some temporary flexible tin tubing inside the header panel area out of sight. The nose panel has been cut to allow some additional airflow to both the radiator and the air filter. I hope to have the car back in Raleigh tomorrow...

[Edited on February 23, 2008 at 9:16 PM. Reason : .]

2/23/2008 9:10:40 PM

And fwiw, it's been alot of work coming from this:



To



[Edited on February 23, 2008 at 9:33 PM. Reason : comparison]

2/23/2008 9:32:46 PM

is it me or are all ur pic links broken now? do u have a vid of it running?

4/1/2008 1:15:10 AM

yeah, sorry about the red [x]'s. I reorganized my album and I forgot that they wouldn't show up here anymore. I can get a vid of it running later and I'll youtube it. Still trying to get an appointment with this dude to get it dyno tuned I'm thinking about just going to RPM...

1600+ miles and going strong It did get a bit slippery tho tryin to pass someone this morning...

4/1/2008 8:17:06 AM

please fix em, i want to see

4/1/2008 11:13:40 AM

Ha, alright. I'll take some fresh ones today and post them later tonight. I have painters tape sealing off the nose panel for now. Rain + exposed k&n filter =

For some reason, a racecar with a setup like mine doesn't have ANY issues in the rain. wtf. I need to get a shield for it later. Until then, when it rains, painters tape ftw. (I don't have plumbing or much room to relocate the intake atm).

4/1/2008 11:24:05 AM

Son of a bitch! I'm not re-posting the pics.

4/4/2008 5:59:54 PM

damnit, who's the one who said they had extra LT1 A/C Components laying around? Pm me, I might need another compressor...

4/6/2008 1:23:00 PM

tawaitt

4/6/2008 2:49:10 PM

Here are the numbers I just got around midnight last night.

All I have to say is, holy shit... I was impressed...

295hp @~5,500 rpm
326tq @~4,000 rpm

Torque curve is pretty nice and flat from ~2,700 rpm to ~4,300 rpm.
It makes 323tq @ 2,700 rpm, which is very... verrrrry, nice, imo.

I will see about posting the screen shot later. I'm so excited! Can't wait for the future engine upgrades... (ported intake, ported heads, higher flowing cat, roller rockers, etc...) In the end, I want this car to push ~400rwhp. I'll get there eventually... For now, this will do


[Edited on May 8, 2008 at 8:35 AM. Reason : zomg yay!]

5/8/2008 8:24:50 AM

nice, but pretty average for that engine.

are u daily driving it?

5/8/2008 8:39:34 AM

Yeah, it's my DD.

IIRC, a completely stock lt1 makes ~255hp/295tq

With just a cam, custom intake and exhaust, I thought the ~40hp/~40tq increase was nice. Right what I wanted starting out. I was really hoping to join the 300rwhp club

[Edited on May 8, 2008 at 8:45 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2008 8:45:06 AM

whats the cam specs? my LT1 had a 224/236 .502 .520 lift and made 325hp 400 tq through a stalled auto

5/8/2008 9:30:54 AM

^I am not entirely sure to be honest. I believe it's a Comp Cams "305" LT1 Camshaft, 220 / 230, .510 / .510 114 LSA, but I am probably wrong. Honestly, I don't know what the numbers mean exactly, but this is all a learning experience. I mean, I know about how a cam works, duration, lift, lobe seperation angle, etc... But for me to visualize how those numbers work in an engine... that's a different story

5/8/2008 9:59:09 AM

Dyno screen:

5/8/2008 6:53:06 PM

for some reason i thought that this would get more than 80hp more than a 951

5/8/2008 11:38:17 PM

^uh, unless you know the rwhp of a 951 that's more like a 100+hp increase. that's no joke in a relatively light car.

Quote :

"I want this car to push ~400rwhp"

easy, the magic bottle. i've got a portable dry kit with a 200hp jet. lets do it.

5/9/2008 1:11:28 AM

^lmfao. Let me get the turbo-s tranny first. I don't want to blow another ring and pinnion and get stuck on the side of the road again Plus I want to make 400rwhp on just motor...

^^

Quote :

"In 1988 Porsche introduced the 944 Turbo S. The 944 Turbo S had a more powerful engine (designation number M44/52) with 247 hp (compared to the standard 944 Turbo's 217 hp) and 250 lb·ft (339 N·m) torque (versus 243 ft·lbf)."

{Info provided by WIKIPEDIA}

Just look at the torque curve. That alone made this project worthwhile. That and the fact that parts are everywhere, and MUCH CHEAPER

Granted, if you have about $3-$5k to spend, you can easily get a 300+rwhp 951. But then you have all those expensive parts to keep up with... And on top of it, you still lack a nice flat torque curve. Very little torque in the lower rpms. MEH.

Some modified dyno charts...
http://www.lindseyracing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=LR&Category_Code=DYNO

(I'd link them but work disable the "right click" button on the mouse :mad

[Edited on May 9, 2008 at 9:00 AM. Reason : .]

5/9/2008 8:45:11 AM

Quote :

"Plus I want to make 400rwhp on just motor"

LT-4 head and intake swap should do the trick

5/9/2008 9:46:39 AM

eh, i think that's a pretty optimistic rwhp number for a stock displacement na lt1. i'm sure there are some cars that have done it since i was regularly keeping up with lt1/lt4 stuff, but it's had to be with full bolt ons, heads, intake, a rowdy cam, and a perfect tune. there would definitely be some driveability annoyances too for a street car that sees much use and internals (mainly the pistons) become a concern north of 400rwhp.

5/9/2008 4:56:51 PM

I should rephrase the 400+ rwhp. Project goal is a 400hp+ motor. I'd like to see 360rwhp in the end, which should no challenge for this motor. Just needs the right combo for cam, heads, headers, intake, etc.

I know a similar car that pulled 346hp/350lbft with a street cam, 58mm throttle body, ported cylinder head with larger valves, roller rockers, and ported intake manifold. I'm sure with some more aggressive upgrades (ie: more aggressive cam, headers, etc...) I'm sure 360rwhp is achievable. The c6 vette was my benchmark until they gave it +30hp by the time I get the engine mods done, a standard corvette will have 600+hp stock.

5/9/2008 5:12:05 PM

yeah, 360rwhp through a manual should be done fairly easy and still be a well mannered daily driver.

5/9/2008 5:23:48 PM

Okay. 2 questions:

1) Where would you guys go to have your door hinge rewelded? There's two welds that hold the hinge for the door onto the body/frame. What's happened is somehow the top hinge has cracked and now the door leans making it somewhat inconvinient trying to close it. Plus I don't want this to stress the other hinge. Anywhere in particular or should I just take this kinda thing to Garner Collision?

2)Who does excellent custom exhaust (good quality/relible) without charging $texas? My headers suck (the driver's side cracked ) and I'm saying screw these sanderson headers. They've been more trouble than worth. I need a custom driver's side header to snake around some shit with a possible passenger side for a piece of mind of more clearance from the frame rail. I'm looking for around $500-$700 (for some regulard grade steel long tubes) 1.5" primaries into 2.5" collectors to 3" single.

7/21/2008 8:33:07 AM

R&J custom exhaust in Apex can do both.

7/21/2008 11:42:58 AM

Got the exhaust fixed. Just used a shit ton of weld and it's working. However, it appears fixing one problem just causes another The car is having some serious issues with cold starts (almost as if the engine is flooding itself). I wanted to take the car to Advanced to see if it's throwing any codes, but they don't have an OBDI scanner anymore. Any suggestions? I'm was thinking it might be the TPS, but that was just replaced like 3 weeks ago. So now I believe an 02 sensor went bad. Anyone know a non-shady place (or anyone personally) have an OBDI scanner so that we can get this shit hooked up or verify the issue?

[Edited on August 12, 2008 at 9:34 AM. Reason : .]

8/12/2008 9:33:25 AM

just jump the ALDL and it will flash the code at you

whats that ecu/harness out of

8/12/2008 10:52:03 AM

I wish I knew. I wish the guy I bought it from knew. He had bought it a few years back from a salvage yard when he was doing these conversions. He purchased like 3 or 4 complete engines (including wiring harness and ecu) and have had them laying around in storage looking for conversions. It's a late model LT1 (per optispark), but he told me it's OBDI iirc.

^and since I'm new at this, how do I go about jumping the ALDL? I mean, sure it'll throw the code, but I have no way of reading it without the equipment. You are talking about jumpin terminal A and B and reading the code via check eng light right?

Right now, the guy that did this conversion for me is apprently not on speaking terms with me, so now I'm and trying to figure this shit out.

[Edited on August 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM. Reason : .]

8/12/2008 11:12:12 AM

not on speaking terms why? did you not pay him to do the job? if so, then he needs to start speaking or you start speaking to the proper authorities.

i've got an ancient actron scan tool with a gm cartridge around somewhere, i'll see if i can dig it up. you can do what primer said though. all you do is count the flashes, and that's your code. then you should be able to easily find what that corresponds to somewhere online or in any repair manual.

if it's got aluminum heads, it came out of an f-body or corvette. the main bearing caps tell the rest of the story. if it's a 2 bolt, it's from an f-body. 4 bolt is vette. if it's got the revised optispark, then it's definitely a 95 since that was the change year and 96 was obdII. you can also tell by the casting numbers on the heads, later models were different.

8/12/2008 1:57:40 PM

yep, 94 was old opti, 95 was new (vented, I believe) opti, 96 was obdII

8/12/2008 2:00:44 PM

^^ long story short, the dude is in a financial crisis and can't afford to work on my car anymore (despite the warranty). Supposedly, he did a couple more deals where he got shortchanged and ended up losing money on those projects. I have a feeling in attempts to fix some of my issues (ie: AC STILL NOT WORKING ), he's maybe taken a few shortcuts. He stood me up meeting me last sunday and won't return the calls. He's been "evicted" from his current dwelling and now lives with his father, somewhere outside Charlotte. (I'm trying to find which county to file the Small Claims report). I'm in an investigation process so I can sue this mother fucker for leaving me with a half running car ATM and for breach of contract on several occasions (few other requests unfulfilled, and car STILL undelievered as "complete" as promised dispite many compromises)) My car is now profitless and I think he wants out. I'm thinking small claims to recover some traveling expense and hopefully cover future expense required to finish up where he left off at another shop.

Yeah. It's from an F-body iirc (I highly doubt it's a 4-bolt). I'll see if I can get the casting # from the heads some time. I might take it to Advanced for the hell of it to see if an OBDII will work


[Edited on August 12, 2008 at 3:32 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2008 3:16:24 PM

that is legible, right?

[Edited on August 13, 2008 at 11:18 AM. Reason : you're welcome]

8/13/2008 11:17:43 AM

you dont need a code key

8/13/2008 11:20:08 AM

^^ Thank you. I really appreciate it.

8/13/2008 11:24:22 AM

^^ by "code key" they mean "tiny paper clip"

8/13/2008 11:25:37 AM

like your dick?

8/13/2008 11:29:23 AM